Why do companies invest in Custom Software Development?

Every company is similar in one way, they all depend on people to get the work done at some level.  People require communication and communication is hard.  As a mater of fact there are quite a few difficult problems in business. This is what makes it both fun and frustrating. But one thing I believe, the better you get the hard parts done especially if your solution is unique, the better value you can bring to the table for your vendors, customers and employees and ultimately for you, the business owner.

Originally this article described one scenario where custom application development was of value. I have since created another article on another very different value that application development can bring. I hope to add more to this series in the future. Till then here are the two articles each with a different value proposition to a business, both very real examples I have seen in action where custom application programming created significant benefit to the companies who chose to invest.

Work Flow
Getting your company to operate the way you want it too is an amazingly difficult task. You post policy and procedure and repeatedly you find people not understanding it the way you expected, resulting in inconsistent and sometimes negative value for your clients. Work flow applications allow you to create a structure where the process must be followed. The rules of the process are built into the program. These programs work well when, to get the job done, the user must interact with the computer for a significant percentage of the time. It is so important though that you are beginning to see computers in places where they traditionally have not been. For instance in transportation where the computer now guides the dispatcher/dispatched rather than leaving it to the whim of the personalities.

Knowing your costs
In this example a companies competitive advantage is based on knowing the exact cost of a large number of inputs and possible outputs of their value process. The better they know the costs the better then can manage supply and labor creating a win for everyone. This article also touches on the value of custom application development to create intellectual property or trade secret value in your business.