Why should you choose a custom software? This is a question asked by many working around the world in higher positions.  And they should ask. Why go for a customized software solution when there is a ready-made solution already available?

But that’s not the case. GM insights.com reports that the custom software development market was valued at USD 28.2 billion in 2022, and is expected to generate a CAGR( compound annual growth rate of over 21.5% between 2023-2032. 

Thus, we can see that customized software development for ERPs and CRMs is becoming immensely popular among businesses.  In today’s blog, we’ll explore four industries that are benefitting from custom software solutions in 2024. 

The industries that we’ll explore today are: 

1. Healthcare

2. Marketing

3. Manufacturing

4. Human Resources

But first, let’s delve into how we can define custom software, and the different types of custom software solutions available in the market. 

What is Custom Software?

Custom software refers to any tailor-made solution that a business has developed to suit its needs. When a business is looking for a custom software solution, they’ll hire a software development partner and tell them their expectations. 

The software development partner develops software that includes all the desired features told by the client. This is different compared to a generic software solution that comes with a fixed set of features. Now, let’s explore what benefits custom software generally brings to businesses. 

General Benefits of Custom Software Development

As they say, “one size never fits all” The same is the case with generic software solutions. Generic software solutions can lead to problems such as: 

1. Inability to cater to a wide range of users with specific needs.

2. Limited options for customization to fit your workflow. 

3. Inability to integrate with different software solutions.

In comparison to a generic solution, a custom software solution provides benefits such as: 

1. Customization 

2. Scalability

3. Cost-effectiveness

1. Customization

Generic software solutions are pre-built, with an already pre-determined codebase and a set of functions. On the contrary, if you’re going for a customized software solution, you can tell your developers/software development partners about any customized features that you require. 

2. Scalability

As your business expands, you can ask your development partner to add new features to your software. This is easy to do because the software has been tailor-made and the developer has a fair idea about the codebase used. This isn’t the case with a generic software solution which requires extensive workarounds. 

3. Cost-effectiveness

Yes, going for a customized software solution may be costly in the short term. However, it’s cost-effective in the long run. 

Why’s that? 

Because in custom software, you know the ins and outs of what you’ve developed/ordered your software development partner to develop. As a result, it’s easy to make changes and additions where needed. 

But with a generic software solution, you’ll need to buy a new API, or consult a third party and pay them to make changes because of susceptible compatibility issues in the software.

Now that we know about the general benefits of customized software solutions, let’s look at how the aforementioned industries have benefited by going for customized software solutions. 

Industries That Have Benefitted from Custom Software Solutions 

Generally, according to the stats, 67% of businesses have benefitted from custom software development. Here’s how each of our mentioned industries is using custom software to improve productivity. 

1. Healthcare

Whether it’s a hospital, a pharmacy, or any other medical establishment, healthcare CRMs are playing a major part in revolutionizing the healthcare industry in a bid to improve productivity and efficiency while taking benefits of custom software development. 

Customized healthcare CRMs allow the users to: 

1. Maintain customer data such as number of consultations and assigned medical practitioners.

2. Automatically book patient appointments through the portal. 

3. Send targeted notifications to patients about appointment timings and medical promotions available. 

4. Streamlines communication between practitioners and the operations department to allow for smooth execution of operations. 

In a crux, healthcare CRMs provide streamlined operations, reducing the chances of doubling and error. 

2.  Marketing

Similar to the healthcare sector, the marketing department is also benefitting from the use of custom software such as a marketing CRM. 

Back in the day, marketing/sales was a game of cold calling the customer, or manually booking appointments in a register. But now, thanks to the introduction of marketing CRMs, this is not the case. 

Numbers from Finances Online show that using CRM software increases sales quota by 65%, improves productivity by 50%, and reduces labor costs by 40%.

Customized marketing CRMs provide: 

1. A centralized location to store customer data. 

2. Prompts about scheduled appointments.

3. The opportunity to send targeted notifications to customers for new offers and promotions. 

4. An all-in-one messaging solution that allows you to contact the customer and convert them into a long-term client. 

5. Marketing automation features such as email marketing and lead nurturing. 

Thus, customized CRMs automate the marketing process, leading to fewer errors and a streamlined workflow. 

3. Manufacturing

Custom software is being used in various ways in the manufacturing industry. Some examples are: 

1. Manufacturing execution systems

2. Supply chain management software

3. Quality management software

These systems automate the manufacturing process and result in numerous benefits such as: 

1. Improved quality of products with reduced chances of human error. 

2. Continuous supply of manufacturing material to ensure an ongoing production process.

3. Consistent maintenance of manufacturing equipment to prevent any lags in production. 

Hence, custom software solutions in the manufacturing industry ensure a continuous flow of production with minimal chances of human error and mechanical breakdowns. 

4. Human Resources

HR Erp software is the most common ERP solution being used by HR departments in various industries. 

Using an ERP software solution for HR provides you with numerous benefits such as: 

1. Enabling employees to automatically mark their attendance.

2. Recording the total number of hours an employee has worked.

3. Automatically generating employee payroll. 

4. Allowing employees to mark their leaves. 

5. Providing training material to employees, such as presentation slides.

6. Tracking the status of recruitment applications for potential candidates.

Thus, by using custom ERP software, HR departments can automate various tasks, which reduces the need for paperwork. 

Now, let’s recap what we learned throughout the blog: 

The Ending Note

Going for a customized software solution has numerous benefits. It provides you with the opportunity to customize the software according to your needs, scale it up as your business expands, and is also cost-effective as it doesn’t require extensive workarounds to add new features.

Custom software is being used in various industries such as healthcare, marketing, manufacturing, and human resources. The healthcare and marketing sectors are using custom software solutions to manage patients, book appointments, and contact customers. Hence, custom software is providing benefits in various industries.