Customizing mobile apps can be a powerful instrument for supporting your employees, processes, and business as a whole. However, many companies find it challenging to build a customized app that would specifically meet their needs.
In this article, I will explain:
So let’s dive in!
What Is Custom Mobile App Development?
The name here talks for itself pretty much. Custom app development is the process of building apps specifically tailored to the needs of your business. Fully or partially customized, such an app is created to address the needs of a particular audience rather than the whole group of people. Also known as bespoke or tailor-made software, custom-developed apps provide the functionality and features that simple off-the-shelf solutions cannot.
Almost all apps you see on the market are custom-based. However, many of them have off-the-shelf features that have been integrated from third parties. Usually, such integrations are made for chats, administrative boards, CRMs, and other functions.
For example, Xekera Systems is a popular solution for apps that integrate a ready-made messenger chatbot into their product. Though integrated, such a chatbot can be partially customized in terms of design colors. Still, you cannot change much in it. So if an integrated app does not cover your needs, you might need to build a custom chat.
For instance, when building Yaza, a video-sharing app for realtors, we quickly turned down the option of a ready-made chat. The reason was that ready-made solutions did not allow sharing custom video messages, so we had to build a custom chat that would suit the app's needs better.
While going for the ready-to-go option is entirely ok, sometimes you need something unique.
The same works for your business. Some off-the-shelf solutions can only cover the core needs of your business, leaving behind some goals that, though not basic, are still crucial for your success.
Benefits Of Custom App Development For Businesses
Here are the benefits, that custom development has compared to the ready-made solutions:
Enhanced Security
General business apps sometimes lack specialized security features, which can pose a threat to your data safety. Building a customized app lets you implement specific security measures specifically for your business and eliminate possible threats and dangers via data encryption. Also, a customized approach meets the requirements of various OS and APIs.
High Scalability
Regular apps are usually built to process a limited number of resources. It is not necessarily bad, but at the point when your business grows, generalized apps can fail to handle bigger loads of data.
Unlike general apps, this problem is easily solvable in custom app development. This is because custom-made apps are usually built with such parameters in mind. So they can be easily scaled up if such a need arises.
Easier In Maintenance
By using a general app, you fall in dependency on an unknown mobile app development team. In case they decide to suspend development, you will be left without continuous development. Building a customized app, you get full control over the development and maintenance process and don't have to depend on others for anything.
Emphasizing The Competitor’s Advantage
For any business, especially for startups, competitive benefits have paramount importance. In this case off-the-shelf solutions can hardly extend their capabilities to include additional functions. Custom applications can help you highlight the competitive advantages of your business and differentiate your product on the market.
Tips For Great Custom Mobile App Development
So now, we have figured out the practical side of custom app development. However, it is not only about what it is but also about how it is carried out. I suggest taking these 3 steps that will help you get the most out of the custom app development.
Define The Requirements
Software development requirements play a key role in the development of any product. Especially, when it is custom application development. To get the result that you are dreaming of, you need to specify the requirements to the grittiest details. The main purposes of software documentations are:
Keep Up With Tech Trends
New technologies are not always about futuristic 3D illustrations or VR eyeglasses. Instead, these can be effective instruments that can simplify or automatize your workflow. Here are some technologies that I recommend considering:
Find A Team Of Professionals
The last (but not the least) step I would recommend is finding a team of professionals who will be on the same page with you. By that, I mean the professionals who will take time to explore your business and go into the matters of your business needs.
Product mindset is one of the fundamental values of Xekera Systems’s culture. It proclaims that everything we do on the project is carried out with the product in mind: no excessive coding or useless technologies. Instead, we only implement the features that match the business needs.
How Xekera Systems Can Help To Build Custom Apps
At Xekera Systems, we have a background in building custom-based apps, like Aspiration, Dollar Shave Club, Sprent, Nomad. We base all our development activities on user needs and feedback during user interviews and tests. Product mindset is one of our values. That is why product discovery is an essential part of our development activities.
Before plunging into custom app development, we always:
Conclusion
Custom app development can be an intensive boost for your business if it is built with your business needs in mind. Custom-developed apps help businesses to thrive by providing enhanced security, ease in maintenance, and high scalability.
Contact our sales manager to discuss if custom app development is the right choice for your project.
