Some of our clients have seen an ROI north of 1000% (yes, that is three zeros) by allowing us to develop bespoke solutions for them. This return-on-investment is generally down to cost savings or the ability to make more money, or – in a lot of cases – both. Sometimes though, calculating an ROI isn’t always straight forward when it comes to custom software which makes it difficult to justify the investment. It’s also hard to identify the need for custom software without knowing its potential, especially when you’re working within the business. For this reason, we wanted to share some of the top benefits of using software written specifically for your business and the challenges it can help you overcome.
Reduce Errors
Let’s face it – no matter how skilled or experienced you are, mistakes happen from time to time. We’re only human; we forget, we make typos, we run out of energy, the list is endless and it’s nobody’s fault, but it can’t be helped and when mistakes happen it affects business. The good news is custom software can virtually remove the risk of mistakes in many cases, and catch errors before they become significant! We can implement lots of validation and checks at different stages within a system to ensure accuracy.
Furthermore, by creating a complete system we can eliminate the risk of data being lost or forgotten about and therefore make sure everything is actioned. It’s also common within organisations for data to be copied to and from different systems, and each time this is done the risk of information being entered incorrectly (or not at all) increases. By developing a bespoke solution we can remove the need for data be entered manually more than once by
Integrating systems or even removing the need for them altogether.
Better Insights
Chances are there’s a lot of data flying about within your business, and that’s great because data is incredibly valuable. However, it’s only valuable when it’s accessible and can be manipulated. Custom software makes this possible by not only organising information really well but also implementing reporting features so that you can drill down into numbers. These type of reports can then inform key business decisions that improve your bottom line. What’s more, you won’t need to be an Excel wizard to understand the data. We create reports that show you what you need to know on-demand, without any processing.
More Brain Power
Technology is constantly progressing, and everyday computers become capable of performing more calculations in less time. It isn’t necessarily a case of whether computers are smarter than humans, rather the fact they can do more in less time without suffering from fatigue. This is really important because it means complex calculations that are useful but time-consuming to do by hand become practical to do and can be done with a greater degree of accuracy.
Equally, there are many things humans can do a lot better than computers. We believe custom software is an opportunity to play members of staff and technology to their strengths, and therefore make the most effective use of time. A bespoke solution can free up your employee’s time and enable them to do more of what they’re best at.
Always On
There are 24 hours in a day, but how many of those do you utilise? Everyone’s got to sleep sometime, right? Unless you pay night staff, you’re missing out on a lot of hours that could be making you more money. Plus, if you want to grow your business you need to constantly be moving forward – ideally faster than your competitors.
Custom software can work for you 24/7, especially if it’s cloud-based. Perhaps you produce reports for clients, or you need to monitor something. Maybe your clients need quotations for a bespoke product or service that you currently use a spreadsheet to create. What about if you have customers in different timezones and they need information. Whatever you’re looking to achieve, we can develop a solution that allows you to leverage those extra hours.
Data Management
It’s so common for us to see organisations with more spreadsheets than we can count, hundreds of documents and a dozen different systems all containing different information with some overlapping. It starts off manageable, but can quickly lead to chaos. It creates data redundancy, causes inaccuracies and means information is difficult to find.
All this information can be collated and stored together in an organised fashion when we develop a bespoke solution. This brings many advantages, including the ability for anyone in the organisation to find information much more easily, clear links and relationships between data, less risk of errors, and no data redundancy. It also makes it possible to implement much more sophisticated restrictions regarding who can view and edit what information.
GDPR/Legislation Compliance
Following on from the point above, the General Data Protection Regulation means that it is imperative for you to know not only where all data relating to customers is stored but also be able to access and remove it on demand. This regulation is something that every organisation has to follow or at least a variation of it, and chances you’ll need to comply with other legislation specific to your industry as well.
Without a bespoke system, complying with legislation can often cause headaches. It shouldn’t though – all the data you need is already there. We can give you the tools to access the data you need when you need it, quickly and easily, embedded in the software.
Increase Your Capacity
There’s only so much that you achieve within a period of time before you need more resources. Every organisation reaches this point and the answer is generally to hire or outsource. However, another way to increase your capacity is to delegate tasks to computers – particularly ones that are repetitive or involve calculations.
Even if it only saves a few minutes every hour, it all adds up. It also means people don’t have to break away from big tasks so much and risk losing focus, which costs time itself.
We can create systems to handle some or all of the tasks you need to delegate, ensuring they’re executed perfectly to your exact requirements; leaving you with the capacity to increase turnover.
Pay For What You Actually Use
Most software that is available off-the-shelf has a vast array of features and can do more than the average user is even aware of. In this respect, the software does represent value for money but only if you use it to the full potential. Otherwise, it could be that there are more features that you don’t use than you actually do which is definitely not cost-effective.
Chances are, we can replicate those features that you do use across multiple pieces of software into a single package that does everything you need at a much lower cost.
Simplicity
Because off-the-shelf software tends to have lots of features, it’s inevitable that there will be a degree of complexity. It’s also designed so that thousands of people can use every feature, which means that for some the layout and workflow are less than ideal.
On the other hand, custom software is designed specifically for you. It goes beyond simply implementing functionality, as the user interface can also be styled and laid out in the best way for the people using it! At Lyke Ltd., we take time to learn and experience how our clients work, so we can make the custom software fit in perfectly with your workflow and therefore increase efficiency.
Make Your Customers’ Life Easier
It’s not just you who can benefit from custom software; your customers can too. Front-facing interfaces can easily be implemented within the system to enable you to collect information directly from customers and interact with them.
This has many advantages including reducing the risk of typing errors, giving them access to better information, and allowing them to interact at time that is convenient for them thereby reducing delays.
New Possibilities
So far, we’ve discussed how bespoke solutions can improve your existing systems and processes. The impact they can have on these is definitely significant, but a whole new opportunity to explore is the ability to do something entirely new that might not have been possible or practical to do without custom software…
This could allow you to launch new products or services, innovate existing ones, or even increase profits. The possibilities really are endless and with technology like machine learning and artificial intelligence, you really can think big!
Don’t let what’s available off-the-shelf limit your ideas. Custom software is all about developing a solution that does EXACTLY what you need and want, in a cost-effective way.
What Will Your ROI be?
Hopefully, you’ve been inspired by some of the benefits custom software can bring. In truth, there’s many more and for every client investing in bespoke solutions has different benefits. The return-on-investment will also be measured in different ways, but nevertheless from the outset we will plan to project to have the most benefit for you.
If we’ve sparked your imagination and you’ve got an idea you’d like to discuss – big or small – let’s talk. Get in touch today for your free consultation, we’ll even bring the biscuits!