When a business envisions a custom ERP, custom software development project, or enterprise application for its own use or to sell to other companies as a business application, it is always a challenge to pull together the resources and to keep the project on budget and on track to meet expectations and roll out the app for use or to generate revenue.
Most internal IT teams don’t have the time, the resources or, often, the skills to refine requirements, and execute the project using domain, technology and development experience that may include mobile application development, cross-platform development, various programming languages and tools and more.
“By employing the services of an IT consulting partner, you ensure that you will be protected with Service Level Agreements (SLAs), frequent and appropriate communication and a full suite of services with quality methodologies and development processes that will ensure your success.”
Here are three reasons to engage a partner for custom ERP and custom enterprise application development projects:
Resource Accessibility and Flexibility – Your internal IT staff is busy with hardware, software and network maintenance and often overwhelmed with other responsibilities like migration, creating custom reports, maintaining databases and providing a myriad of support for senior management, business analysts, data scientists and business users. This team is often tasked with training staff on business software and attending meetings to update management on ongoing projects, staffing requirements etc. By engaging a partner, you ensure that there are dedicated, accessible resources available to execute your project and keep it on track. There will be no distractions or challenges related to resource availability.
Skills and Experience – The depth and breadth of experience and skills required to complete a custom software development project can include application design and development for content management systems (CMS) or eCommerce solutions, mobile application or smart watch extensions of a business software application to make the application portable outside the walls of the organization, user experience design, application integration, cross-platform development, and comprehensive testing. Your project must include state-of-the-art software engineering practices, appropriate technical architecture, versioning control, detailed technical and user documentation and high development and quality standards. The project team must also create a roadmap to grow the application, plan for upgrades to accommodate user expectations and business needs and more. When you engage a partner to execute your custom project, you ensure that the team will have the specific, appropriate skills to get the job done and that any special skills or issues can be addressed by assigning team members as the project progresses.
Comprehensive Coverage – Depending on the target audience for the custom ERP or custom enterprise application for market, the team may have to complete a competitive analysis, technical feasibility, manage a product roadmap and implement timely upgrades. A custom project does not end at roll-out. It must include an executable plan for support and maintenance and, even in some cases, training of customers or users. The team must create and manage clear goals to meet business and technology objectives, mitigate risk and produce products and output. Maintenance and administration must include support for additional users and locations, multi-layered security and compliance with appropriate industry and government regulations and a substantive business plan and ongoing budget to ensure the application will be successful. By employing custom software development services, you ensure that you will be protected with Service Level Agreements (SLAs), frequent and appropriate communication and a full suite of services with quality methodologies and development processes that will ensure your success.
The need for expert, experienced software application developers is constant, and in this rapidly changing technology environment, it is sometimes difficult to sustain cutting-edge IT skills and provide expert resources to accommodate the changing and growing needs of the organization. In order to meet business requirements, an enterprise must maintain a balanced, skilled IT team to enhance and support the business with innovative, high-value, low-cost applications development, and maintenance and support services, backed by timely, proven processes and methodologies.
“Most internal IT teams don’t have the time, the resources or, often, the skills to refine requirements, and execute the project using domain, technology and development experience.”
The right IT consulting partner can help you to achieve a positive outcome for your custom application development project, Custom ERP Or Custom Enterprise Application project. Read our White Paper to find out how to ensure the best offshore software development services, ‘How To Select An Offshore Development Partner.’
