Software Development Dubai Archives - RSI Concepts - Top IT Solution Provider Company in Dubai, UAE

September 18, 2023September 19, 2023

Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

The customer demands are rising, the competition is getting tougher day by day. Businesses are seeking tools and ways to gain competitive advantage to stay relevant in the market. UAE in particular is a highly advanced nation, with almost 99% of the population having access to internet. Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other parts of UAE are well-aware of the importance of the digital experience. Whether it is your customers or employees, the digital interaction and platforms are dominating the modern day business landscape. Businesses wants to grow continuously and they want to optimize their operations and expenses to maximize the performance. High performing businesses not only grow rapidly but also achieve higher profitability. With the rise of technology the software have become an essential part of a business’s day-to-day operations. It is hard to comprehend if a business can survive on manual paperwork and management practices in this modern day and age. Typically any business tool or a software requires updates or upgrades after a few years, in some cases some software applications are entirely replaced with new more robust and innovative solutions. This is an ongoing ordeal, businesses regularly have to face situations where they need a new software application.

What is the Difference between Custom Software and Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software (COTS)?

When a business needs a new software they have two options, either they chose a ready-made commercial off-the-shelf solution or they get a custom software exclusively developed for their business needs. The custom software are the software that are developed for a particular user group or for a particular business, these tools and apps are developed to meet the design and functionality requirements of the business. However, the COTS or commercial off-the-shelf software are designed for a broader user-base, typically these software are general purpose or designed for a specific industry only. This is why when it comes to aligning the business needs with the features of the COTS, the ideal scenario is to choose a software that matches your 80% of the needs. The COTS can be purchased as a one-time charge or on a subscription based plan. The off-the-shelf software have comparatively less initial cost, and they are can easily deployed. A business can have a commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) solution running within a day or two. However the custom software solutions are difficult to build, require research, have longer development time and could require months to test and deploy for the end-users.

What are the Advantages of Customer Software Development?

Now the question arises why the custom software development is gaining popularity and why businesses are preferring bespoke solutions over the commercial off-the-shelf solutions? Here are the key advantages of the custom software development which make them superior from off-the-shelf solutions.

Advantages of Customer Software: Unlimited Customization

One of the biggest advantage of a custom software development is that it offers unlimited customization. The COTS offer limited functionalities and in some cases there are different packages and plans with a different set of functionalities. Sometimes for just one or two additional functionalities a business might have to purchase a higher tier which also comes with a lot many other features which are not required or never utilized, but still the business will have to pay for them. The custom software development on the other hand is very flexible and offers unlimited customization, a business can have any features they want and as many features they need. There is no limit or restriction with custom software development, which enables businesses to build innovative features and align their software applications with their needs. The entire solution is built around the very specific business needs and requirements. Hence there is no gape left and the business can leverage the full potential of their software application. Adding a new features, or customizing an existing feature is not a problem at all. Businesses have full control over customization and they can also make the GUI aligned with their needs which also increase effectiveness and performance of the custom software.

Advantages of Customer Software: Flexible Upgrade and Scalability

The commercial off-the-shelf solutions are owned by the vendor or service provider, they only update them when they want. If your business grows and you needs increases you will either have to pay additional cost for scaling your software up or in some cases you might have to switch to an entirely different solution. This could be very expensive and problematic. However, the custom software development offers a great advantage, the entire software is built exclusively for your business hence you are the one who owns it, the entire software, and source code belongs to you. So, a business can have full control over it, they can customize it, scale it up, expand features, and upgrade the software whenever they need or want. You don’t have to bear hefty fees or you don’t have to switch to entirely different solutions in order to meet the increasing demands. The COTS are designed for a large user-base and they are designed as per industry standards, hence unless there is a large demand from most of their customers, they usually don’t make huge changes in their software. That is why sometimes when businesses are growing their needs are expanding and they need certain features they will have to migrate to entirely new software. Which is very time and effort consuming and also have huge cost.

Advantages of Customer Software: Easy Integration

One of the biggest challenge in implementing any new software application is the integration. The modern businesses rely on a highly integrated IT infrastructure and digital eco-system where information and data can flow seamlessly and made available for all users when then need it. The integration allow different software applications to communicate with each other in real-time and ensure all the users have the information they need and whenever they need. This is why the integration is usually one of the most crucial aspect of software development. When a business goes for a commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) solution the integration options are always limited. This is why businesses sometime have to migrate and synch data manually which slow down several internal processes and it can interrupt various work-flows. However, with the custom software development the entire source code is in your control, you can mold it in any way you want and you can customize it to align with your integration needs. The capability of easy integration makes custom software far more superior than the COTS. Furthermore businesses can also customize their software whenever they are adding a new tool or software to their digital eco system which increase the compatibility and lifecycle of your custom software application.

Advantages of Customer Software: Data Privacy and Security

In today’s modern world the data privacy and security is one of the most important aspect of any software application. Any data leak could completely destroy a business, and we have witnessed huge enterprises falling and bankrupting after serious data breaches. From the customer standpoint if a business is unable to secure their data and is vulnerable to security breaches, they will immediately lose trust. Which could be devastating for your business growth and even it could jeopardize your business’s survival as well. When we think about the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions, we know that these solutions are offered by large and multinational service providers, who have top-notch security experts and tools at their disposal. However, the history has proven this wrong, we have witnessed mega security breaches and attacks on large enterprises in past. This is not due to negligence or any wrong doing at their end, usually the biggest reason of such breaches is that these large software are available for masses all over the world, which somewhat exposes their structure and make them more vulnerable. However, the level of exclusivity offered by custom software makes them unique, which means no one outside your team will have access to the important sections of your software. Above all your data will be stored with you and will not be hosted on a remote server which might be located on the other side of the world. This is what makes custom software more secure and offer higher levels of data privacy and protection.

Conclusion

Software are an essential part of modern day business operations. No matter which industry you belongs to or what is your business model, you must be using some kind of software applications to boost efficiency and productivity. Even the Microsoft Office we used on daily bases is a commercial off-the-shelf solution. The modern day businesses need to be proactive in order to meet the rapidly changing markets and ever-increasing customer needs. For that businesses needs a lot of different software applications and digital solutions. With the passage of time the businesses grow, hence they need highly scalable solutions to support their growth. Furthermore every business have different needs, different preferences and unique culture which requires unique solutions. When a business decides to implement a new software, they have two routes either they can chose a commercial off-the-shelf software solution or commonly known as COTS, or the business can acquire the services of a software development agency in Dubai, and go for the custom software development project. The custom software development offers many advantages such as the software is fully aligned with the business needs, it is exclusively built for the business keeping the user-preferences in mind, and furthermore the custom software offers flexible integration, scalability and unlimited customization which makes them ideal for the modern businesses.

In this blog we have discussed a few advantages of the custom software development and why the off-the-shelf solutions fall short on certain aspects. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to build a custom software application for your business, 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.

September 15, 2023

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Custom Software Development Projects

The modern businesses are highly tech-driven and rely on multiple technological tools and software programs. A modern business operating system can consists of 10s of different software programs. That is not all the technology moves on a very fast pace, the techs which are considered top-notch today might go obsolete in just 3 or 4 years. This means a constant demand for technology and software. Furthermore a common consumer in UAE is very tech-savvy. Above all, businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or any other part of UAE know that the UAE is one of the most competitive market in the region. This is what compels businesses to build excellent customer experience, highly productive organizational culture and cost-efficient operation. The modern technologies and software applications help the management to improve performance. Businesses can greatly improve their performance and growth by implementing right software solutions. The technology not only help improving the work-flows and internal processes but a right software solution can greatly help you enhance customer experience and gain higher customer satisfaction, which is a key to long term success.

On an average a business might look up to replace or upgrade an existing software application after just 3 to 4 years of time. The upgrades and updates are a constant process, businesses regularly keep updating their software ecosystem by simply tweaking existing tools or adding new software apps. There are different types of tools that are most common for all types and sizes of businesses:

ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning Software
CRM- Customer Relationship Management Software
Inventory Management Software
Communication Management Software
Asset Management Software
Social Media Management Tools
Accounting Software
Production and Operation Management Software

These software tools and countless like these are used by millions of businesses all around the world to drive efficiency and productivity in the day-to-day operations. When it comes to implement a software solution, there are two ways to do so. One is to acquire a commercial off-the-shelf software or the other is to go for a custom software development project. The biggest problem with the commercial off-the-shelf software or COTS is that they are designed as per industry standards which means most of your competitors will be using them, above all the COTS never fulfill 100% of your needs. Mostly businesses have to compromise on the features they can get, the cost and many other factors. However, the custom software development allow businesses to find a 100% solution of their unique and very specific needs without compromising on anything. That is what made custom software development so popular. In this blog we will discuss the common mistakes that every business can easily avoid in their custom software development projects to maximize the impact and ROI of their software application.

These software tools are used by millions of businesses all around the world to drive efficiency and productivity in the day-to-day operations.

What are the Common Mistakes to Avoid in a Custom Software Development Project?

Although the commercial off-the-shelf software doesn’t always fulfill your all business needs, but these tools can be deployed very quickly, in fact most of the times the vendor can make them up and running within a day or two after acquiring them. However, the custom software development is a long process, it requires a lot of research, sufficient knowledge of technology stack and frameworks your software will be based upon and a lot of time to develop, test, and deploy them. That is a lengthy process and most of the times businesses can make a lot of mistakes which not only prolong the development process, but it also increase the cost and sometimes those mistakes can greatly undermine the performance and efficacy of your custom software application. Here are some most common mistakes that business can easily avoid in their customer software development project:

Poor or Incomplete Project Plan
Misinterpretation of Requirements or SOW Document
Lack of Knowledge of the Required Resources
Strict Deadlines and Rushing for Completion
Sub-Standard Project Management Practices
Poor Communication and Lack of Documentation
Lack of Feedback or Ignoring the Feedback
Lack of Testing Framework

Custom Software Development Mistakes: Poor or Incomplete Project Plan

Most of the time when it comes to custom software development projects, the biggest reason to failure is the incomplete planning. A custom software development is a lengthy and complicated process, each and every step has to be planned thoroughly in order to stay on track. A proper plan ensures the final product is delivered as per the expectations and in timely manner.

Custom Software Development Mistakes: Misinterpretation of Requirements or SOW Document

For every custom software development project the requirement document which is also known as the SOW or the Scope of the Work document is very crucial. It serves as the road map for the complicated applications and ensures all features are designed as per the expectations. Poor choice of words, lack of technical details and generic language in this document can cause serious problems at later stages.

Custom Software Development Mistakes: Lack of Knowledge of the Required Resources

It is software development agency or team who is majorly responsible for the research but most of the time the software development team doesn’t spend enough time on researching for resources rather they hurry to start the development phase as quickly as possible. It is extremely important that businesses have some basic understanding and knowledge of the resources, tech stack and frameworks to be able to ensure the development team is choosing the best tools for your custom software development project.

Custom Software Development Mistakes: Strict Deadlines and Rushing for Completion

This is one of the most common mistake businesses made by pushing the development teams to meet all the deadlines, and rush for the completion and delivery of the project. However, this could seriously undermine the quality and efficiency of the product. It is important that you prioritize the deadlines, but leave some space to accommodate delays to let the project complete in the most natural way possible. When the team will work comfortably they are most likely to deliver outstanding quality.

Custom Software Development Mistakes: Sub-Standard Project Management Practices

There are two most common reasons for poor project management for a custom software development project. First is that usually the development teams doesn’t include the project manager or coordinator in all communications, and the second is that the project managers from the business also doesn’t want to involve in such communication, this can undermine their visibility on the development process.

Custom Software Development Mistakes: Poor Communication and Lack of Documentation

The communication is said to be the backbone for the any successful software application. Most of the time there is not proper communication between the development team vendor’s and business’s project managers which seriously undermines the progress and also cause problems disputes and disagreements at the end of the project. Hence a proper communication framework and documentation at each and every stage has to be done to make the project execution smooth and aligned with your business vision.

Custom Software Development Mistakes: Lack of Feedback or Ignoring the Feedback

Most of the time both businesses and the development teams doesn’t pay much attention on the importance of feedback and incorporating it in the project. The custom software development project consists of multiple stages, at each stage the developers must take feedback and the business must provide detailed feedback to refine the product and to rectify the problems. This will keep your custom software aligned with your needs and it is much better than doing it afterwards or at the end.

Custom Software Development Mistakes: Lack of Testing Framework

The testing phase is the most crucial for any software application. Keep it in mind that later on the users of the software would be your employees or your customers and a bad user experience will directly impact your business. Furthermore the security and technical testing is also crucial as it may handle sensitive data. Most of the time businesses doesn’t have a proper testing framework, and by framework I mean, a proper plan for who will participate in UAT, who will use the beta version, how the feedback will be gathered and how it will be utilized to improve your customized software? All these things should be planned thoroughly to ensure the supreme quality of your customer software development project.

Conclusion

The UAE is considered to be technologically much advanced than any other nation in the region. This is due to the government efforts, tech-savvy population, technology-oriented work culture, and highly competitive markets. Businesses are on a constant need to improve their operations, processes, customer services, products and communication. That is not all, the performance and productivity is a key to a sustainable long-term success. A business does need improvements but at the same time it also needs to minimize it operational cost or to optimize the overall expenses. This is what can only be achieved with the right technology and tools in your arsenal. The software plays a crucial role in any modern-day business’s success. Businesses of all types and sizes use multiple software and application to perform their day-to-day tasks and to effectively run their operations. This means that businesses need up-to-the mark software and tools in order to effectively operate. When it comes to the software, there are two major routes a business can take, one is simply acquiring a ready-made commercial off-the-shelf software solution or you can have a custom software development project which can help you build solution for your very specific and unique business needs.

The custom software solutions are great at full filling the needs of the business and they can also provide a great competitive advantage due to their exclusivity. If we consider the long-term ROI the custom software solutions are proven to be much more cost-efficient than the ready-made software tools. However, designing and developing a custom software solutions is not as that simple, a business needs to team up with a professional custom software development company in Dubai, or anywhere in UAE and they need to have adequate understand of the process in order to develop a high-quality product. In this blog we have listed the most common mistakes businesses made during their custom software development projects. Avoiding these common mistakes will enable you to develop a high-performing and reliable tailor-made software for your business needs. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you need our help to take care of your 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.

August 22, 2023October 10, 2023

React Native Apps and Cross Platform Software Development

Every business wants to grow, for that they need a robust information and data structure which can be used by their employees and customers. Businesses need to ensure user satisfaction by offering them a great digital ecosystem which enhances the digital user experience. Businesses use various software and applications to improve their processes, operational efficiency and to drive productivity and performance. That is not all, businesses always have several challenges, the tough competition, the ever increasing customer demands, the low performing teams and employees, and what not. When it comes to custom software development, businesses chose the solution which matches their technical requirements and also fits in their budgetary limitations. Businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other parts of UAE are well-aware of the impact of digital tools, software and mobile apps. However, most often businesses do not realize that they don’t need to acquire different applications for different platforms (which is very expensive), in fact they can have a completely customized software using the technique of cross-platform software development, which is most cost-effective way of launching your software or app to multiple platforms.

What is React Native?

The React Native is a JavaScript based framework and library to develop the frontend UI for software and applications. It is an open-source platform, which means it is free to use and it is developed by Meta, formally known as Facebook. The reason why it is so popular is that it enable developers to utilize native capabilities of the platform and develop cross-platform software applications while utilizing only React framework. This simplifies the software development process and enable developers to develop excellent applications for multiple platforms with very less time and efforts. Furthermore the software developers can easily utilize their JavaScript skills to work on React Native framework which minuses the learning curve. The React JS and React Native often confused with one another, however, both are different. The React JS is majorly used for developing websites and web-apps however, the React Native is a cross-platform software development framework which is built on top of React JS and it allow developers to develop applications for Android, iOS, MAC OS, Windows and a few other platforms. Furthermore the React Native can also be utilized for both frontend and backend development which make it superior from other counterparts.

What is Cross-Platform App Development?

The cross-platform app development is simply a method of providing your software, mobile application or web-apps to a diverse range of audience who are using multiple different platforms. This means all users from different platform would be needing same user experience, features, UI, etc. The biggest challenge of cross-platform software development is that a business would be needing multiple different teams to work on different platforms. Here are some cross-platform development tools:

Popular cross-platform development tools:

JavaScript: For website and web-app development
Kotlin: For Android app development
Swift: For Apple iOS app development
.NET: For Windows software and tools development

If you want to make your software and app available for all above platforms, then you will be needing at least 4 different teams to work on your single app/software. This could be very expensive, moreover it is difficult to manage multiple teams working on a same software or app. Furthermore each platform team will have different costing mechanisms, hence it would be difficult to meet release date. Later on, when you will be needing any maintenance, update or upgrade, your efforts and expensive would be multiplied to the number of platforms you are working at. That is where the React Native comes to play, it allow businesses to hire a single team and make cross-platform software development seamless and very cost-effective. The maintenance/updates are also easier and very less expensive.

Lear More: What Is Cross-Platform App Development?

What are the Benefits of Using React Native Apps for Cross Platform Development?

The React Native is rapidly growing on Stack Overflow and GitHub. It is widely adopted by businesses and organizations not only in UAE but all across the world. This also means that a developer can easily find community support and a huge number of ready-made plugins and scripts all over the internet which help developer speeding up the cross-platform software development projects. Here are some key benefits of using React Native apps and cross-platform software development for your business:

Quicker Development Process

Since you don’t require to have different teams working on your software for different platforms and only a single team can do that, the development cycle becomes shorter which also enables you to launch your apps quickly. Furthermore the React Native offers several features which help the programmers and developers to quickly develop their applications, and also it enables quick debugging and testing which makes development process much quicker than any other available framework. Moreover the code is also useable at several platforms which make development fast, it also reduce efforts to write code for multiple platforms and making changes to it. That is why the react native can effectively reduce the time and efforts of developing cross platform software.

Reduce the Cost of Cross Platform Software Development

The react native can greatly reduce the cost of your cross platform software development projects. Thanks to its ability to provide a reusable and compatible code for multiple platforms and reducing the efforts the time required to develop such mobile apps, web-apps and software has become very low. This also help reducing the cost. As less time and efforts are needed to develop a cross platform software, the cost is also low and since only one technology stack is required for the entire team, it is easier to find the skilled teams or vendors who can develop such software, apps and tools. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the software development agencies, such as RSI Concepts and many others are offering highly cost-efficient software development services, which also impact the cost of your software development and help business get a highly cost-effective solution.

Support Multiple Platforms

There is a common impression among businesses and non-coders, that the react native is only meant to be used for Android and iOS app development. However, that is not true at all. The react native is a very useful platform with a wider range of compatibility. Businesses can develop applications and software which can be offered on Android, iOS, Windows, MAC OS, Websites and a few more. There is a huge online community support for the React Native platform and above all it is rapidly evolving and growing adding support for newer platforms and technologies. This means businesses and developers both can expect a sharp rise in compatibility and efficacy of the react native and its expansion to various other platforms. That is what makes react native much more superior than other such frameworks.

Native-like Experience and Performance

When it comes to platforms like react native, the biggest concern of the businesses is experience and performance. That was also true, but a few years back, not now. Now a days, there are so many advancements made to the react native core, and furthermore the Meta (Formally known as Facebook) has introduced a new JavaScript engine, Hermes, which enables static optimization and help reducing the app size. Furthermore the React Native can also render components to the GPU which is achieved by eliminating the gap between the JavaScript and the native components and results in high-performing apps. This enables developers to offer a native-like experience and performance by simply using react native and its advanced components.

Quick Debugging and Changes

One of the biggest advantage of the React Native is its features like hot-reloading, live-reloading and fast refresh. When making changes to the application’s source code or debugging it the developers will have to recompile the application, however, with the react native this isn’t require anymore. It means that the developers can see their changes immediately, almost in real-time without the need to recompile the entire application, which is a time consuming tasks. That is why the developers prefer to use react native, as it helps them make changes and refine their work without any extra effort or repeated tasks. Furthermore the new features of the react native framework are extremely useful in debugging typos, syntax and other common errors in the code, which makes it more productive and ideal framework for the agile development teams.

What are the Drawbacks of Using React Native for Cross Platform Software Development?

The React Native is one of the best framework available to this day for cross platform software and apps development. However, same like other technologies, it also has some drawbacks, although these drawbacks usually won’t impact a business, but in certain and very few number of scenarios these drawbacks could become problematic. Here are some drawbacks of using React Native for cross platform apps and software development:

Unlike native technologies such as Kotlin or Swift the React Native is based on JavaScript which is a dynamically-typed programming language. This requires developers to follow certain standards and rules in order to avoid bugs form the apps.
There are certain native modules which are not available in React Native, especially those are related to interacting with device’s hardware, hence when dealing with such functionalities the developers must have to insert native codes, which could also affect behavior and appearance.
When using a framework like react native for cross platform software development, the developers can never achieve the level of performance and integration which can be achieved using the native codes and APIs.
The operating systems of different platforms keep updating very frequently. However, the react native or any other cross platform app development framework is slow on adopting to new changes and introducing new features which are instantly available for the native apps.

There is a clear difference between the native app development and cross platform software development. However, frameworks like React Native are rapidly bridging the gap between these two. The modern versions of react native have already minimized a lot of problems, which makes it ideal for more than 90% of the businesses, there are only a certain sectors or businesses who still need to build native apps because they need sophisticated features and intensive hardware integration with their apps. Otherwise the react native is best for cross platform software development.

What are the Drawbacks of Using React Native for Cross Platform Software Development?

Conclusion

When it comes to mobile app development or customized software tools, the first thing businesses should consider is their needs. Both react native and the native app development has its own advantages and drawbacks. However, cross platform software development can significantly reduce your cost, efforts and time of development which is why most businesses are preferring it. The react native is also preferred choice of software developers as it is convenient, easy to use, debug, and it offers a variety of features which enable them to add advanced features to their mobile apps, and software tools. Furthermore the react native offers almost native like performance and experience. The developers can reuse the code, they can easily debug it and update it, and the overall efforts and development time can be greatly reduced. The react native framework is rapidly gaining popularity all around the world, the Meta is also introducing new features to make it better and the community support is also growing. All these are signs of a very bright future for React Native and cross platform software development. In this blog we tried to cover everything important about React Native and cross platform software development. This blog will give you a better understanding of cross platform and native apps. If you want to learn more or if you want our help to develop a native or cross platform app, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and someone will get in touch with you soon.

July 25, 2023

Why Laravel Framework is gaining popularity in Software Development?

The digital eco-system is evolving at a rapid pace, businesses will have to keep up with the changing trends, customer demands and competition in order to ensure growth and stability. A modern day business needs a variety of software tools and applications in order to maintain required productivity and performance. Business management software and tools not only help improving operations, but they also help minimizing the cost and help businesses drive innovation which gets them a great competitive advantage. Here in Dubai and anywhere else in UAE businesses knows very well that how competitive the markets are and how demanding customers could be. In order to maintain a steady growth in such environment businesses need to level up their game which is impossible without implementing right software tools and digital solutions. This need gives rise to software development industry in the country, especially the customer software development. The customized software are exclusively designed for businesses to fully align with their business needs and vision. Furthermore the upgrading and customization is a fundamental need of any custom software application.

What is Laravel Framework and Why is it So Popular?

When we talk about custom software development it is extremely important to choose the right development tools and frameworks. These days with the rise of cloud and in-depth integration of smartphones, the web-based software applications are gaining huge popularity, as they are cost-effective, require less time to develop and offer better customization and scalability. The PHP (general purpose scripting language) is one of the most commonly used programming language. We have witnessed the emergence of hundreds of different PHP frameworks over the period of last two decades. The Laravel Framework is one of the most popular framework of PHP programming language. The Laravel Framework gained this popularity due to its modular development approach, easy scalability, high efficiency and innovative functionalities. The major architectural pattern of the Laravel Framework are based on Symfony, which is an open-source PHP library featuring reusable components. The Laravel Framework is also open-source and free to use which made it best alternate to CodeIgniter, which is another rapid development framework used for web-based software development. The Laravel Framework offers more convenience, easy-to-use tools and components which makes it the most popular PHP Framework.

What makes Laravel a Perfect fit for Modern Software Development Needs?

The modern software development industry requires more robust, efficient and scalable applications which extend the lifecycle of the software and enable businesses to keep improving their applications over the time. Here are some key features which makes Laravel Framework a perfect fit for the modern software development needs:

Process Automation with Packaging System: Laravel Framework enable packaging multiple support tools and software along with ability to add pre-built libraries which help developers achieve process automation in their web-based and custom software applications. Laravel uses an advance dependency manager, a composer which manages all the packages and information needed to manage these packages and allow developers to automate processes.
Object-Oriented Approach and MVC Architecture: One of the best advantage of using Laravel Framework is that it uses MVC or model, view and controller architecture along with exceptionally easy object-oriented syntax.
Advance File System and Distributed Environment Support: The Laravel Framework have in-built support for multiple file system and it can support local storage, cloud storage and rack-space storage. On top of that the Laravel Framework offers easy-to-use APIs which remain same for all the systems and also enable developers to use all three file systems as a distributed environment.
In-built Authentication and Authorization System: The Laravel Framework offers in-built configurations for the authentication and authorization system. The developers can implement authentication and authorization to their custom software application by using only a few simple commands which saves time and is very simple-to-use.
Enable Real-time Data with Broadcasting Feature: The modern-day software applications requires a lot of real-time data broadcasting between the server-side and client-side. The Laravel Framework offer an in-built Events and Broadcasting features which enables software developer to implement real-time data and live feeds in their customized applications.
In-built Command Line Interface (Artisans Console): The Laravel Framework offers an exclusive in-built command line interface, named Artisans Console. The Artisans Console allow developers to easily publish packaged assets, migrate databases, seed and generate boilerplate code for controllers and models. The Artisans Console also support custom command which gives developer more control.
Advanced Task Scheduler: The Task Scheduler was introduced along with in-built command line interface, Artisans Console. The Scheduler utilizes Cron Daemon to execute a single Artisans Console job which executes the configured tasks. This enable developers to easily do programmatic scheduling of the periodically executed tasks.
In-built Object Relation Mapper (Eloquent ORM): The Laravel Framework offers one of the best object relation mapper, known as Eloquent ORM and it comes as an in-built utility. The Eloquent ORM allow developers to use expressive syntax to manage database relationships and to interact with database objects.
Blade Template Engine: The Laravel Framework comes with highly effective in-built templating engine, known as Blade Template Engine. Blade Template Engine also offers internally mapped control structure for PHP counterparts such as conditional statements and loops, etc. It also enable combining one or more template to produce resulting views with a data model which can greatly improve the performance of the software application.
Multiple Testing Modes: The Laravel Framework offers in-built unit testing functionality featuring multiple tests to prevent and detect regressions in the framework along with ability to integrate PHP unit testing framework. The Artisans Console, command-line utility can also be used to run unit tests on the application.

Above are some of the most commonly-used features of the Laravel Framework which make it superior to other open-source PHP Frameworks.

What makes Laravel a Perfect fit for Modern Software Development Needs?

Highly Advanced Out-of-the-box Official Laravel Packages

Here is a list of official Laravel Packages which can make integration of different features super-easy with the application built on Laravel Framework:

Laravel Passport: The Laravel Passport allow user authentication via API while utilizing the OAuth Server. The API uses token and the Laravel Passport enables full OAuth Server implantation with simple steps which takes only a few minutes.
Laravel Socialite: The Laravel Socialite is an excellent package to easily implement login and authentication mechanisms via social media sites such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, etc. for your customer software application.
Laravel Horizon: The Laravel Horizon is a highly effective intuitive monitoring tool which enables both dashboard and code-driven configurations. It is used to monitor the output of a job along with time required to execute the job and it also tracks job failures.
Laravel Cashier: The Laravel Cashier is a great in-built package which is used for e-Commerce and payment-based software applications. The Cashier is used to manage coupons and invoices and offer a full toolkit for managing subscription billing services.
Laravel Envoy: The Laravel Envoy simplified the automating the common tasks using minimal and simple syntax. The Envoy utilizes a similar syntax as Blade template and it makes it easier to setup tasks and utilize Artisans Console commands.
Laravel Scout: The Laravel Scout is a full-text search engine which utilizes the Eloquent ORM model along with Angola as its default driver which offers excellent service. The Scout also support custom drivers to enable improving the full-text search functionality.

The features and out-of-the-box packages offered by the Laravel Framework are better than any other available open-source PHP framework which is the main reason of its popularity in software development.

Highly Advanced Out-of-the-box Official Laravel Packages

Top Software Development Trends which will Increase the Demand of Laravel Framework in Coming Years

The Laravel Framework is trusted by millions of businesses and developers all around the world and it is known for developing high-performing and featured-rich custom web-based software applications. Here are the top software development trends which will definitely increase the demand of the Laravel Framework in the coming years:

Rising Demand for Multi-device Integration
Emerging Trend of IoT Implementation and Integration
Rising Demand of Intuitive User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UI)
Emerging Trend of Blockchain, Digital Payment and Crypto Currency
Security, Encryption and Password Protection
AI Enabled Customer Service Chatbots
Rapid App Development and Cost-optimization
Increasing Popularity of Cloud-based Software Applications

These top trends of software development industry are indicating even higher demand for the Laravel Framework in the coming future which is also sensed by the software development industry and that is why the popularity of the Laravel Framework is rapidly increasing.

Top Software Development Trends which will Increase the Demand of Laravel Framework in Coming Years

Conclusion

It is important to understand that whenever a business decides to develop a customized software application they have certain goals that they want to achieve with it. However, there are certain things which every business wants in their software applications such as the software application should be fast, feature-rich, intuitive, have high compatibility, integrates with existing infrastructure, have low cost, develops quickly, require less maintenance and easy to operate. These are some fundamental requirements every business have in mind when they are planning to develop a custom software application. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE you can find tens of hundreds of software development agencies who can build your customized software applications with the desired features and functionalities. However, it is important to understand that your software application should be have certain capabilities such as easy-integration, low-cost scalability, simple upgrade and customization and should be able to stay relevant for coming years.

The Laravel Framework is the excellent if not only choice to achieve the same. The Laravel Framework is open-source, the skilled developers are available easily, and it packs a tons of modern and highly advanced features which makes it the perfect choice for the customized web-based software application development and that is the reason why the Laravel Framework is rapidly gaining popularity not only in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other parts of UAE but all over the world. If you are interested in learning more about the subject or if you want our custom software development service for your next game-changing software application development, 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.

December 25, 2022

The Key Elements of Efficient Software Development Project Management

The present day markets are very dynamic and heavily relying on the digital and IT technologies. A normal business environment have multiple software and IT solutions which help the employees to perform their day to day tasks and improve the organization’s operational efficiency. There are two major categories of the software that businesses use, one is COTS or commercial off-the-shelf solutions and the second is customized software. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE we have witnessed that the COTS are slowly fading, businesses are more aggressively adopting to customized, tailor-made or bespoke software solutions. The biggest advantage of a custom software development project is that it allow businesses full control over the features, functionalities, UI (user interface), UX (user experience), and each and every bit of the software. On top of that the custom software development also offer full ownership rights to the business who will be using it. These are the reasons the custom software development is gaining huge momentum all around the world.

When it comes to custom software development the initial cost is relatively high however, the custom software solutions offer much higher ROIs in the long term. Anyway, the custom software development is a time and effort consuming project. It is important that a business execute the custom software development project with great accuracy and efficiency. The final outcome of the custom software development project could affect employees/users for years. Which is why it is important to follow the best practices to ensure an efficient software development project management. Unlike any other industry the project management in software development also follows the same fundamental principles. However, for any customized software development project the project manager must have to carry out an intense cost-benefits analysis along with the optimization and timeline problems that can reduce the value of the project for the business. In this blog we will list key elements of efficient software development project management which will help our audience improve the outcome of their projects.

Why Software Development Project Management is Important

The project managers are skilled professional who got expertise in getting something done efficiently and effectively. Usually the project managers are given a goal to achieve something from others and they do the research, make plans, select teams, and execute the development phase in timely manner. Usually the project management referred to a framework and set of tools or techniques to ensure the project’s outcome matches with the project goals. These frameworks, techniques and tools enable managers to monitor everything from the day one to the final delivery and while monitoring everything and keeping everything on track and aligned with the final goals. For any custom software development project there is always a goal and a timeline. The project managers oversee the entire process, allocate sufficient resources both human and non-human resources to make sure the project is completed in the given timelines and budget limitations. The efficient software development project management ensures the final outcome on-time and within the budget while justifying the value it is adding to organization against the cost, time and resources it took to build the software product.

Efficient Software Development Project Management: Tasks of a Project Manager

The project manager for software development project or the matter of fact is for any project is responsible for effectively executing each step of the project development cycle while ensuring all the milestones and goals are achieved till completion and final testing phase. The project manager closely monitor each phase of the software development cycle and make sure that the maximum efficiency is achieved. The project manager is also responsible for ensuring smooth and easy communication between the teams and the stakeholders while allocating resources, assigning tasks and managing timelines to achieve each milestone. This will ensure the maximum user satisfaction. Here are some key tasks that a project manager is responsible for efficient software development project management:

Project Scope: The software development project scope or the scope of the work is a technical document that enlists all features and functionalities of the software application. It is basically a roadmap or blueprint of the final outcome and should be done with mutual understanding with the project manager and the customer/users of the software application.
Project Estimation: The project estimation is the most important task that a project manager should do. The project estimation based on three projections, the estimated time to complete it, an estimation of the cost and estimations of the efforts that are required to complete the project.
Scheduling:After the project estimation the next step is to assign the required resources including both human and non-human resources that are required to smoothly execute the project. The resource optimization is a key to save cost.
Staffing and Resource Allocation:This step involves the staff planning and building teams to work on the software development project. It is important to take feedback from the staff and understand their current workload and engagement in other projects and make a project plan.
Risk Evaluation and Management:The risk evaluation is done on the bases of any unexpected scenarios and obstacles that the project manager or team could face during the project execution and make efficient plans to minimize the risks and eliminate the obstacles.
Miscellaneous:The project manager also have to make other plans and strategies which are based on the project nature and demands such as quality assurance and testing, software deployment and implementation plans, integration and collaboration with other teams, etc.

The project manager have to be very vigilant and proactive to ensure the risks are minimized, the obstacles and unexpected scenarios are handled successfully and the final objectives are achieved. Above mentioned tasks can help project managers improve the efficiency of the software development project.

Efficient Software Development Project Management: Improve Efficiency

A project manager is not just an ordinary person-in-charge, in fact he/she has to be a key team player, caption and leader of the team. The project manager can greatly influence the performance of the team and help businesses achieve their goals. The project managers also keep the team satisfied by carefully listening to them, leading and guiding them and solving problems down the road. Here are some key elements of effective software development project management which can help project managers to maximize the outcome of the project:

Strong Leadership: Every manager have leadership skills, but a strong leadership attitude will make the difference. A software development project manager leads their team, guide them, coach them, listen to them and solve their problems to maximize their success.
Performance Management:Technically every team member is aware of their role and what is to be done at their end, however, setting up realistic goals, measurement metrics and deriving a mechanisms to integrate bidirectional feedback can significantly enhance a team’s performance.
Communication: The project manager should focus on the communication. Because a strong communication help them bonding with their team and build a relationship which help them communicating technical and non-technical needs to the team and help them solving problems.
Effective Time Management:The time management is not just identifying the milestones and setting up dates and making project plans. In fact the effective time management is making sure all teammates are on track and will complete their tasks on time by solving their problems and guiding them throughout the development phase.
Task Mapping:The project manager should be able to see the project in macro level and then breaking it down to individual tasks, and milestones and should be able to map these tasks with the bigger picture to allow team members understand their role and the impact of their tasks on the overall progress or success of the software development project.
Critical Thinking/Crisis Management:A project manager should be a critical thinker, usually the project manager is the first responder to the crises, problems, obstacles, bottlenecks and other show stoppers, which demand critical thinking and superior problem solving skills and abilities.

The project manager is responsible for successful software development project execution. All of the above mentioned abilities require a strong and experienced person with strong communication and interpersonal skills and a proactive attitude which help improving the efficiency and efficacy of the custom software development project management and execution process.

Efficient Software Development Project Management: Execution Methodologies

The custom software development project execution methodologies is a set of tools, techniques and principles which provide a complete framework to manage, monitor and deliver a software project. The main objectives of implementing a project management methodology is to improve efficiency, collaboration and quality of the outcome. There are so many different software development project management methodologies, each have its own strength and weakness, for example, some of the project execution methodologies work well with certain industries or project types while they are completely inefficient for certain industries and so on. Here are the most commonly used software development project management and execution methodologies:

Waterfall: The waterfall method is one of the simplest project management and execution method. It is the most linear method and the project development is done in phases, but you will only move to next phase if the previous phase is completed. It is great for highly structured projects, but the waterfall method is also popular in software development projects as well.
Scrum:The scrum method is majorly used as two-week cycles including a short daily meeting. The daily meeting is also referred to as ‘daily scrum’ and the meeting is headed by a ‘scrum master’. The scrum method is effective only with a team of not more than 10 members. The scrum is very popular in custom software development project management in Dubai and all around UAE.
Agile:The agile project management method is used where the timeline is right or you want to complete the project as quickly as possible, even before the timeline. The agile is highly collaborative, evolutionary, adaptive and self-organize method of project development. It offers great flexibility and open to changes if these changes can improve the performance and progress.
CPM: The CPM or critical path method requires to build a model of the project which includes all tasks, duration of each task, dependencies, risks and liabilities, and clear milestones and then identifying the longest sequences of activities to complete the project. It is suitable for small and medium size projects as it is hard to keep track of large sets of activities under this framework.
CCPM: The CCPM or critical chain project management method majorly focus on the resources that are required to develop and complete the project. It is a very flexible approach to project management and it doesn’t emphasize much on tasks and schedules. It is equally effective for any size of project and improve resource planning and management.
Kanban Method: The kanban project management and execution method allow managers to put all the workflows, tasks and progress visually on a board or publishing platform where all employees can access and view it. The visual planning boards are great to motivate teams and improve performance. It equally effective in manufacturing and software development projects.
Extreme Programming: The extreme programing method or XP is another branch of agile project management. However, it has shorter software development cycles with multiple releases. The project management take the course of customer requirements and as the requirements changes the project plan and timeline also get changed. It is suitable when the user doesn’t know the full requirements or doesn’t have a clear goal or keep changing requirements more frequently.
Lean Method: The lean project development method is used to reduce the waste in a project execution process to maximize the outcome or deliver maximum value. It is widely used for rapid product deliver in software development projects while removing the waste of processes on continuous bases. Equally suitable for software development and manufacturing projects.
PMBOK:The PMBOK or project management body of knowledge is basically a great framework which allow project managers to use the guidelines and definition of project planning, execution, schedules, monitoring and controlling. The framework dictates various pre-defined stages of a project which makes management easier in custom software development projects.
Six Sigma:The six sigma is a very unusual method of custom software development project management and execution as it majorly focus on what is not working in the project which includes quality of the outcome, progress of the team and the evaluation of the team members. It is only effective at large scale projects where a few hundred to a few thousand employees are involved. This most software development teams avoid this method.

These are widely used project management and execution methodologies. You can easily compare different methods and decide which custom software development project management and execution methodology can fulfill your needs.

Efficient Software Development Project Management: Project Management Stages

The project manager should improve the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Every project manager should have a solid SDLC strategy in order to ensure the efficiency and productivity in the custom software development project. The software development life cycle means breaking down the software development in multiple phases. The SDLC or software development life cycle includes planning, designing & developing or coding, testing, and deploying phases. This help project managers set milestones for all stages and give them more control and grip over the custom software development process. The efficient software development project management usually utilize a simple SDLC templates which involves following generic stages or phases:

Project Initiation:The project initiation phase is the very first step of developing a software or application. In this stage the project manager transform an abstract idea of the project in actionable and meaningful goals. The goals and objectives of a custom software development project will dictate the course of the next stages. The project manager can initiate the project charter which is usually a document that gives them authority to utilize organization’s resources for the mentioned project and gives it a legitimate status as a project. The charter document includes, project goals, objectives, timelines, deliverables, budget, limitations and liabilities and a project feasibility study. The project manager also creates a stakeholders’ register which includes all team members or project contributors that might be needed in future to execute the project.
Project Planning:The project planning stage is the most crucial stage it involves identifying all the technical requirements with in-depth explanation and deliverables. The custom software development project management planning stage also includes project schedule and development of communication mechanisms to ensure maximum communication between the stakeholders. This stage can also include collecting feedback from the stakeholders and research about the project and its technical aspects.
Project Execution:The custom software development project execution is a stage where all the actual development, designing of the software and programing is done. This stage accomplishes all the task and activities that are highlighted in the project plans along with the deliverables. The effective communication is crucial at this stage it will ensure the quality of the outcome. The project manager should ensure the communication between all stakeholders and team members.
Project Monitoring: The project monitoring is not a simple phase or stage of custom software development project but in fact it is a continuous process that enable project managers to track, monitor, manage and control the performance and progress of the team members at all stages. It involves developing the KPIs (key performance indicators) and CSFs (critical success factors). The project manager should also track cost of the project and resources consumed by it to further ensure the long term sustainability to meet the budget and timeline requirements.
Project Closure:The project closure is the last stage of the custom software development project management process. It includes deployment of the software application in the production environment and delivering or handing over to the end users. The project manager should also have to prepare a complete report that includes the performance of the team and complete review of the entire project and activities from start to finish. This report can be very helpful for future reference and can help improving the project management process.

A well organized and structured strategy to execute a software development project can save a lot of efforts, resources and risks. The communication and tracking performance is a key to optimize the custom software development project’s cost. These five stages are a generic template to work with. The project managers can also create more stages or sub-stages to further break down the project and set milestones for each stage and sub-stage to further increase the performance and efficiency.

Efficient Software Development Project Management: Project Manager

The efficient software development project management is entirely based on the competencies, capabilities and skills of the project manager. The project manager for a project is the like a pillar, which should be able to hold the entire building on it. A weak project manager will cause several problems and result in poor project execution. It is crucial to have a highly skilled and efficient project manager. Here are some key traits that a successful manager have:

Leadership:The strong leadership capabilities are must for a successful project manager. The project manager should have to lead the team which comprises of different individuals from different backgrounds and technical skills. That is why a strong leadership is a must to have trait for a successful project manager in order to make everyone deliver their best in the project.
Mentorship: A mentor is someone to whom you look up to. A project manager should not only be a great leader but a great mentor who can motivate its team and keep them at high spirit to ensure everyone performs at their best. The encouragement and understanding plays crucial role in improving team members’ morale and keeping them motivated.
Documentation:The documentation is a key to effective software development project management. The project manager is entirely responsible for preparing various documents which will have huge influence over the team performance and the final outcome of the project such as project charter, scope, plans, feasibility reports and final documentation. So, the project manager should have strong documentation skills to avoid any ambiguity or confusion during the process.
Performance Management: The performance management is extremely important. The project manager should have comprehensive knowledge and experience of project performance management. This will help them drive KPIs, CSFs and other monitoring metrics to monitor and improve the performance of the team members which is absolutely essential in achieving goals and objectives of the project.
Communication: Communication is like the blood in the body, without effective communication no business can perform well. For custom software development project management the project manager should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills to make sure everyone is aligned with the goals and objectives. It also help reducing the risks, preventing obstacles and solving problems during the process.

Traditionally businesses only appoint one project manager to a project but due to complexity and size of the project there could be multiple project managers too. In such situation there should always be a leading project manager to whom all other project managers should report. There should be hierarchal structure between different project manages to ensure efficient software development project execution.

Conclusion

In the modern work environment business have very complex IT infrastructure and they require a tons of IT resources, various different software and systems, and business tools to perform their day to day tasks and to maximize the operational efficiency. The operational efficiency and performance are a key to long term sustainable success and growth. The technology world evolves very rapidly, the software and systems keep changing and upgrading, the markets are changing and the customer needs are growing. In such circumstances the need of a new software solution is very obvious, in fact business keep upgrading and changing their software after a few years in order to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity. Furthermore the technology is also evolving on a greater pace which also compel businesses to adopt to modern and more innovative software which can help them achieving their organizational goals and strategic objectives. The custom software development industry is growing at a rapid pace, especially in Dubai and all around the UAE the businesses are proactive seeking custom software solutions due to its various perks and higher ROIs.

When a new demand arise a business will seek to develop a new customized software solution. Either they will utilize their internal resources or either they will contact a software development agency in Dubai such as RSI Concepts , to assist them with their customized software needs. The project management plays a crucial role in success or failure of a custom software development project. In this blog we have covered the key elements of efficient software development project management. If you want to learn more about the subject of if you want us to help you developing a new highly cost-efficiency and tailor-made software solution for your business, 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.

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November 22, 2022

Why Does Dubai Need Real Estate Software Development in 2022?

The real estate sector in Dubai or in fact anywhere else in the entire UAE is one of the most dynamic and fast-moving sector. The growth rate is going up, the transformation is happening everywhere, the competition is also raising. As like any other industry the real estate also adopted digital technologies. Here in UAE an average consumer is very well-versed with the technology, they appreciate a digital interaction and like the convenient and agility the digital has to offer. The real estate sector have started implementing digital solutions to improve its customers’ experience and to boost the productivity of the internal processes. The Dubai has always lead the way to technology and innovation. Recently the GITEX 2022 was a remarkable technology show held in Dubai. Such shows and exhibitions are common and also a great way to introduce the public with modern technologies. That is why the Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is relatively much more advance in technology than any other region in the world.

The tough market competition, skyrocketing customer demands and ever-changing trends require a highly pro-active approach and strategy. That is why the businesses start relying on software and digital tools to maximize the productivity, profitability and the growth.Businesses across all industries are transitioning from business oriented to customer oriented models. This means that the customer experience and customer satisfaction are the most important factors for the success in present day. There are two different types of the software development, the first is to purchase a ready-made software which is called commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) and the second is to hire a software development agency who design a customized tailor-made real estate software for you. Each deployment method offers different pros and cons, however, the custom real estate software development have gained huge popularity in Dubai and all around the UAE.

Why Businesses Needs a Real Estate Software

The reason why businesses prefer customized solution is that it provides them an exclusive solution which is specifically made to address their unique problems and to support their internal unique/different practices, processes and workflows. Since past few years the market standards and the customer trends have been changed a lot. In fact the real estate business and its practices have completely transformed. Which, on one hand offers great support and help for both businesses and the tenants. The convenient, efficiency and efficacy also makes management processes more complex and difficult. Whether it is a customer relationship management or an enterprise resource planning and performance tracking, the modern real estate operation is extremely difficult without utilizing any digital tool. Especially in 2022 when the digital interaction, high-performance, and data is the key to success.

Real Estate Software: Boost Marketing and Conversions

These days the marketing and communication is extremely important for the real estate businesses. In Dubai and all around the UAE the common trend is to look up at the internet and check the websites. These days everyone is busy, no one have enough time to visit 10 or 20 properties before making a decision. But if you are surfing the website, you can check out as many properties as you want. The real estate software must include website management tools, which help them to publish the vacancies at the website and keep them more accessible for the users. Real estate businesses can publish a lot of useful information on the website which can be very helpful in increasing the conversion rate. These days the website is contributing a lot in real estate conversions. People tend to look up on the website, short list the good properties and then compare them online, after that they might decide to visit just a few best properties and most likely to select any one of these.

That is why the website is a crucial aspect of the modern marketing and communication strategy for a real estate business. The real estate businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE invest a lot of time, efforts and money in digital marketing. The real estate website is a very valuable asset for the business, it can not only create a lot of leads and conversions but it can also be used to offer several services. Moreover the search engine optimization or SEO and the social media marketing efforts can help real estate businesses in boosting their marketing and conversions. The real estate website can also be integrated with the mobile applications and businesses can offer mobile apps to advertise their available vacancies and to offer several services. The websites and mobile apps can also be used to offer multiple services, for example, the real estate businesses can improve the customer experience by offering them to easily upload their document via the website or smartphone app, and hence they don’t have to visit the office. Such features help improving customer experience and boost sales and conversions.

Real Estate Software: Application and Document Processing

For any real estate business in Dubai and anywhere in UAE the biggest challenge is to process the document, tenant screening, making agreements, and regular document updates, etc. These are always time consuming processes. These processes can completely ruin the customer experience. The customers will have to come to the real estate office or branches, they will have to wait in the queues, they will have to go through manual processes. Most of the time the longer wait time and queues are very harmful for the customer happiness and customer experience. Furthermore the manual processes are prone to human errors and repetitions. In some cases the customers might have to visit multiple time to sort a small issue. However, with the real estate software these services can be offered via online and smartphone mobile applications. With the smartphone application and the website, the document upload is fairly quick, the customers can do it anywhere, anytime. This can significantly enhance the application and document processing experience and boost customer happiness.

Real Estate Software: Management and Maintenance

For any real estate business the customer satisfaction and customer retention is the most important task. The customer retention is driven by the customer satisfaction and the customer satisfaction can only be achieved, if you offer your customers the high quality services and happy experience. For that the facility management and the maintenance services it is important to keep track of the employees and the customer requests. For that real estate businesses use multiple methods. However, a real estate software can offer a highly efficient framework to improve the management and efficacy of the maintenance department. The real estate software can provide dedicated portals or smartphone applications for both the customers/tenants and the maintenance staff. The customers can simply open the smartphone app and file a complaint, which can be forwarded to the managers, and even the maintenance staff.

For example, if the complaint is related to electrical work, and an electrician is nearby, they can immediately receive the complaint and act on it. The complaint management also become easier with the real estate software, as it offers a dedicated module for the complaint management and maintenance requests. The real estate businesses can significantly improve the customer happiness and experience with the features offered by a real estate software. For example, the managers can fully track each complaint, when it was filed, how much it took the staff to respond to it and solve it, etc. All such information help management improve internal processes and enhance customer experience. With the help of the automation, the management also become relatively easier and more effective. For example, in case of a complaint, the relevant staff, the service agent, the manager and any other relevant person can get the notification. The staff tracking enable managers to utilize resources more efficiently and maximize the efficiency, which results in quicker resolution and better customer/tenant experience.

Real Estate Software: Significantly Improve Internal Processes

The real estate software is also sometimes referred to as a property management system. Basically the real estate software is a complete solution that provides a full-fledge digital solution for all real estate business’s needs. Basically the system is built using modular approach. Different business functions are managed using different modules. The real estate software development in 2022 has completely transformed. Now a day’s most of the businesses want a customized real estate software. The customization not only help introducing innovation and modernization, but it also provide a great competitive advantage. The real estate accounting team is always busy, there are several customer to follow up for payment, several new registrations, many disputes and much more. However, with the help of the real estate software, the business can even offer online payments, which makes it easier for the tenants and customers. Moreover, the staff can set reminders, alerts, and auto notifications for the pending invoices, etc. All these features can significantly improve the internal processes and efficiency of the business.

The real estate software also offer a very flexible integration mechanism which enable businesses to manage and maintain a central information system which help businesses streamline the flow of information and help them improve internal processes. The real estate software can be integrated with website management tools, smartphone apps, online customer/tenant portal, complaint management system, CRM, accounts and finance, maintenance and facility management tools, marketing and communication tools and much more. The integration drives efficiency and let real estate businesses to have a great competitive advantage by leveraging the inherent automation abilities of the digital software and solution. The real estate software not only improve business processes, but it is a great tool for monitoring and tracking the performance of the business. In case of multi-branch scenarios, the head office can get full control, authority and real-time updates from all connected branches. All these features help real estate businesses improve their internal processes and productivity.

Real Estate Software: Data Security and Backup

The biggest problem with the manual data is that it is usually in form of files and papers, which hare organized in offices. However, they are physical papers they can get damaged, aged and misplaced. This can be very uncomfortable for both the staff and the customers. However, the digital real estate software keep all data in digital format, the staff can easily access all customer data by simply inputting their Emirate ID card number, registration number or any other ID number. The customer data is stored in digital formats which are easy to access, secure and easy to store. The real estate software not only offer features to easily organize and store the data but it also offer integration which enables it to push or fetch data from other databases, software and tools. For any digital system, it is easier to setup data backups, usually the data backups are at a different place, cloud or in offline storages. The system automatically backup customer data and any other data that is relevant to it at secure servers. On top of that the management have full control over data authentication and access, every employee can access the as much data as they are allowed to, no one can get any details other than what they need to ensure better data protection and security.

Conclusion

The real estate business is becoming much more sophisticated and complex over the time. Businesses need a very proactive approach to assure success. The skyrocketing customer demands, growing competition, and ever-changing market trends are constantly posing threats to the business-customer relationship. In real estate there are several factors that can make or break customer experience. Happy customers are a key to growth and long term success. The real estate software also help businesses improve their internal processes and let them leverage the digitalization and automation to further enhance their productivity and performance. There are several different functions that are crucial for the business such as the maintenance and the marketing functions. Usually these two departments are separate, however, with the real estate software the management can get the real-time information from both teams in a single dashboard, which increase their vision and help them make more informed and better decisions.

The real estate software have become an essential in the modern era of real estate. In 2022 and for several coming years the real estate software will continue to evolve and stay relevant. RSI Concepts is a leading customized real estate software development agency in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to develop and deploy a real estate software for your business, 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.

Check out this: Why customized CRM Software is better than Off-the-shelf Solution?

October 31, 2022October 31, 2022

Why customized CRM Software is better than Off-the-shelf Solution?

The businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are very adoptive towards the modern technologies and software solutions. Basically the software and digital tools are used to improve the business management. The enterprise software solutions are designed to improve internal processes and business functions. When a business have software solutions and digital tools in place, they can produce more outcome with less input. The input here is workforce, resources, etc. and the outcome is better performance, good quality products & services, customer satisfaction and business growth. A present day work environment is very much dependent on software solutions and digital tools. Whether you are a startup, a small business, a large enterprise or a government or private organization, you must require a combination of software solutions and digital tools that will support your daily operations. That is why businesses keep investing in their IT infrastructure and digital assets. When it comes to acquiring a new software, the managers always have to choose carefully because their decision could have long lasting impact on the business and the relevant business processes.

What is the difference between off-the-shelf and customized software?

We have asked several business representatives (including managers and owners) about how do they decide which software solution is best from them. Everyone had a lot of different opinions, but one thing that was common among them all was that the software must have to meet their all needs and it should be able to satisfy its users. Another most important aspect that these people consider is the initial deployment and long term operational cost of the software solutions. There are two major classifications of the software, one is commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and the second is the customized software solutions. Both are completely different from each other, the COTS are the software that are designed for mass users and are universal for all the businesses. It means many businesses use them. However, the custom software development means a tailor-made software solution that is built and designed exclusively for a particular user group and is used by only a single business. Another major difference is that the commercial off-the-shelf software are owned by the software development company or service provider, however, the custom software are exclusively designed for a business and owned by the business as well. The custom software development company doesn’t own them. In this blog we will discuss how a customized CRM software is better than the commercial off-the-shelf CRM solution.

What is a CRM Software?

The CRM stands for customer relationship management. Traditionally the customer relationship management is a strategy and methodology to organize and manage customer data which can help customer relationship agents or service staff to build a good relationship with the customers and serve them better with a satisfactory customer experience. Earlier this was started as a manual process, the customer data is stored on papers and organized in offices manually. But later with the development of the digital solutions and implementation of IT infrastructure the CRM or customer relationship management have also transformed. The CRM software or customer relationship management software is a digital tool that help businesses to improve their customer relationship management processes, strategies and methodologies. Another important thing to understand is that the customer relationship management itself have evolved a lot, and now a days the process have become very sophisticated and complex, that is why a proper software framework is much needed to improve the customer relationship management processes.

Why customized CRM software solutions are better than the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions?

The custom software development and the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions both have their own pros and cons. It is not that the commercial off-the-shelf software are just bad and can’t offer any value. In fact the commercial off-the-shelf software are quicker to deploy, have low initial cost and can offer great usability in certain areas. However, a CRM or customer relationship management is a very dynamic and business function. It has to be up-to-date to meet the ever changing customer needs. Businesses also keep changing their customer relationship management policies and strategies and the CRM software should be able to cater to their needs. The customized CRM software are very flexible and can be designed exclusively to meet the very specific business needs. Here is a quick comparison of the commercial off-the-shelf CRM software and a customized customer relationship management software. It will help you understand the additional benefits of a custom CRM which make it superior from the COTS.

Custom CRM Software Development Thoroughly Meets the Needs of the Business

The commercial off-the-shelf software or COTS are designed for a wider range of audience, they follow the general industry standards and market trends. Whereas each business is different from the others, no matter if two businesses belongs to same industry niche, still the internal environment, organizational culture and various business processes would be different form the others. The COTS usually came in various packages or subscription plans, each plan have a certain number and type of features, if you want more features you will have to pay more. Sometimes businesses found themselves in a position where they will have to purchase an upgraded plan just for a few features. The costing structure varies from one to another service provider, however, it is always very difficult to find a perfect match of all the requirements. The custom CRM software on the other hand offer full compatibility with the business needs. No matter what features business wants they will only have to pay for what they will be needing and nothing else. This also means that the payment and costing structure is always more flexible with the custom software development.

Customized CRM Software Improves and Aligns with Internal Workflows

Another great advantage of the customer software development is that it help improving the internal processes and workflows. Most of the time the commercial off-the-shelf software are designed for the mass audiences hence they are designed with certain features and follow standard workflows. However, in reality every business have different internal processes and environment that is also what makes a brand unique and it can provide a great competitive advantage too. When a business deploy a commercial off-the-shelf software they also have to follow the workflows and processes of that CRM software. Which requires them to rearrange and modify their internal processes. The customer relationship management software (CRM) have huge impact on how the business deals with its customers, and how they serve them. If you start following the very same way your competitors are following, then what unique value will you offer them to attract them toward your business? Nothing! That is one of the biggest drawback of using a commercial off-the-shelf CRM.

That is why the customized customer relationship management software (CRM) is far superior in this regard and can offer a great competitive advantage. The customized CRMs doesn’t require businesses to later or modify their internal processes, methodologies and workflows. In fact the customized software are designed as per the internal processes and workflows. That is why the businesses usually witness a significant rise in efficiency and productivity after implementing a customized customer relationship management software (CRM). The customized CRM aligns with internal environment, doesn’t push employees to follow certain methods, but help them improve their efficiency and productivity with their existing methods and workflows. It help refining the internal processes and brings automation which reduce employees’ workload and maximize their administrative capabilities. The customized customer relationship management software (CRM) provides a great competitive advantage as what software and features you are using are not being used by any other.

Custom CRM Software Offers Customized UIs and Excellent UX

The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions often offer a universal UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) to all of the businesses who are using their CRM software. If businesses want to customize the user interface or want to make changes to improve user experience as per their users’ preferences and needs, most of the time they can’t do it. And even if the commercial off-the-shelf software vendor offer them the customization, it is very limited and it is way too expensive. That is what can limit the efficiency of the system. However, with the custom CRM software development businesses can have whatever type of UI they want and they also have full control over the UX. Which can significantly improve the user-friendliness of the CRM software and maximizes its efficiency. Furthermore the businesses also want to minimize the training efforts when they deploy a new system. For that they try to align the new UIs and UXs with their existing systems. This not only help them reducing the training cost but it also help them integrating the system within the existing environment very quickly. Sometimes businesses also have multiple different user groups, and each one of them need a slightly different UI. Only the customized CRM development can offer such level of customization and control over UI and Ux.

Customized CRM Software Offers Better Adoptability and Future Readiness

These days the customer relationship management have become more dynamic. The customer behavior, market trends and several other factors can quickly change a lot of things, which will force a business to adopt to the new changes to ensure excellent customer experience and better customer interaction. A commercial off-the-shelf CRM software requires a lot of time to adopt to new changes, the upgrades and updates are fewer and costly. Sometimes the new upgrades completely discard certain features and replace them with the new ones, which also force the businesses to implement new processes and workflows. However the customized CRM software are completely in your control, businesses can upgrade them whenever they want and however they want. If they want to add a feature, they don’t have to effect any other existing process, if they want to upgrade only a certain features that is doable too. In short the custom software development allow businesses to have full control over their customized CRM software. Hence the future readiness of customized CRM and adoptability to the new changes is much higher comparing to the commercial off-the-shelf CRM software.

Customized CRM Software Offers Easier Integration with Third-Party Software and Tools

The modern business are heavily relying on data and information technology. The daily tasks and workflows are relying on sharing information between several employees and departments on very frequent bases. That requires the digital and IT infrastructure to be integrated with each other. A business usually uses several software solutions, enterprise tools, and databases. Some of them are linked with each other and some are isolated. For example, the sales system data and the customer information data must be linked to understand the sales properly. However, the manufacturing management system doesn’t require any inputs from the digital marketing team and so on. The CRM or customer relationship management software may also not require any input from the manufacturing management system, but it must be linked with the customer data base, sales database and also with the marketing department.

That is done either by integrating the CRM with the central information center which holds all the data, or either this can be achieved by integrating it with all relevant systems one by one. With the commercial off-the-shelf solutions the business usually doesn’t have any control over its programing or source code, or even if they have they have very limited control. Which could complicate the integration process and in some cases due to such barriers the integration is not possible at all. However, that is not the case with the custom software development. The customized CRMs are very flexible towards the integration and provide full control over the core of the software, which enable the businesses to easily integrate the CRM with other internal software and databases. The integration can be done to access the data or it can also be done to store the data in another database or central information center. The integration with and from custom software is also very less expensive.

Custom CRM Software Development Offers Better Scalability

The custom CRM software development provides businesses with full ownership right to the software and its source code. This means that the software is exclusively designed for the businesses and will also remain unique to that business. There would be no other copy sold to any other business. However, the COTS are totally opposite, the same commercial off-the-shelf software can be sold to hundreds and even thousands of businesses all around the world. Most of the time the vendor or service provider sell the software in form of different packages or plans with different level of usability, features and even restricted number of users. A business always keep growing, in fact the prime goal of a business is to grow. As a business progress its users will increase, its needs will increase and it might require a lot of customization and upgrades to handle more work. The commercial off-the-shelf software also offer the same but with limited scope and much higher cost. A customized CRM doesn’t have a lot of such costs attached to it, it is a one-time cost. If a business needs upgrades, or want to add more users or features they can do that without any additional cost or a very little customization cost. Hence the customized CRM are more scalable then the COTS.

Custom CRM Software Offers Better Security

A customer relationship management software or CRM holds very sensitive and important data. That data has to be protected at all cost. It is not just about the data privacy it is about the reputation of the brand. We have witnessed several businesses who got destroyed by data breaches and data leaks. Because if a customer knows that their personal data is not protected with an enterprise, they stop doing business with them. It also destroy the reputation of the business as people will think if a business is unable to protect their data that mean it doesn’t care about its customers much. The commercial off-the-shelf CRM software are produced for masses and distributed all around the world. Which make their structure more accessible for the internet pirates. However, the customized CRM software is designed by a software development agency such as RSI Concepts and the software is only provided to one client.

This means that no one else knows about the structure of the software, and very few people can have access to the server. Only that alone is enough to ensure good security. The customized CRM software are completely hidden from internet pirates and such people which means it is harder to track and attack your CRM system. With added security features the customized CRM become far more protected than the commercial off-the-shelf CRM software. The security features are usually added on the server, and in case of the customized CRM software, only very few people can have access to that server. Furthermore the customer data and any other valuable data that is stored or linked with the custom CRM software is also stored on the local databases or servers. Even if you deploy the custom CRM software on an online hosting or cloud, the data will still remain under your authority. No one can have access to the server other than the authorized people. Hence the custom CRM software provides higher level of security and data privacy.

Custom CRM Software Offers Full Ownership

The commercial off-the-self software are developed by a vendor or service provider. The COTS are developed for large-scale distribution and are not exclusively built for a single business. This means that the business doesn’t own their CRM, in fact they either rent it out or subscribe to it. As soon as they stop paying, they will lose the software or they will lose the ability to get support, upgrades, etc. However, the customized customer relationship management software (CRM) are exclusively designed for a particular business, and that means the software will never be given to any other business. The customized CRM or any other product of custom software development is owned by the user (business) and not by the software development agency or vendor. Usually businesses outsource custom software development or hire an internal team to develop the customized CRM software for them. Either way the business will get full ownership rights to the custom CRM software. That have several benefits such as the business will have to bear only one-time cost, they system can be customized and maintained by any outsourcing partner or in-house team, there is no dependency on a particular software developer. Usually the customized CRM software are made using open-source technologies, how developers are easily available all the time, and almost any software development agency can offer service and customization of the product, which makes custom CRM software very cost-efficient too.

See More: How to Leverage Automation to Improve Employee Performance Appraisal Process?

Conclusion

The customer relationship management (CRM) software is one of the most important part of any business’s success strategy. The customer relationships define the level of satisfaction your customer have. The customer relationship management is a strategy, method or technique to improve relationship with your customers and raise their happiness and satisfaction. Strong bond with your customer means higher customer loyalty and the loyal customers are considered to be a precious asset of any business. The loyal customers tend to be a good brand advocate and help building positive brand image. The loyal customers also tend to do repeated purchases and help businesses generate more revenue. According to several studies and market research it is 5 to 25 times more expensive acquiring a new customer than selling to an existing customers. That is why the customer loyalty can make a huge difference and that is the reason why customer relationship management is so important for any business. When it comes to customer relationship management, the CRM software is the backbone of any customer relationship strategy.

Businesses can acquire two types of customer relationship management software (CRM), the commercial off-the-shelf solution and the customized CRM software. Either types or classes are completely different from each other. In this blog we have discussed the key benefits of going for a customized CRM software development. If a business wants a long term and cost-effective solution to meet their customer relationship management needs, then the customized CRM software is the best way to go forward. RSI Concepts is a leading custom software development company in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the customized CRM software and solutions or if you want us to help you with building a highly effective, user-friendly, tailor-made and customized CRM software for you, 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.

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August 23, 2022August 23, 2022

Comparison between COTS and Custom Software Development

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the markets are fairly modern and more technology savvy comparing to any other country in GCC or MENA region. The presence of multinational enterprises and corporations have helped modernizing the markets and business practices. No matter if you are in UAE or anywhere else in the world, the technology has become the essential part of a business operations. Now a days without digital solutions and systems in place a business can’t even function properly. The growth and progress is impossible without leveraging the benefits of digital technologies and solutions. The flow of data and information is absolutely crucial for businesses. In order to speed up work flow and operations businesses need automation and digitalization. That is why several systems and solutions can be utilized to improve various business processes. Digital assets and IT infrastructure of a business is vital and can have huge impact on business growth and performance.

There was a time around 15 – 20 years ago when the commercial off-the-shelf software or COTS were absolutely dominating the market. At that time the needs were limited and the market evolution was slower, however, as time passed the custom software development gain momentum due to its abilities to offer exclusive and very specific solutions for businesses. As the market start evolving and the needs start growing the COTS due to their general purpose structure start lagging behind and the custom software industry start growing. Both COTS and custom software development offers several advantages and also have their own downsides and limitations. This is what made it difficult to decide which software solution type will fit best for your requirements.

In this blog we will discuss both COTS and customer software development in details to provide our audience a better understanding of both paths so they can easily decide which software type would be the best match for their requirements.

Let us start with COTS:

What is COTS and when you should go for it?

The COTS stands for Commercial Off-the-shelf Software, it is also referred to packaged apps, ready-made solutions and is publically available to purchase for commercial and personal use. The popular examples of the COTS for personal use are MS Office, Antivirus and such applications. However, in this blog since our focus is on businesses so we will discuss about the business solutions only. The COTS are designed for a large audience and is publically available for everyone. Business can quickly deploy COTS software solutions and doesn’t require to involve in designing and development process. That is the simplest definition of the COTS.

When a Business should go for COTS?

As the COTS software and solutions are designed for a larger audience so before going for a COTS software it is crucial to understand your requirements and the features the COTS is offering. If your requirements can be full filed by the features and functionalities of the COTS then no need to go through the hustle of developing a customized software solution. However, here are a few benefits of COTS that most businesses consider while choosing between a COTS or Customized software solutions:

Most of the time 70% to 80% of the needs can be met with the COTS
Simple and easy deployment with cloud prevent businesses to manage additional IT infrastructure
Cost-effective solutions with flexible payment plans (monthly, quarterly or yearly payments)
Excellent solution when the customization is not required or can be done internally
No cost of R&D, businesses can get highly researched and market proven solutions
Help businesses to adopt to market trends and improve internal business processes accordingly
A large clientele base ensures most of the businesses are satisfied with the features
COTS are very stable software and tend to offer flawless, smooth and bugs free operation

Basically the COTS software solutions are not designed for your exclusive needs and goals in mind. Sometimes one-fits-all is not enough for some businesses and some needs. That is why business have to look up for alternates, either they will have to acquire multiple solutions for different needs and tasks, which prolong simple processes and cause repetitive work and unnecessary delays in work flows. In such situations customized software solutions are a better choice.

Let us see what customized software development is and when businesses decide to go for it.

What is Custom Software Development and when you should go for it?

The customized software development is path businesses choose when they need to develop a software or solution exclusively for their very specific needs. Usually such needs can’t be fulfilled with the traditional COTS solutions. Obviously the COTS are designed for a large audience and are general purpose tools, however, each business have a very different and unique internal culture which over the time evolved into different business practices and methodologies, the COTS are unable to meet all needs, that is why businesses need a customized software which is tailor-made for their needs and offer them a 100% compatible solutions. This makes customized software development far superior than the COTS.

When a Business should go for Custom Software Development?

The custom software development is a software that a business or organization develop at their own and doesn’t require a service provider. However, most of the time the internal IT department is limited due to the workforce and skillset that is why business outsource it to third-party software development companies in Dubai, UAE such as RSI Concepts. The main aim behind custom software development is to get a precise solution to very specific needs and the custom software solutions only serve a particular set of users or organization and it is also not available for anyone else.

Get tailor-made solution to meet all your needs

For COTS software and solutions businesses always follow an 80/20 rule. It means if the software meets 80% of the needs and doesn’t address 20% of the needs or problems it can be acquired. Each business has different structure and different business processes which are result of organic evolution and growth. However, the commercial off-the-shelf software can only meet up to 80% of the needs. The features that are offered out-of-the-box or later developed with customization are still unable to meet the 100% needs of the business. The customized software development is exclusively done to meet all the needs of the business. It means all the features will be designed to meet the needs. Another greater advantage of this is that the businesses don’t have to modify their internal processes or work flows to achieve compatibility with the software features.

Get more control and customizability

The COTS software and solutions are also customizable, however, the level of customization and the cost is a major drawback. The COTS sometimes are limited due to technology or implementation or any other matter which limits the customizability of the software. In addition to that the customization with COTS is usually done by implementing small patches and modifications in different modules, however, the core can’t be modified. The custom software allow in-depth modification and customization facility. Businesses can freely chose the technology they want or they can acquire a consultant to help them selecting the best technology for their outsource project. Furthermore the custom software are capable of evolving at the same pace as the requirements and needs evolves. The COTS also offer third-party plugins to support and improve customization and integration abilities of the software.

However, this could lead to more cost, separate agreements and eventually business could get stuck with more vendors. However, the custom software doesn’t have any such problem and allow businesses to keep improving their software to achieve higher efficiency and performance.

Custom Software Offers Superior Security

Business often believe the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) have better security and as the service provider is providing services to a large clientele sometimes globally but the reality is the COTS are more prone to internet pirates. Basically the COTS are widely used and also widely available, the criminal minded people or group can easily get familiar with the COTS. However, the customized software are exclusively designed for the business and only a limited people have access to the applications. That is why the customized software are more secure and have better protection against internet attacks. The source code is well protected as the developers and only limited people have access to its source code. Furthermore the business and the development team have full control over the software and its source code so they can also implement more techniques and include better security features.

Custom Software Offers Full Ownership Rights

One of the biggest problem of the COTS is that the businesses never get ownership rights, the software always remains the property of the service provider. Which could cause several issues, however, the biggest issue is that if the service provider ends the product or closed the entire business the customers will end up abandoned and helpless. Obviously that usually doesn’t happen but it happened in past and it could also happen in future. However, the custom software development doesn’t have any such problem. As the software is exclusively designed for the business by either their internal software development team or outsourcing partner. The business have full ownership rights over the product. The business gets all core files, source codes, algorithms, integrations and each and everything.

As the software is exclusively designed for the business so it has full ownership of the entire software, no matter if the outsourcing firm got closed or the maintenance and management team got changes, the business will remain the owner of the software and there would be no harm to the data and/or application.

Custom Software Development Offers Better Cost and ROI

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the most common belief is that the custom software development is expensive than the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) solutions. However that is not the case, in reality if we calculate the ROI over a period of time, it will be much better than the COTS. The commercial off-the-shelf software might have less initial cost, but the running, customization, updating the COTS is way too high. Mostly the COTS comes with annual subscription, licensing or customization fees and such costs which raise the overall cost of the commercial off-the-shelf software. The COTS always have too much operational cost, however, the custom software doesn’t have any such costs. In fact the operational cost of the custom software is very less and in some cases there could be no operational cost at all if no third-party components are used to develop the software.

Personalization and Compatibility

One of the most important advantage of the custom software development is that it offers greater levels of personalization and offer better compatibility. The COTS are often designed for general purpose which require them to develop a universal interface which help businesses all over the world, however, one-fits-all is not true always, most of the time some users feel the lag or personalization and customization. The custom software development allow businesses to customized the UIs (User Interfaces) and UX (user experience) to make it more intuitive and also allow users to customize the interfaces and user experience as per their needs and desires. The COTS are also rigid and most of the times businesses doesn’t have their internal processes and work flows as per the features of the commercial off-the-shelf software. This means that businesses will have to make changes to internal processes and workflows to attain the full compatibility with the available features.

However, this is totally opposite for the custom software. The customized software are tailor-made as per the needs of the businesses, they are designed after studying all such needs and requirements, hence when a custom software is deployed it doesn’t require businesses to make adjustments or changes to any of their internal processes or workflow. This can significantly improve the efficiency of the custom software however, on the contrary when such changes are made in case of COTS those changes could also harm the performance and efficiency.

Integration and Scalability

For any business solution or tool the integration and scalability are the most important features. The COTS also offer a certain level of integration and customization. Sometimes when a business is using multiple software and tools, the direct integration between them might not be possible, hence businesses will have to develop and deploy middleware or other integration techniques to bridge the gap between two software and tools. However with the custom software development there is no such issue. Since the entire source code and everything can be controlled and modified, the integration become seamless. No matter whatever kind of integration is required the custom software can easily do it. The COTS do support scalability but it is very expensive and it increase its operational cost. However, the custom software solutions are very flexible towards scalability and doesn’t have any licensing structure which could cost you. This makes custom software highly cost-efficient and very superior than COTS.

Custom Software Development VS Commercial Off-the-shelf Software (COTS)

The best way to decide whether you need a custom software development or the commercial off-the-shelf software solution, you must first have to understand what you need and which solution will be able to meet your needs. Of course cost is a major factor too, so it is better to choose a software type which can meet your both technical and commercial needs. Here are some pros and cons of both of the software types, which will further help you taking a decision:

Pros of the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)

Cost-efficient and much affordable in terms of initial investment and deployment
Better technical and mostly larger community support is easily available
Require less training, simple to operate and easy to maintain
Save a lot of time, cost and resources on product research and development
A wider range of competitive products is available, and by comparing a few of them a business can get a better product with better functionality and affordable price
The wide user-base ensures a flawless and bug free product

Cons of the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)

Mostly the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) comes with hidden cost and additional expenses down the road
Furthermore the COTS comes with additional costs for upgrades, scalability and customization
The COTS offer limited or absolutely no customization or modification facility which could interrupt several business processes by forcing them to adopt to the new structure of the COTS
Doesn’t offer competitive advantages as most of your competitors might also be suing the same COTS solutions
Sometimes the upgradation might demand upgrading your existing IT infrastructure and other existing systems in place
Doesn’t offer much support for the customization and innovation hence a business could feel stuck and limited by the COTS demands
Always comes with unwanted features as a bundle with other required features, that is why a businesses can never fully satisfy its needs

Pros of the Custom Software Development

The biggest advantage of custom software development is that it is capable of meeting 100% needs of the business
The custom software allow easy and flexible modifications, upgrades and evolve and grow as the businesses evolve and grow
Businesses have full control and can keep modifying and upgrading the custom software over the time to improve functionality and to support growth
Custom software can be designed as per the needs of the users hence it can offer greater user experience and better usability of the system which results in better performance
The custom software development is a one-time investment and there are no hidden charges, licensing fees, and per user cost
As the technology grows and market demands increases the business can instantly made changes, modifications and upgrades to leverage the new circumstances
Integration with third-party software and systems is very easy and more flexible, businesses can align their software easily to integrate with existing software and systems
Since the custom software is exclusively designed for your business, it can provide a greater competitive advantages
Custom software can boost employee performance, internal processes and operational capabilities

Cons of the Custom Software Development

The biggest drawback of the custom software development is its high initial cost
Apart from higher initial cost, the custom software also require proper research and brainstorming to establish a roadmap of the features to achieve the desired outcome
In-depth testing and repeated tests are required to make the system bug free
Custom software development is a time consuming task and couldn’t meet very urgent needs
It could take a fairly longer time to bring innovation and to upgrade the software
Another challenge a business faces while opting for a custom software development is to choose a right partner and service provider who can understand and meet your software needs

Conclusion

If a business wants to sustain growth and prosperity they must have to adopt the modern methods and industry trends. These days’ businesses heavily rely on IT and digital infrastructure to compete and grow in the market. The Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is a very competitive market and on top of that the customers are also very savvy and demanding. These trends and factors help evolving the society, hence the businesses will also have to evolve and upgrade to keep up the pace. When a business wants to upgrade its digital arsenals the biggest challenge is to decide among the commercial off-the-shelf solutions and customized software development. In this blog we have described both and we also listed all important aspect so the both methods. RSI Concepts is a leading custom software development company in Dubai, UAE. If you want any more help on the subject or if you want us to develop the next performance and success oriented software solution for your exclusive needs, 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.

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August 4, 2022August 4, 2022

Software Development: In-house vs Outsourcing

Here in Dubai and in fact all around the UAE the custom software development is getting popular day by day. Businesses have realized the advantages and superiority of the custom software applications over COTS (commercial off-the-shelf software/solutions). However, when it comes to developing a custom software, the biggest challenge a business face is to decide whether they should develop it with in-house team or should they outsource it to a third-party or custom software development company in Dubai, UAE. Businesses tend to outsource several business functions, it is not a new thing. However, most of the businesses in UAE also have an in-house IT team. As we all know the quality comes at a price. But high price doesn’t always assure good quality. For custom software development, the quality and efficiency of the solution/application matters the most but cost and the ROI is also very important. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE since past few years, businesses are more inclined towards outsourcing their IT needs. But still the in-house team have its own advantages. This is what often cause confusion and make it hard for the businesses to take a decision.

In this blog we will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of both outsourcing and in-house software development. It will help you understand which approach will work best for you as per your current needs.

Advantages of In-house Software Development

Mostly businesses have in-house IT teams with a variety of different skillsets. Mostly they are there to help and support the non-IT staff to be able to operate relevant software and systems. The most common trend in Dubai and all across the UAE is to have an IT team who can manage networks, IT infrastructure and other IT needs for the staff. Here are some key advantages of developing a custom software or application with the in-house IT team:

Better Communication

With the in-house software development team the biggest advantage is that there are no communication barrier. As the IT team also works in the same organizational environment and they are already familiar with the project stakeholders and with each other as well. So, the communication is not a problem at all. The in-house software development team knows the feedback, approval and work flow processes much better which makes communication simpler and easier. On top of that the in-house software development team also have their interest in the success of the project. The project manager, stakeholders or any concerned person can easily held face-to-face meetings, or quick discussion sessions. The feedback collection is also simpler and more convenient comparing to out-sourcing the software development project to a third-party or vendor.

Better Understanding of Cultural Values

The in-house software development team being an employee of the company are well-versed with the internal culture and values of the business. Since they are in-house team they would already know the reasoning behind various processes and practices. It is much easier to get them familiar with the new things. The outsourcing require much more onboarding efforts comparing to in-house software development team. The in-house software development team could act faster and they are more aware of company’s needs and are much better cultural fit. Furthermore they also doesn’t require intense requirement gathering and formal meetings to get everyone on track, in fact the in-house software development team can start immediately without causing any delay.

More Control and Monitoring

The in-house custom software development team offers more control and monitoring. The in-house team is always available, which makes them more accessible. The project owner or project manager can easily supervise them if needed. On top of that the in-house software development team is more aligned with the business’s philosophy. The business can also easily enforce their own quality control policy to each and every aspect of the actual development process. Furthermore there is no much issue with the compliance and development procedures. As the in-house IT team is already familiar with all those policies so they can enforce them more effectively. The project manager can examine the software at any stage along with individual tasks and performance of each team member which provide them a great control and monitoring over the in-house software development team.

Disadvantages of In-house Software Development

The in-house custom software development have some advantages but it also have some disadvantages. That is the reason why the outsourcing industry is currently witnessing a rapid growth. Here are some major disadvantages of the in-house software development:

Shortage of Skilled Staff

One of the biggest reason of outsourcing custom software development is the shortage of technical personals or the required skillset. The in-house IT team is not built for software development only, in fact it is to maintain the internal IT infrastructure and to provide instant support to non-technical staff. However, the IT team is not only network administrators and security engineers, in fact businesses also hire application and software developers to improve the efficiency and performance. But when a need arises for a custom software development, usually businesses doesn’t have enough software developer in the team. Another considerable aspect is that the software developers who are working in an in-house IT team doesn’t always have updated skills and knowledge. As they are used to of working on a limited set of software and applications.

In-house Software Development is Expensive

The biggest expense of in-house development is to fill the skill gap, which means the business must have to hire new software developers with the require skillset. Which not only add to the cost of the software but it also put extra strain on the overall budget and finance. Hiring full-time employees require additional expense which continues even after the completion of the customer software development project. That is why the in-house software development cost is very high. Another problem is that if a business assign an entire team to work on a single project, then there would no room for additional work. Which will have two negative effects, one the support to staff will be disrupted and disturbed and the second effect is on the project completion itself. In such scenarios the project completion will require more time than anticipated.

Slow Project Execution and Delays

For the in-house IT team the manager must have to maintain a balance between working on the software and catering to the regular needs of the organization. Which not only have impact on the support and service the internal IT team is providing but it also results in slow progress on the software development project. There could be so many unexpected scenarios where the IT team could get additional work, which could impact the progress. Furthermore the software developer’s turnover is also very high in Dubai and all around the UAE. Which could completely halt the progress or slow it down and hiring a new developer will take more time and resources. Due to all these reasons the in-house software development is not ideal for the businesses.

Advantages of Outsourcing Software Development

Mostly the businesses who have in-house IT team doesn’t use it to meet internal IT needs. Majorly their core specialties are not IT but they operate in other industries. That is why when it comes to develop a customized software application they usually don’t have adequate skilled staff who can build it for them or either their IT team is already fully occupied. Here are some key advantages of outsourcing software development in Dubai, UAE:

Seamless Project Execution and Quicker Delivery

The in-house IT team is mostly occupied and more importantly they could lack sufficient skilled staff, however, businesses can hire more software developer to fill this gape, even then the in-house software development tend to take more time than anticipated. However, outsourcing software development project ensures that all the milestones will be met and the project will be delivered in a timely manner. As the professional software development company will already have the pre-set workflows and project execution mechanisms which ensures a seamless project execution. This not only lift burden form the business and its in-house IT team but it also ensures a quicker delivery of the project. Since the outsourcing software developer or contractor will be bound to the agreed timelines, they will make sure the project delivers in time and all milestones met.

Mitigate the Risk Factor

Another great advantage of outsourcing the software development project is that the software developer will help mitigating the risks associated with the project. The outsourcing software development company must be experienced in the relevant software and they will be able to analyze and rectify the problems and issues with the customer’s requirements. They would be up-to-date with the current market and their experience puts them in a better place to predict future trends. Mostly with in-house software development the businesses tend to get poor scalability and sometimes the product is also built on older or even outdated technologies. However, the outsourcing software development company can not only reduce all such risks but they can even help businesses to improve their product by providing them suggestions and feedback which further increase the productivity and ROI of the subjected software.

Get Highly Professional Team

The Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is a very competitive market for the IT industry and especially for the software development. Which means that a well reputed software development company will always retain a highly professional team. As the software development is the bread and butter of the team here, so they are always up-to-date with the ongoing market trends and industry practices. This way the business can gain access to the best software developers in the market for their project.The highly professional team with enough knowledge of the market and experience can deliver the best quality work. In addition to that the outsourcing software development company can also help you to improve your initial idea and propose you several more innovative features which you might never think otherwise. Furthermore the outsourcing company can offer your much more technologies and platforms. From which you can chose the best which meets your needs and budget requirement. However, the in-house team is limited to the capabilities of the team and only offer fewer or in some cases just one option to choose from.

Outsourcing is Much More Cost Effective

Cost is one of the most important aspect of any project. For software development outsourcing the cost for in-house development is way too high comparing to outsourcing it. Businesses have to recruit new technical staff, and the employee retention requires more investments. Which makes the in-house development many time more expensive. However the custom software development industry is rapidly growing, the competition is tough and the businesses can easily find a lot many software development contractors in Dubai or anywhere else in UAE. This results in very competitive prices. The outsourcing contractors always try to offer the best price in order to beat the competition. On top of that there is no cost of hiring new staff to fill the skill gap and no need to upgrade the infrastructure, etc. This makes the outsourcing software development project value way too less than the in-house software development. The ROI is also very high and the business can get superior quality as well.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing Software Development

The outsourcing software development has various advantages and it can add a lot of value to your project. However, there are some disadvantages too, which every business should be aware of:

Slightly Difficult Communication

When a business outsource their software development to a contractor or software developer the major issue they face is with the communication. As the software development company always appoint a project manager or account manager for each project, who is responsible for all the communication, some companies also provide additional contacts from the actual software development team which could significantly reduce the communication problems. However, comparing to in-house team who is always available and mostly works under the same roof where the administration or project manager works, the communication with outsourcing software development company is slightly difficult. Arranging meetings, conference calls, or online sessions require to meet the schedules from all the involved parties which sometimes could be trickier for the project managers at both end. Usually that doesn’t cause any issue but the level of communication is not comparable to the in-house team.

Less Control over Software Development Team

The in-house software development team offers great control and monitoring, as they are easily and always accessible to the managers. The manager can call them, set regular meetings or schedule weekly updates and much more to intensify the communication and monitoring. When the managers have ability to closely monitor the software development team, they can enforce higher quality standards at each and every step of the development phase. However, when a business outsource software development project, they have less control over the actual software development team and they also get less updates and insight of the ongoing activities. Hence they will have to rely on the outsourcing contractor’s project manager for a lot of things during the development phase. However, later they can analyze each and everything and they can raise their concerns too. But during the project execution the project owner have less control comparing at the outsourcing team comparing to the in-house team.

Data Privacy & Confidentiality

Data privacy and confidentiality is also a big concern when a business decides to outsource their software development project. Because the business have to share very confidential data and crucial information with the outsourcing partner. Sometimes the breach to that sensitive information and data could compromise the reputation of the business and it could also cause a huge monetary damages as well. The competitors can also utilize such information to gain competitive edge over the business. That is why the data privacy and confidentiality is always a bigger concerns when it comes to outsourcing the software development. The business will have to depend on the measures taken by the outsourcing partners. However, in Dubai and in fact in the entire UAE the government laws and regulations provide great advantage to the business and help protecting their interests. So, the outsourcing partner will always do their best to prevent any breach or misconduct. But still the risk is there.

Conclusion

In this blog we have briefly discussed the in-house software development and the outsourcing the project to a software development company or third-party. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, with the passage of time the outsourcing of software development have proven to be more reliable, cost-effective and beneficial for the businesses. There are far less concerns about the outsourcing, as for the privacy and confidentiality related concerns, they can be reduced by signing NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and adopting to best industry practices. That is the reason the outsourcing have gained huge popularity all over the world and it is currently growing at a rapid pace. With software development outsourcing a business can significantly reduce the cost, minimize the project management efforts and they can get the best available technologies at their disposal. That is what make it more superior and beneficial from the in-house software development.

RSI Concepts is a leading custom software development company in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want to outsource your next software development project or need our other services, 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.

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July 21, 2022July 21, 2022

How to Choose the Right Software Development Vendor for Your Business

For any business the top priority is its customers. Thus businesses invest huge amount of resources in the customer satisfaction solutions. However, there are several other factors that contributes to a business’s success such as the market trends, competition, internal processes and employees. Today’s world is heavily dependent on digital and information technology. The technology have completely transformed our lives, from our smartphones to vacuum cleaners and from our vehicles to electric switches everything is becoming smarter day by day. Businesses also have to keep up with the pace. Especially here in Dubai and in fact all around the UAE a common consumer is far much educated and well-versed with products or services than anywhere else in the entire middle east. Savvy customers not only demand high from the businesses but eventually such markets tend to have tougher competition too. That is why businesses also need to become smart and more efficient. Which is achieved by utilizing a variety of software systems and solutions such as ERP, HR System, CRMs, CMS, Smartphone Apps, Websites, Accounting Software, HR Management System, Performance and Appraisal software, etc.

In order to keep up with the market needs and to improve efficiency, each business function has to be connected with each other. The flow of information makes business processes smooth and fast. Now a day’s businesses are adopting a fully centralized information center which connects everything within the organization‘s eco system and make businesses more efficient and profitable. However, when a business has to choose a software or a solution they always have two options. One is COTS which stands for commercial off-the-shelf software solution and the other is the custom software development. If you are reading this article that means I don’t have to convince you that custom software development is far superior to the COTS. In fact since past few years the custom software industry have witnessed a sudden spike in the growth. That is all because the COTS have failed to offer much needed maneuverability for the businesses to journey across fast moving markets.

When a need arises for a customized software development the biggest challenge is to find a reliable software development vendor who can not only meet your needs but also assure the success of the software or tool you are developing. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE there are hundreds if not thousands of software development companies which makes it very difficult to choose a right vendor. On top of that most of the businesses and the managers are not experienced enough in the custom software development which further clouds their judgments. In this blog we will discuss all important steps that a business should take in order to find a best custom software development vendor in Dubai, UAE.

Step 1: Define your Goals, Objectives and Project Timelines

Before starting your search the very first thing that you need is a goal and objective of the custom software development project. I am not saying you should have a full fledge plan of action, just an abstract of what you need would be enough.And the end-goal should be crystal clear. Let us take an example of document sharing and processing tool. For example, currently your employees are manually processing documents for internal processes. A document that is being generated by a clerk and it needs approval of his superintendent or supervisor, then it might require another signature of the manager and even several other internal authorities could be involved. Preparing the document, taking its prints, then moving the file upward could be time consuming and it could cause delays, especially when cross-function tasks are involved where managers or employees from different business function has to approve a single file before submitting it for final approval to a general manager or eve CEO, the manual process could take a week or so.

However, when a digital system is in place which provides a semi-automated or fully automated framework to push the files from one point to another, this could be done before the afternoon. The clerk could prepare and push it to his/her immediate manager, then it could be reviewed by them and pushed to the next level, and so on. If anyone wants to hold the document, they can hold it, if the approve it, it will automatically appear in the next manager’s dashboard. This is super-fast and it can have a significant impact on your internal processes and performance. In case of this example, our goal was to ‘minimize the file processing time’. Which can be achieved with the help of a small software application. Similarly whatever you need, you should have a clear goal in mind and you should know what you want to achieve with your custom software development project.

You are not required to have an in-depth work flow at the beginning but just a brief understanding of how you want to utilize the software. Let us take the same example, in case of custom document processing or file processing software, you should know what hierarchies you would be needing to achieve the required work flow. What will be the approval process, who would be able to edit the document and/or who will be creating it and who will be the final authority for the approval, etc. Just the simple and basic things about the project. Since we are dealing with internal documents which might contain some sensitive information so would you be comfortable to host it at a remote hosting or would you like to host it at in-premises data center. Will you be needing to integrate that software with any other existing software and how the users will sign-in to the system, etc.

These all details will not only help you achieving the desired results from the custom software development project but even a basic plan could save you a lot of time and cost. You can set milestones and dates which will obviously be revised but it will provide vendor a clear picture of what is expected from them. That is why having a clear end-goal and strategic objectives with a basic project plan and scope of the application must be laid down before you even start looking up for a custom oftware development vendor.

Step 2: Search for Customer Software Development Vendors

Searching for a custom software development vendor is not an easy task in Dubai and in fact anywhere else in UAE. If you search in Google, it shown you hundreds of custom software development vendors. The Google search is the easiest way to find some custom software development vendors. Check out the websites and try to learn about the business, its customers, work and other details. You can click on both ads and the normal search results too. You can also look up in the popular listing sites such as Clutch and GoodFirms, etc. These listing directories also provide a variety of filters such as location, industry focus, hourly rates, project size, etc. These tools can help finding top rated custom software development vendors. Surfing their websites will provide you more clarity about the company, its size, and its expertise. However, the website might not provide you enough information, each company build their website is a different way, although there would be a lot of similarities but still you might find some useful information about on one vendor’s site which would not be available on the other.

Don’t make rules here, just judge a custom software development vendor on the bases of their website and whatever the information they are publishing on it. The best way is to start with smaller companies with adequate work experience. It could minimize the cost a lot and they would be more agreeable on a lot many things. Try to look up for case studies on the vendor’s website, this will provide you much better understanding of the capabilities of the custom software development vendor. At this step make a list of at least 10 custom software development vendor who are located closer to your business and request them all to share their portfolio and experience in relevant industry. The reason of going through the case studies and the portfolio is to find a project that closely resemble to your requirements. The biggest drawback with the larger vendors is that they usually have multiple layer of management which could make processes and communication a bit more time-consuming that is why a smaller or medium sized custom software vendor could be a good choice, but remember, that is not an ultimate criteria.

Step 3: Analyze the Relevant Experience

It is crucial to analyze the portfolio and relevant work experience of the short listed custom software development vendors. This will provide you a better understanding of what they did in past and what you can expect from them. You can also learn if they have ever did something similar to your custom requirements. As if they have already done something similar to your requirements, it would be a lot convenient for them to do it again and most probably they will do it even better. From technical point of view, the skills and the level of expertise that is required to build a project might be sufficient to build several other totally different projects, but for a business owner or a manager it is very hard to understand those technicalities. That is why it is better to see if they have done something in past that resembles your requirements. If a custom software development vendor is saying they have done something similar but couldn’t provide the proof or sample then it is better to avoid them.

Sometimes businesses do sign a NDA or non-disclosure agreement which prevents them to share some of their work a good company will be able to share enough samples of work to let you understand their capabilities and level of their skills. In case if a custom software development vendor is unable to provide you relevant experience due to NDA then at least they will be able to provide you a broader outline of their previous projects. Which would be enough for you understand if they are telling the truth or not. The point here is that if the custom software development vendor will have relevant work experience they will be able to deliver a good quality product.

Step 4: Consider their Location

Usually business don’t consider this much but the geographical location of the vendor is very important. It is best to have the custom software development vendor from your Emirates or from a nearby city. For example, if you are located in Abu Dhabi and you chose a vendor from Ras Al Khaimah it will take them almost half day to reach you out, which will make difficult, however, if you are located in Sharjah and the company you chose is also located in Sharjah or Ajman, they could easily come to you. Here in Dubai and all across UAE there are vendors who only have sales office in UAE and their technical teams works from outside of the country, mostly in India or Pakistan. Such custom software development vendors are very hard to work with. Since the team is overseas which makes communication difficult and it could create a lot of problems during the project execution.

There is another type of custom software development vendor very common in UAE, those are completely off-shore companies, and they neither have sales office nor any other establishment in UAE. Since they are not bound to UAE laws so you will not get any protection in case of dispute. Working with off-shore companies and sharing confidential information with them could be very risky and it can compromise your security in future too. It is better to completely avoid off-shore companies.

Step 5: Compare Different Custom Software Development Vendors on the bases of their Proposals and Quote

Make a short list of all the custom software development vendors who have passed through above all steps and request them to submit their proposals and quotes. Comparing different proposals and quotes is a very critical process. It is better to prioritize the technical aspects over financial aspects. However, the cost of the custom software development project is also a major rating factor when comparing different vendors. The primary rating criteria should be the features of the system and the value it can add to you businesses and not the price. But make sure you are not overpaying for something. Sometimes some features might sound very fancy, it is important to focus on your pre-determined needs and only consider the features which are meeting to those needs.

Here are a few important points that you should consider while comparing different proposals and quotes from different vendors:

The age of the company, how old is the company?
How many projects they have delivered so far and who are their customers?
How much staff they retain and what is the qualification and experience of their staff?
Did they expressed the offered solution clearly along with your requirements?
What technology they are proposing you, and how experienced they are in it?
Does their proposed timeline meets your timeline?
What project execution method they are using?
What service, maintenance, AMC or SLA they are offering?
What other relevant services they offer?
What are the payment terms and costing of the project?

Once comparing all those aspects re-arrange a list while best on top. At this stage you should ask them to provide some other important details too such as:

If the new system has ability to integrate with your existing infrastructure, tools and systems?
What is the integration method?
What kind of training and skill set is require to operate the new custom software system?
What training and user manuals they are offering?
What is the support and escalation process?
What will be the renewal cost for any time-bound agreement? (Usually for AMCs & SLAs)
What will be the customization and scaling cost in future?
How the upgrades and updates will be managed during the warrantee period or under AMC?
How the upgrades and updates will be managed after the warrantee period or AMC?
Is there any cost for the upgrades and updates in the software?

Sometimes some of the above concerns are already addressed in proposal or correspondence. But it is important to clarify all these details. This will further help you to accurately estimate the operational and upgrade cost for the software in future.

Step 6: Consider the Technology and Scalability

Hopefully by now you have already made up your mind, however this is a very important aspect of custom software development. There are several technologies available in the market which are used to develop tailor-made software solutions for businesses. It is important to understand some of these technologies are compatible with each other and some are not. The compatibility is usually for the integration and data transfer/sharing. If your new custom software and your any of existing tool are not compatible then the integration between such platforms will be expensive and might not meet all needs. That is why the integration compatibility is also very important. There are two major types of software that are most widely used, not only in Dubai, UAE but all around the world. One is the native software application building and the other is web-based software and tools. These two are completely different from each other and also require a completely different development skills. Usually the scalability is not an issue with the customized software, however, it is important to discuss this point briefly with the custom software development vendor and see how easy and cost-effective scalability their solution is offering.

Step 7: Get into the Agreement and Sign Contracts

The agreements, contracts and sign-off is the final stage of selecting a custom software development vendor. It is also a very crucial step. The contracts and agreements lay down the foundation of the future relationship. It is important that you go through each and every clause of the agreement. Whether it is data privacy, payment terms, delivery and milestones, communication process, complaint and escalation matrix, just go read them thoroughly and don’t leave a single stone unturned. Most of the time these agreements use legal or technical terminologies, so if anything confuse you, immediately ask the vendor to explain it. Keep all of the correspondence official and maintain full record of all emails. These cautions are not because the vendors are not trustworthy, in fact agreeing on all these points is mutually beneficial. The custom software development process is a complex and lengthy processes where an average development phase could last for a month or so. So, it is important to avoid disputes and unwanted delays in the project completion. That is why it is crucial to fully understand and agree on each and every clause of the agreements. Once you are satisfied then do the sign off and initiate the project.

Conclusion

No matter what your requirements are the above step-by-step guide will help you finding the best customized software development vendor in Dubai or anywhere in UAE. The success of a custom software development project heavily depends on the vendor. Good vendors always help their customers and provide them great advice, which also help customers to further improve their software. Furthermore this is a long term relationship, and a business will require services and support from the custom software vendor too, so it is important to choose your custom software development vendor wisely. RSI Concepts is a leading custom software development company in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you with your 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.

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