WHEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IS NEEDED
WHEN SHOULD SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT BE CONSIDERED?
A good time to consider software development is when off the shelf software doesn't
meet the criteria for a new business venture or project or when off the shelf software
doesn't fit a company's specific business need.
From our time in the various industry's as software developers, we noticed how company's
would often misuse off the shelf software such as Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access
to try and solve a business need. Quite often in industry we see solutions shoe-horned
into off the shelf software that 90% of the time never fully meet the business need
they are meant to solve.
A software development project should be considered when off the shelf software
is not able to meet the needs of business or when off the shelf software is used
in scenarios similar to the ones outlined below.
If your business is using Microsoft Excel to store information as a database then
chances are that you have multiple excel documents scattered around the company
network. At one company we saw over 17000 excel documents created over a 3 year
period that was used to store information on call centre performance, staff performance
and overall company performance. Microsoft Excel isn't designed for data storage
it is a spreadsheet application and typically simulates a paper worksheet. Excel
is generally used for displaying financial information due to it's ability to perform
complex mathematical calculations.
If your business relys on Microsoft Access databases to store critical business
information or you have more than 1 person using a Microsoft Access database concurrently
then you should consider a more robust platform for your business needs. In business
we have regularly seen instances of Microsoft Access databases corrupting beyond
repair with the loss of business critical data. Microsoft Access should only ever
be used as a front-end application to a back end database such as SQL Server due
to Microsoft Access's strengths in rapid application development.
WHAT BENEFITS WOULD BE SEEN FROM CUSTOM SOFTWARE?
In the case of the company with over 17000 excel documents several improvements
were seen in the business by creating an application to meet the company's specific
needs. Productivity increased with 3 years data instantly available via a search
function searching 17000 documents is very time consuming. The system automatically
produced reports of the call centres' performance on the hour sending by email every
departments statistics to the relevant managerial staff. The call centre staff were
able to view their real-time performance statistics with up-to-date information
displayed on screens for each case they had written. Overall the business benefited
most from historical and accurate reporting that could not be tampered with when
staff performance didn't hit the designated targets.
If your business relys on Microsoft Access database to store critical information
then imagine the impact it could have on your day to day operations if the information
stored within the Microsoft Access database corrupted. In the digital age in which
we live in and the uncertain economic times losing valuable data can in some unfortunate
situations be the end for a business. Taking the time to migrate data to a more
secure and robust platform can see such situations eliminated.
Often the case with off-the-shelf software is that they have many features and additional
tools that are unnecessary for a business' particular needs coupled with software
licencing costs and buying in such software can quickly become costly. With custom software
you can tailor the solution to fit the way YOUR business operates.