EVIEWMOBILE ENTERPRISE APP DEVELOPMENT

• The client company was trapped with a generic, inferior app that has become outdated and increasingly time-consuming to use.
• The case study states "Moreover, the vendor they had hired wasn’t responsive, but continued to nickel and dime them and charge for estimates."
• AllianceTek, an IT solutions provider, worked with the company to develop a customized enterprise mobile application.
• The agency started by reviewing the existing code and application, then created a roadmap for the development of the new customized app.
• AllianceTek also made sure the new custom app was cost-effective through technology analysis and recommendation.
• The case study also reports the client benefited from improved efficiency: "As a result of AllianceTek’s mobile app solution, the client’s business processes were vastly accelerated and they no longer had to rely on slow, outdated technology to access their system and data."

MFSCOMBO

•  Mindfire Solutions, an offshore small team software development agency, reported that it bought a license for a combo plug-in software component for a client project.
• To exclude involvement from third party suppliers of generic components, MindFire decided to develop a customized combo plug-in in-house.
• The case study states that "This custom combo developed named MFSCombo, provided a cost effective solution to the client without any dependency of third party control" as well as increased efficiency by taking less time to load.
• By developing a custom solution, the team was also able to make the combo control lightweight and re-usable for its internal purposes.

CUSTOM VS OFF-THE-SHELF

•  PCD Group, a digital solutions provider for the finance industry, determined custom application/software development as being superior to off-the-shelf options due the following reasons below.
• While off-the-shelf apps/software has lower upfront costs, custom solutions potentially has the greatest return of investment as well as the least interruption to a company's business model.
•  Off-the-shelf apps/software may fit the business' needs for a time but can be eventually outdated (as illustrated in the eViewMobile case study) as these are not designed to accommodate future needs.
• Generic apps/software also tend to include a lot of features which are not necessarily needed and out of sync with the company's business vernacular.
• On the other hand, custom enterprise and software can be started with the core essentials and upgraded anytime with new functions and features.
• Customized software and applications can be leveraged for competitive advantage as it is tailored to business needs and processes.
• Company staff can easily adapt to customized enterprise application and software as it matches the business practice and vernacular.
•  Custom solutions are by nature more agile, less prone to obsolescence, free from additional licensing fees, and 100% controlled by the enterprise itself.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

JAMES E. FULTON & SONS

• James E. Fulton & Sons is a construction and excavation company based in Michigan. The company had a misaligned process of automation in administrative procedures, and decided to work with a software provider to develop a fully-customized software which automated their workflow, approvals, time scheduling, work orders, and other related business processes instead of utilizing an off-the-shelf solution.
• The customized solution impacted direct-on-time saving and boosted productivity among employees.
• Additionally, the software provider implemented an employee mobile application where each employee could manage individual tasks. This resulted in highly-motivated workers and "positive changes to their business bottom-line."

TESLA

•  Tesla wanted to implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and, after a comparison with an off-the-shelf solution, company decided to build a custom package.
• While the custom package maintained similar levels of functionality, the full process was successfully implemented within only four months, as compared to the year it would have taken to integrate an off-the-shelf piece of software.

OTHER BENEFITS

• Custom software applications mimic what workers typically do manually, which increases adoption rates.
• According to Spark, Custom Applications maintain a better ROI by an average of $8.71 for every $1 spent, because the metrics can be easily quantified.
•  Custom applications can boost productivity and employee satisfaction, and are typically better-accepted by employees.