This is Part 2 of a series – catch up on the other posts here.

– Part 1 – Determining what you need
– Part 2 – Deciding on a Solution
– Part 3 – Coming Soon.

In part 1 of this series, we went over how to determine your needs for custom software solutions. That involves figuring out which processes take the most time or where data can be inconsistent. Once we’ve found your pain points, we work with you to determine possible solutions. Here in part 2, I will break down the process of picking from a number of possible solutions that will best fit your needs.

Available Solutions

After we’ve figured out your software needs, we start brainstorming possible solutions. It’s possible that the solution is right there in front of you and very obvious, but as you can imagine, there are many different directions this could go depending on what you need – is it a complete system overhaul, or a simple data integration? One size does not fit all. Some out of the box solutions might take care of a few of those things, but more often than not, it’s not capable of all of them. That’s where custom software comes in. It is tailored to do exactly what you need, and can be updated or changed as your business changes.

Here are a few examples of what possible solutions would look like:

• Single system overhaul – i.e. Replace your quoting (or any other) system with a new custom solution
• Connecting multiple systems – i.e. An invoicing system feeds data directly into the accounting system automatically
• Automatic data entry – i.e. Drop a spreadsheet into a folder, and let an automatic process pick up the file and import it into a system of your choice
• Automation – i.e. Repetitive tasks, such as data entry, automated to save you time
• New system – i.e. No existing solution out there quite fits what you need, so you need a desktop application or website that provides custom data entry, reporting, dashboards, file imports, etc.

Capabilities

The capabilities of custom software tailored specifically to your needs is great. Many businesses have common actions – generating opportunities, creating quotes and invoicing them, getting weekly/monthly/yearly reports, email notifications and so on – but the catch is, every business is unique; therefore your solution should be unique. Out-of-the-box solutions try to be generic and attempt to provide a solution that applies to many different scenarios. It’s in their best interest to be as generic as possible so they gain as many customers as possible. However, a generic solution is only good for generic problems.

It can be overwhelming the amount of options there are out there. With custom software, we make this easy by tailoring a solution that fits your exact needs. When choosing custom software, there is one option: your dream system, exactly how you want it. That’s the big benefit when going with custom software; it’s exactly what you need, nothing more, nothing less.

Finishing up

Once we agree and decide on a solution, it’s time to dive into design and development. We work with you during the entire project lifecycle to ensure everyone is on the same page. Join us in Part 3 where we go over what the design and development process looks like with EHTC Digital.