No two businesses are created equal!
And, if you are working in a niche market and operating a unique business model, finding an off-the-shelf system for managing your business becomes near impossible!
As a result, most businesses end up using complex spreadsheets to keep track of their various business processes. But, as much as I love spreadsheets (I really do! In fact, you would be surprised to know how may spreadsheets I create a week!), let’s face the fact, they are difficult to share among your team and very hard to keep current!
So, what’s the solution? How can you find a tool that works or at least allows customization as per your business model?
The answer is simple: You don’t find, but build a custom application as per your business model!
Custom application development is not as simple as purchasing an off-the-shelf tool. True.
But, when it comes to choosing a software system for your business, you need a tool that’ll complement your business model (and not disrupt it).
You need a product that effectively translates your business model into a beautiful software system!
You need a tool that uses your business vocabulary and organizes the workflows you are already following in one place!
Most importantly, you need a system that keeps your unique competitive advantages intact while automating the mundane jobs and thus, saving significant man-hours!
Going for a custom application is definitely the right choice here.
But isn’t that going to break the bank? Won’t I need to spend a bomb on infrastructure? Will my small business app development investments wield results?
Well, if these are the questions that just popped into your mind, then you are not alone!
Most small and mid-size businesses make do with a cumbersome spreadsheet while their businesses suffer from lack of co-ordination between the team, faulty vendor management and hours of manual data entry and calculation.
But, it does not have to be this way!
The truth is, there are a lot of misconceptions regarding custom application development.
So, let’s see bust those myths! Shall we?
Well, that may have been true once upon a time!
But, the advent of cloud technology marked the end of that era. Today, you can transfer your ideas into beautiful applications with platforms like Zoho Creator.
The best thing is, you don’t have to spend a penny on infrastructure development!
With cloud-based platforms, your custom application is completely hosted and you can simply log into it with your browser, from any device, at any time!
Developing a custom app from scratch is definitely a time-consuming job.
But, the great thing is, you don’t have to build the application from scratch!
Today’s cloud-enabled development platforms offer you the base on which you can create beautiful applications in matters of hours (not months).
This means, you not only significantly reduce the Go-Live time but also recur way lesser development cost!
Okay, so, you have a small or mid-size business! And you have got it covered (albeit poorer coordination and a high degree of manual data entry) with your spreadsheets!
But, are you content with the size of your business? Or, you intend to grow further?
If the answer to the latter question is ‘Yes’, then developing a custom app to organize your business process is totally worth the cost and effort!
Why?
Well, as you grow your business, the size of your clientele will increase and you’ll find it increasingly difficult to manage it all with your spreadsheets!
An off the shelf product may come in a slightly lower cost, but when it comes to transferring your business process into one user-friend system with amazing workflows and automation, nothing beats custom applications!
Today (more than ever), building a custom application is a highly cost-effective solution for keeping your business organized and achieving your aspirations!
Want to know more about developing an amazing custom cloud app? Get in touch with our experts here!