Businesses are facing a lot many challenges, especially in rapidly growing markets like Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all across UAE where the competition is rising and the customer demands are also skyrocketing. In such conditions businesses need innovative solutions, efficient business processes, and out-of-the box approach to stay ahead of competition. The integration of software applications in business processes and workflows is not new, businesses all over the world are utilizing such tools and solutions and in fact most of the businesses are heavily relying on such tools for efficient operations and seamless process.
However, there is one most important thing to understand, whether you are a business owner, manager or technology enthusiast, when it comes to software there are always tons of options available in the market. Some software are industry specific, some are tailored and some are general purpose. On this bases, we can classify the software in two categories, one is commercial off-the-shelf software solution and the other is custom software development.
What Made Custom Software Development Superior than the COTS?
There are two major types of software implementation, one is acquiring a ready-made commercial off-the-shelf software solution and the other is custom software development for tailored solutions. Furthermore these software can be classified in many sub-categories on the bases of platform, technology stack, and various other factors. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions or COTS are the ready-made software applications that are designed for a particular industry or a particular business function.
For example, the HRMS or Human Resource Management System is designed for HR department and team, however, the Patient Management System is designed for Hospitals, Clinics and healthcare facilities. However, the custom software development on the other hand is a different approach to software implementation, it offers tailored solutions, that can perfectly align with business need and this is what made them superior.
The COTS are designed for masses, which make them general purpose. Every business and organization at its core is unique and it is this uniqueness that distinguishes businesses from others. Over the time the internal processes evolve too, the organizational culture, high-level goals and strategic objectives are what set the path for an organization. Therefore generic software solutions that are developed on the bases on industry standards are not sufficient enough to align with the unique business needs.
Hence businesses need a tailored solution that fully aligns with their unique work-flows, processes and organizational culture to enable them achieve their unique business goals and objectives. This is where the COTS fell short and paved way for the custom software development. The custom software development begins with intensive requirement gathering, which ensures the final outcome 100% meets business’s expectations. These are some key factors that make custom software development superior.
What are the Future Trends in Custom Software Development?
The custom software development industry is rapidly growing in the country and not only in UAE but all around the GCC. However, most of the businesses failed to fully leverage the true potential of custom software development because of lack of knowledge and understanding of the future trends. The technology moves or a rapid pace, it quickly evolves with new technologies emerging every year. Therefore it is extremely important to have an eye on emerging trends in custom software development if you are planning a project soon.
In this blog we will discuss the top custom software development future trends which are rapidly gaining popularity and as per our understanding these technologies will going to lead the custom software development for many coming years in future.
Here are the top future trends in custom software development industry:
Custom Software Development Trends: 1. Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
Progressive web apps are basically a kind of hybrid application which leverages the full potential of modern web technologies and is known for their ability to deliver an app-like experience. Unlike traditional web-apps the progressive web apps or PWA are much more efficient, engaging, and reliable and can successfully deliver sophisticated and innovative functionalities. The progressive web apps can be installed at the home-screen like a native app, but with its advance technology it can deliver a seamless and unified experience across all compatible devices and platforms.
The progressive web apps (PWA) are also great at offering sophisticated functionalities such as exploiting the hardware or native features and you can also have push notifications, alerts and offline functionality, which is not available in traditional web-apps. Another great advantage of the progressive web apps is their cost-effectiveness, these apps require much less resources to develop, and are very easy to maintain and scale. These are some of the main advantages which are making progressive web-apps exceptionally popular.
Custom Software Development Trends: 2. Internet of Behavior (IoB)
The internet of behavior or IoB has gained huge traction over past few years. With the advancement of analytical and data collection tools and the availability of modern technology frameworks, the internet of behavior has emerged as one of the most popular and effective technology. The internet of behavior or IoB is referred to very specific tools which enable collection of large-scale data with advanced analytical tools to extract insight which help businesses understand, predict and influence the human behavior.
We have witnessed in past few years the internet of things or IoT has emerged as a very solid and futuristic technology, the internet of behavior (IoB) is also built on the foundation of IoT, where the data has been collected from various software and hardware sources such as applications, UIs, cameras, sensors, and integrated data-gathering technologies. Based on various data sources, the IoB provides tools to assess and analyze human behavior which help gathering behavioral insights which are essential for strategic decisions and catering personalized customer experience.
Custom Software Development Trends: 3. Web 3.0
The Web 3.0 is the next generation of the internet, or you can say it is the next version of the internet. The Web 1.0 was all about the static websites, the Web 2.0 was and is dominated by the social aspects, and the Web 3.0 is all about decentralization, integration and interoperability, and superior user control. The Web 3.0 is aimed to empower user with more user-friendly data ownership protocols and policies and above all, it boost security and enhance connectivity. It enable different technologies and platform to seamlessly integrate and communicate with each other while offering superior control and security which is something that is not present in the current Web 2.0.
You must have heard of Crypto Currencies or Bitcoin, these are all based on blockchain technology which is a part of Web 3.0 and it is designed to streamline the transactions and to reduce the friction from various business processes. One of the biggest advantages of Web 3.0 is its ability to give ownership and control to the users. It offers excellent and very flexible scalability which means the businesses doesn’t have to worry about the systems going down or chocked networks. The Web 3.0 would revolutionized the internet for both consumers and businesses.
Custom Software Development Trends: 4. DevSecOps
The DevSecOps is basically a new trend which focuses only on the importance of security of a software application, rather than putting security as an afterthought, the DevSecOps dictates that the security should be integrated at each and every step of the development process. Rather than a new technology type or platform the DevSecOps is more like a movement. With the internet piracy rising and the security breaches and cyber-attacks on personal and businesses are soaring, the need of security is paramount. Furthermore the security breach doesn’t only compromise a certain business function or its data, but it can completely ruin the business’s reputation.
Therefore businesses are investing more and more in security and protective measures to ensure data security and privacy. This is what led to DevSecOps trend, and it has become increasingly popular in custom software development. The DevSecOps emphasize on incorporating the security and data protection in all stages of custom software development especially in earlier stages such as planning and designing. By incorporating security features in the design and enabling testing at every step, the software development process become more effective and agile.
Custom Software Development Trends: 5. Big Data
In the today’s digital world, where the internet and digital solutions are dominating our both personal and work lives. For any business to become more customer-centric the data has emerged as one of the most crucial asset, it provides deeper insights to customer behavior, market trends and much more which help businesses making informed and effective decisions. The Bid Data is a term referred to both structured and unstructured data but in very large quantity.
The Big Data is basically a compilation of data coming from various touch points and sources such as customer portals, online or websites, social media, customer service center, interactive solutions, and various different types of hardware sensors and much more. This data is coming in different forms and types which makes it difficult to analyze it and to extract actionable insight from it. The Big Data is a collection of tools and methodologies which help businesses analyze a large quantity of data coming from a large number of touch points and help them extract conclusive insight and actionable reports which help businesses to effectively incorporate data into their decision making processes.
Conclusion
In today’s modern and digital market landscape where the customer demands are skyrocketing, the competition is rising and the technology is rapidly evolving, businesses need highly effective and efficient software solutions to ensure highest operational efficiency and quality of work. The customer satisfaction is crucial which is tied to the operational excellence, and the operational efficiency depends on the software solutions, tools and IT infrastructure that you have in place. Every business is different from others, even if two businesses are operating in a similar industry, they would still be different in a lot many ways. It is this uniqueness that developed over the year by the natural evolution of the organization.
In this fast-paced market landscape the commercial off-the-shelf solutions with their limited capabilities and slow growth are not enough. Businesses need a more robust solution which not only fully aligns with the unique and exclusive business needs, but also have capability to scale and evolve as the business grows. The custom software development offers an opportunity to tailor-made software applications for businesses which not only strengthen their internal operations and business processes, but also address all unique and exclusive challenges a business might be facing.
In this blog we have discussed some emerging trends in custom software development industry. It is important for a business to be familiar with latest trends and technology updates in order to leverage the full potential of the custom software development. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help with your next custom software development project, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.