So you need a software solution to a business problem you’re sure can be solved, but you can’t quite find that perfect solution. You’ve downloaded trial software and read reviews and magazines and asked for referrals, but you’re just not convinced. Maybe there is no boxed or off the shelf (OTS) solution? Maybe you need something home grown? Maybe you need to invest in custom software development.

Whether you have in in-house programming staff or plan to hire contractors and consultants, this will cost you time and money. If you’re considering going down this road, you should know what you’re in for. There are many good reasons to pursue custom software development, but it’s not for everyone and it doesn’t solve every problem.

Why custom? Well, you could be after a competetive advantage or have an innovative new idea that you want to implement or even take to market. You could have a truly unique business problem that requires a custom solution. In the end you have to decide if it’s worth it, but many times customers don’t take into account the true cost involved.

One big benefit is that you can focus on what’s important to you from the very beginning. With OTS or packaged solutions you could be paying for 20% of the application that you’ll use and 80% of the features you’ll never touch. On the other side, you’ll be distributing the development cost across the entire user base, not that you may feel much of the savings.

As a programmer, I’m certainly not trying to talk you out of spending your money on custom software development, but the process will be a lot easier on both of us if you know what to expect.

Pricing You could pay $200-$250 or more per hour for custom software development if you go to a big programming house. You could find consultants who can program starting as low as $35-$50 in some areas. If you want to deal with off-shore developers, you might pay even less. It depends on the technologies you need, your geographical area, your industry, and your project-specific requirements. Some software projects take 100-200 hours, some thousands of hours. Many customers are suprised by how much even the “simplest” tasks can affect the time it will take to implement.

Time There is a lot that goes into custom software development. Before anyone can sit down and start typing code, the project must be defined, which means requirements must be gathered and specifications must be written and plans must be made and reviewed and accepted. Once coding is complete, there’s testing and debugging. The client has to accept the project and there could be revisions. Then comes deployment and training and support. My point is that there’s a lot that goes into a custom software project. And the more time you spend planning and testing the better off you’ll be, but it takes time.

Quality Bugs are a fact of life when you choose custom development. Don’t be frustrated by it, it’s going to happen. How many times has Microsoft patched its operating system? It happens. When it comes to custom software development the more time spent on planning and testing the less time you’ll spend ripping your hair out over bugs, but you have to be more patient upfront.

There’s a saying that goes, “You can have it fast, cheap, or right. Pick two.” Furthermore, remember that it’s all relative. There are a lot of good reasons to pursue custom software development, but it’s not for everyone.

Mobilitechs is an IT consulting firm serving Lancaster, PA and Reading, PA. We can answer any questions related to customer software development as well as other programming and database administration and database development services.