Do you need custom software?

In a world where one-size-fits-all solutions are everywhere, it’s easy to forget that your business is unique. But here’s the thing – maybe it’s time to stop forcing square pegs into round holes? On the other hand, reinventing the (in this case, very expensive) wheel isn’t always necessary or smart. 

Is custom software development the right choice for your business? We’ll guide you through a set of questions you should ask yourself to assess your specific situation. 

By the end, you’ll have a clearer picture of whether custom software is the right move for your business’s growth and efficiency.

So, should you go custom?

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2 types of software, clients, and users

What is custom software? Also referred to as bespoke software or tailor-made software, it is essentially a program built specifically to address the needs of a particular user or organization.

Now, before we move on, let’s also define the two core terms we’ll be using throughout this article: internal and external apps.

Internal apps 

These are software applications created for use within a specific organization, typically a company or institution.

They are meant to address unique challenges faced by the organization and streamline its processes. 

Internal apps can be custom-built or purchased off-the-shelf solutions. 

Examples include employee portals, project management tools, inventory tracking systems, or custom dashboards for data analysis.

• Who orders it?: The organization itself (be it initiated by the executive leadership, IT department, or anyone else).
• Who will use it?: The organization itself (employees, contractors, patterns or suppliers, different departments within the organization).

External apps (startup apps)

In contrast, external apps are designed for the general public or a wider audience outside the organization that created them. They are publicly available for download on app stores or accessed through web browsers. Their purpose is to provide services, entertainment, or connect users with others.

Examples include social media apps, e-commerce platforms, mobile games, educational apps, productivity tools, fitness apps, etc.

• Who orders it?

1. 1. Startup founders or entrepreneurs
   2. Established companies expanding into new markets
   3. Non-profit organizations
   4. Government agencies for public services

• Who will use it?

1. 1. General public or specific target groups
   2. Customers of a business
   3. Other businesses (in B2B applications)

Is the problem even worth solving?

Before we move on to consider specific cases, let’s first ask ourselves this basic question: Does a problem exist, and is it even worth solving?

A problem is worth solving if it’s 

• So big it affects a lot of people and it makes their life much harder, and/or
• So frequent it keeps happening daily or every few days, and there’s no sign it will ever end.

Example: Internal problem worth solving

We had this problem in Pragmatic Coders: our HR department had to manually manage employee training (checking training attendance lists, collecting training requests, etc.). 

• Size: The problem affected everyone at Pragmatic Coders (<100 people).
• Frequency: The problem kept coming back every time a new person joined the board, a new training was added to the training pool, a training was assigned a new date, etc.

That’s why we build our own low-code training automation system.

Example: External problem worth solving

People who want to get their hair done at a salon often run into busy phone lines or limited appointment times. This inefficiency is what led to the creation of Booksy, an app for booking salon appointments.

• Size: It impacted people’s time and created scheduling headaches (moderately big).
• Frequency: It happened repeatedly for many people (frequent).

By considering both size and frequency, Booksy’s founders identified a problem worth solving.

If you’re not sure whether your problem is really worth addressing, here’s what can help you:

1. [FOR EXTERNAL APPS] AI market research tool: If you’re building an external app, our free tool will do market research for you: it will help you assess your market size and potential target audience, both general and narrowed. Here’s an example for a personalized nutrition coaching app research it did..
   Click to use the AI market research tool.
2. [FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL APPS] Business consulting services: Our experts will analyze your idea and check whether the problem is worth addressing with custom software.
   Contact us

Should you go custom?

In this part, we’ll guide you through sets of questions that will help you decide whether custom software is the right fit for your business.

Should you go custom: Internal apps

Let’s kick off with a short introductory test.

If you’re thinking about developing a custom internal app but are not entirely sure, answer the following questions with “Yes” or “No”, and sum up the points. This might give you a clue whether your organization really needs it. 

We’ll continue with more detailed questions later on, but this initial “test” will already give you some food for thought.

Do you need to streamline internal operations?

1. Is your business in a niche industry with unique processes? (3 points)
2. Do you find yourself using multiple software tools to accomplish a single task? (2 points)
3. Are your current software solutions unable to scale with your business growth? (3 points)
4. Do you often need to manually transfer data between different systems? (2 points)
5. Are there specific features you need that aren’t available in off-the-shelf software? (3 points)
6. Is your team spending significant time on repetitive tasks that could potentially be automated? (2 points)
7. Do you have concerns about the security of your data with current software solutions? (2 points)
8. Would a custom solution potentially give you a competitive advantage in your industry? (3 points)
9. Is your business losing money or opportunities due to inefficient processes? (3 points)
10. Do you have the budget to invest in custom software development? (2 points)

Add up your points for each “Yes” answer. Here’s how to interpret your score:

• 0-5 points: You probably don’t need custom software right now. Off-the-shelf solutions should work well for your current needs.
• 6-12 points: You might benefit from custom software in some areas. Consider a hybrid approach with some custom modules integrated into existing solutions.
• 13-20 points: Custom software could significantly improve your business operations. It’s worth exploring custom development options.
• 21-25 points: Your business would likely see substantial benefits from custom software. Start planning your custom software project soon!

Is there an existing solution that covers your all needs?

If you’re looking for software to enhance the processes in your organization, there’s a decent chance it has already been built, and you can use a ready-made solution.

So, are you entirely sure there isn’t an existing tool that covers your all needs? To answer this question, you need to research available options. 

1. Create a list of requirements. Let’s say your organization needs a customer service system. Make your customer support team list what they need, for example, in the form of user stories: As a customer service representative, I want to [functionality] so that [benefit].
2. Do your research. With the requirement list in your hand, find a matching tool.

There are existing solutions for customer support like Zendesk, and the pricing starts from $55 monthly. If such a ready-made solution covers all or almost most of your problems, you shouldn’t invest your time and budget in custom software development, as it will cost you thousands of dollars, and might take longer than introducing Zendesk to your company.. 

But it’s not exactly what I need! Even if there’s a problem such a ready-made solution doesn’t address, it’s worth first reaching out to their sales and asking if they can customize it for you and at what price. 

Should you go custom: External apps

If you’re building an external (startup) application, you will always need custom software in the end. That’s the only way to build a truly stable, secure, and seamlessly working app that suits the unique needs of your target customers

However, with startups, the thing is you might not need custom software YET.

If you’re at the idea validation phase of the startup building process, you can do it with no software, no-code, or low-code. 

Here, we encourage you to have a glance at How to start a startup. We wrote the ebook to explain the entire path from competitor and market research through solution discovery and definition, to creating a pitch deck and MVP roadmap.

You can download it for free, or check out the article series it was based on (competitor analysis is its first part).

Learn more:

• How to test your product ideas?
• How to build a startup without coding?
• No-code MVP. How to build an MVP without coding?

Are you sure there’s someone who will use your custom software?

How do you know if your target audience will use a digital solution to their problem?

For example, how do you know if they will use a mobile app for calculating taxes instead of pen and paper?

There are 2 ways to gauge your target audience’s interest in your digital solution:

• Research

1. 1. 1. Desk research: Involves collecting data online. You or a researcher browses through the vast expanse of the Internet (forums, research papers, etc.) to assess whether people are interested in digital solutions. Cheap, but getting the right data can be challenging or even impossible.
         Learn more about desk research.
      2. UX research: Involves having a UX researcher ask your potential target audience (through surveys or other research forms) for feedback. More costly, but precise and tailored to your unique situation.
         Learn more about UX research.

• Share your idea with people to get feedback

What can help you resolve your doubts:

1. Article How to test your product ideas?: In this article, we’ve listed many ways in which you check if there’s anyone interested in using your product. It starts from basic methods like asking for feedback from online communities and creating simple landing pages to more advanced like building prototypes or MVPs.
2. Our UX research services: Our UX researcher can provide you with in-depth research carried out among your target audience. Its outcomes will help you confirm whether
   1. There is a problem
   2. That’s worth solving 
   3. And there are people interested in your digital solution to it.

Will users want to pay for your custom software (and what if they don’t)?

Suppose you’ve confirmed people want to use software to solve a given problem. However, will they want to pay for it? If not, can you generate revenue another way?

ROI (return on investment) is a key indicator of whether it’s worth building a digital product: no potential ROI = no sense doing it.

So, what are your revenue streams? If custom software can’t bring you profits, you most probably don’t want to go into it.

There are multiple options for an app to make money, such us: 

• In-app advertising
• In-app purchases
• Subscriptions
• Paid apps
• Sponsorship
• Affiliate marketing
• Freemium model
• Selling data (anonymized and with user consent)
• Ecommerce (commissions on sales)
• Tipping
• Crowdfunding
• Data licensing (anonymized and compliant)
• Etc.

What’s more, It’s important to understand that there can be different types of users in one product. This means you can have many different business models within one product–and if some user types will use your custom software for free, others won’t. For example, social media platforms like Instagram or Pinterest are free of charge for their casual users, because they rely on advertising from their business users as its main source of income.

What can help you resolve your doubts:

1. 1. Doing research and testing: Check what we discussed in the paragraph above
   2. Article: How to create a business model for a startup
   3. Business consulting services: Our experts will analyze how and if your business can make money. Contact us

Does your product TRULY have a USP (unique selling proposition)?

A USP, which stands for Unique Selling Proposition/Point, highlights what makes a product or service different and better than its competitors. 

It’s the core benefit that convinces a customer to choose your offering over the rest, and another indicator of whether custom software development will make sense.

Are you sure your product has one? What is it, and do you have proof for that?

You can do the mini-quiz below to evaluate your product’s USP:

1. What specific problem does your product solve that competitors don’t address?
2. Can you describe your product’s key benefit in one sentence?
3. What feature of your product is truly unique in the market?
4. How does your product deliver more value than similar offerings?
5. Why would a customer choose your product over a competitor’s?
6. What aspect of your product is difficult for competitors to replicate?
7. How does your product align with a specific customer need or pain point?
8. What makes your product memorable to customers?
9. Can you identify a specific market segment where your product excels?
10. How does your product’s pricing strategy relate to its unique features?

Scoring:

• For each question, rate your answer on a scale of 1-5: 1 = Not at all unique/clear 5 = Extremely unique/clear
• Add up your scores: 
  • 40-50: Strong USP 
  • 30-39: Solid USP, but room for improvement 
  • 20-29: USP needs significant work Below 20: Reevaluate your product’s positioning

Remember, a strong USP should be:

• Unique
• Specific
• Valuable to your target audience
• Sustainable
• Communicable

Do you have time and budget to build your custom software product?

Before diving headfirst into custom software, consider your resources. 

Building it takes time –  complex features and functionalities add to the development timeline. 

Budget is equally important – custom development can be more expensive than off-the-shelf solutions. However, paying once for one custom software that replaces one or more ready-made products might be money-saving in the long run.

Costs and time it takes to build a custom tool depend on many factors. 

However, to give an idea of what the ranges are, we could assume MVP development could cost even between  $79,200 – $99,000 and take as short as 10 ten 12 weeks if done right. These are just example estimates. Read our article on MVP costs to learn why these numbers exactly.

List of helpful resources

Here’s a list of helpful resources we’ve mentioned in this article.

1. AI Market Research Tool
2. How to start a startup ebook
   
   
3. Articles
   1. How to do Product Validation? Check if your product idea makes sense
   2. How long and how much does it take to build an MVP in 2024?
   3. How to choose a software development agency?
   4. Have you ever worked with a 5-star development company?
      
   5. Why should you NOT choose a software vendor based on their estimates?
   6. How to Conduct a Competitor Analysis for Your Startup
   7. How to test your product ideas?
   8. How to build a startup without coding?
   9. No-code MVP. How to build an MVP without coding?
   10. How to do desk research for tech products
   11. How to conduct effective UX research
   12. How to create a business model for a startup
4. Services
   1. Custom software development services
   2. Business consulting
   3. UX research

Custom software? Conclusions

Hope this article resolves most of your doubts on whether you should go custom. 

However, if you’re still not entirely sure, just contact us.

Send us a message or talk to us over Google Meet–we’ll discuss your needs and help you answer whether custom software is the right choice for you.

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