The Importance of Software Development for Small Businesses

There was a time when software development services were “too expensive” for small businesses. Software meant you needed to partner with a Silicon Valley firm and get a pricey system developed. As the cost of software development decreased and devices and broadband connection became more affordable, small business software development started becoming a thing. Mobile devices and cloud services have changed the way businesses operate and it has become difficult for anyone (large or small), to survive without decent technologies backing up their business.

Today, even the smallest scale businessmen think how they can introduce technology in their processes and achieve higher efficiency. Business software development is a bit different for small businesses than it is for established multi-nationals.

If you are a small business in any industry whatsoever, debating whether or not you need a software or mobile app, we can prove to you that you do.

Why Small Businesses Need Software Applications

Business software for small-scale companies can be their window to success. Using a well-built platform either for internal use or a customer-facing solution to improve engagement can be a game-changer for your business.

Let’s explore the benefits of software development for small businesses-

• Customer-facing software in the form of a website or a mobile app will increase your visibility in the target market. It will allow your customers to be able to reach you and lead to more business.

• You can also expect to improve customer experience through a software solution. The way you interact with your buyers and how they experience your business is a great indicator of their loyalty with your business.

• Implement on-the-go marketing and open new channels of advertising to a targeted audience through a website or mobile application.

• You can also improve internal processes and communication between your employees, besides many other operational benefits through enterprise-grade software.

• Often small business struggle to tackle a rise in demand from customers or have difficulty managing tasks, delegating responsibilities, tracking leads, and so on. A software solution might help you stay on top of these issues in your small business.

• Small businesses can leverage certain capabilities through software and eliminate manpower from those specific operations improving work efficiency and lowering costs.

And many more.

Software solutions from Blacklight Software can be used to eliminate any anomalies in business processes and improve the efficiency of operations at all levels.

Let’s see what kind of software solutions small businesses need.

Software Solutions for Small Businesses

Here are a few kinds of software applications small enterprises can leverage to improve productivity and streamline processes-

• Time Management – A time management or productivity software can really help you manage deadlines or appointments. Second, these solutions may also organize data and prioritize and track your time spent on each task. These software pieces include note-taking apps, productivity-boosting apps, time management solutions, and team-task management software.

• Communication – It is important to establish effective channels of communication within a small enterprise so teams can intermingle through a trusted and sophisticated professional network. These software solutions include messaging and video calling apps that can maximize productivity by allowing employees to digitally connect with and consult each other when needed.
• Human Resources – A software that helps your HR team manage the hiring process can be a game-changer for your business. Empowering your hiring team with a solution that carries on skills assessment test digitally, verifies candidate identity, and reduces paperwork. This will help you get the right talent on board and automate the hiring process to a certain extent.
• Finance and Accounting – Streamline taxes, benefits, and payroll service processes with an efficient software solution that manages your finances. These software solutions can also have capabilities to track your business’ financial health, manage inflow and outflow of money, remind you about due incoming payments, and so on. As a small business, it is vital for you to be able to see all expenses and financial data in one place as well as arrange your tax prep needs. You can also look for small business accountants to get some helpful advice and tips regarding this matter.
• Sales and Marketing – CRM software solutions provide rich features that can give you better visibility into your business and help you make better decisions. These software solutions might have capabilities to record sales calls and help understand customers better, schedule appointments with clients and customers, send emails to targeted and segmented audiences, and so on.

• Customer Engagement – If it makes sense for you, a website and/or mobile app is definitely not the least important kind of software a small business can utilize. Get in front of your customers and put your A-game forward with a website or mobile app that conveys your business values and helps customers get more involved with your enterprise.

There is much more your business can do with a software solution. And, this is where custom software development comes in.

When and Why Custom Software Makes Sense for Small Businesses

If you need something tailored for your business’ unique needs, it makes complete sense for small businesses to go with custom development. While custom software development services are a bit more expensive than off-the-shelf solutions, they are affordable when you see all the benefits they bring along.

Let’s see what custom software development can do for small businesses-

• Custom software solutions don’t need businesses to change their processes in order to effectively use them, which is common in the case of small enterprises. These solutions are developed to accommodate your specific business requirements so that you don’t have to change anything.

• Customized software solutions pose fewer technical complexities as compared to ready-to-use solutions. As these apps are equipped with features that are a great fit for your business, they integrate with your current processes without any friction. Thus, expect seamless integration with existing systems when you get a software custom developed.

• These software systems are built keeping in mind your business model and so they make more sense to your operations and processes. By that regard, custom software solutions help businesses gain an edge over their competitors. Since you have a product that builds upon your potential and infrastructure, you don’t have to settle for any aspect of the product.

• Any off-the-shelf solution is used by hundreds of businesses. And, so they might pose a potential risk to your data. Through custom developed software for small business, you get better data and application security so you can maintain the privacy of your operations and strategies.

• Small businesses value data to gain insights into customers and clients behavior and tweak their decisions accordingly. And so, customized reports are one of the best reasons to get a solution custom developed. Quick reporting and analytics capabilities improve the importance of custom software development for small enterprises.

• A custom software would come as a result of a long-term agreement with software developers. This means, you have the option of scaling up and down as and when you need. This is not quite the case with readymade solutions, which are not very flexible to scale up and down.

• Since a custom software development company is responsible for your solution, they would provide you with unmatched support after the deployment of your product, which is not the case with off-the-shelf software apps that are used by various companies. If you encounter an issue with any aspect of your solution, you will have a team ready to help you any hour of the day.

Custom software development could be a great choice for small businesses to improve their business from a complete 360-degree perspective.

The massive advantage of hiring a custom software development company is that all solutions to your challenges are introduced as part of the existing processes installed in your company.

Hire the Right Custom Software Development Company

For small businesses, it is out of their budget to partner with an inefficient software development firm. Therefore, the choice you make matters a lot.

CDN Solutions Group offers affordable and efficient custom software and application development services to small businesses located both offshore and otherwise. Our team of expert developers and designers make sure your solution is feature-rich and easy-to-use at the same time.

We try to minimize the learning curve for your employees when you need enterprise-level software. We make your solution easy and inexpensive so it doesn’t drill a hole in your bank. CDN Solutions Group is known for its development services using latest technologies such as the Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Big Data.

We can help small businesses leverage these technologies and gain a competitive advantage in any industry. Contact us today to learn more about our services for small businesses.