Free software is attractive to most small- and medium-sized enterprises that would rather not have to pay an arm and a leg for must-have tools.
From accounting packages to project management packages and from customer relationship management tools to accounting solutions, your business needs the right tools of the trade for optimal efficiency and productivity.
But whereas free software may be okay over the short term, it won’t ever do everything your company needs. Enter custom software. While there’s a higher upfront cost, custom software has advantages that free or off-the-shelf software can’t match.
What follows are four good reasons for buying customer software for your business.
Custom Software Is Based Upon Your Business Processes
One reason to invest in custom software is that an off-the-shelf option won’t be a perfect fit for your company’s requirements, industry requirements, customers, and operational objectives. While a free application might meet some or even more of your company’s needs, it could feel limiting rather than empowering in some situations.
Free software attempts to serve as broad a user base as possible, but is intended to provide generalized tools. Businesses that use such applications will have to conform their business to the software, which can compromise efficiency and productivity.
Custom software is built to your own specifications. It’s built based on your specific business and integrates must-have and nice-to-have features. Whether you must keep track of stock levels, integrate CRM capabilities, or implement sector-specific reporting, a custom solution will be a better functional and strategic fit.
You Don’t Call the Shots with Off-the-Shelf Software
Off-the-shelf software typically comes with usage limitations, subscription contracts, and low customizability. You get to use it, but you don’t own it. When leasing software, you’re at the mercy of the vendor. When they eliminate features, raise prices, or make other critical changes, you’ll have to accept it or switch.
Using custom software is different. In addition to tailoring it to meet your needs, you’ll own it. You’ll have the ultimate authority to dictate how it changes, when it is upgraded, and what features are added. You don’t need to go back to someone else for permission to make significant decisions. The feeling of control is the biggest benefit to businesses requiring flexibility, anonymity, or extended security for their tech investment.
Scalability and Interoperability with Other Systems
Free tools are not scalable — at least not to the extent your business needs. As your business grows, you will see that off-the-shelf or generic tools can’t accommodate more data, more users, or more intricate operations. It’ll also be hard or impossible to integrate such tools with other required systems, leading to siloed processes and data.
Custom software, however, can be scaled. It can be built to accommodate growth, from additional users and data to growing departments and business lines. It can be integrated into your existing infrastructure with minimal disruption — whether that involves ERPs, accounting, marketing applications, or legacy systems.
Competitive Advantage and Innovation
In a competitive environment, you just need to be smarter, faster, and better than the competition. Free tools can help, but spending money on software that aligns with your strengths and strategic goals can be a key differentiator.
Custom software is the foundation of your current competitive advantage. You can innovate faster, too, since you won’t have to wait for third-party providers to introduce new capabilities.
Free software does have its uses — specifically for small companies, freelancers, or startups with limited funds and needs. But as your business expands and matures, the limitation of free tools will prove expensive in terms of time, productivity, and data security.
It can be argued that you can’t afford not to get custom software.
