6 Reasons Your Business Needs Custom Software

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

When it comes to managing your business, some softwares may work better than others but nothing will compare to a completely custom software solution made to fit your exact needs.

There are some really great “boxed” software solutions out there but each business is unique and not all softwares are able to be customized to fit your workflows and needs. Another thing to consider is the cost involved to have these solutions customized to fit your busines. Typically, entry-level cost is fairly affordable, but then you realize the software isn’t going to meet your needs without some customization that’s when it hits your wallet hard.

In many cases, the cost of customizing can run into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. At that point does it really make sense to spend your hard-earned money on trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole? Of course it doesn’t.

Rapid Deployment

How much time will it take to customize the boxed software so that your business can begin using it? We all know that time is money and the longer you spend using inefficient methods the more money goes out the window.

FileMaker is a rapid development platform where you could have a simple custom software solution running in a matter of days, not months or years. Don’t get me wrong, more complex solutions can take longer but the speed of development cycles in FileMaker are dramatically faster than many other competing software solutions and it allows you to develop as you go to implement new feature sets as your needs change.

Custom Software Integrations

Typically businesses use a multitude of softwares to manage their data from spreadsheets, accounting software, project management systems and CRMs. When using these various systems there is an inherent disconnect as these systems usually cannot easily exchange information causing manual data entry from one system to another.

Imagine having all of your company’s data in one place where this data is available and integrated together. Sound like a dream? Well, this is where FileMaker can bring all of your company’s data into one central location. Not only does this simplify the amount of softwares that a user needs to interface with on a daily basis, but it also allows more in depth reporting across all major components of your business.

FileMaker can integrate with other softwares in many ways to allow aggregation of data across any number of systems.

Infrastructure Costs Can Quickly Skyrocket

Many major software solutions will require dedicated server hardware and network infrastructure systems. For most small businesses, investing in the proper network infrastructure, hardware and IT services to install and maintain them can be cost prohibitive.

With the availability of leased servers and cloud services, FileMaker can ease the pain of having to afford the costs of dedicated infrastructure. This can enable even the smallest businesses to have a custom software tailored to their needs without having a Fortune 500 budget.

Sticky notes don’t scale with your business

Let’s face it, using spreadsheets, sticky notes and emails may work for a little while, but as your company grows this method becomes increasingly cumbersome and difficult to keep up with. Spreadsheets and sticky notes don’t scale with your business.

FileMaker is a rapid development software platform which allows for fast development and deployment of new features and structure. A properly planned FileMaker solution will allow you to start with the basic needs of your business and add functionality as the needs of your business grow. This enables you to have full control over your software’s development cycles and budget for future scalability.

Compatibility

With FileMaker, you can quickly build a custom tailored application that is cross-platform compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS and the web allowing access from your business manager in the office, your sales team out on the road and even having a client portal so your customers can log in with their web browser to view their account information, order status and purchase history for example.

FileMaker’s compatibility opens up the possibilities for everyone involved in your business to access the data they need regardless of their operating system or mobile device.

Conclusion

While there are many options to consider when choosing a business management software, few can match the cost effectiveness, portability, scalability and rapid deployment of FileMaker. When you are faced with making the decision to choose a business management software, FileMaker Pro should be on the top of your list.