In today’s digital landscape, the only constant is change. While brands continually evolve at a rapid rate and compete to offer bigger, better, and more impressive experiences for their customers, flexible work arrangements are more commonplace to facilitate the productivity, creativity, and innovation necessary of their workforces.
This shift has led to a demand for new tools and platforms that can adapt and facilitate new modes of working. Nuanced operations in enterprises, each unique to the next, mean that there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to working models and no one best software to support them.
Oftentimes, companies use a range of different tools, platforms, and systems as components in their processes, but these can become convoluted and present barriers to workflow efficiency as a business adopts more flexible ways of working to empower teams to reach their potential.
In these situations, custom software development is often the lynchpin that connects myriad systems together and enables flexible working, adapting to the specific needs of the business and its employees. Let’s take a look at how custom software supports flexible working models.
What are the shortcomings of COTS software?
Commercial Off-The-Shelf Software (COTS) is usually where most businesses start out, and many of us will be familiar with COTS platforms that we’ve worked on in the past. Think of Monday, Trello, Miro, and Slack. These tools enable businesses to maintain central platforms through which internal operations can be tracked and organised and allow employees the freedom to work away from the office while accessing the same important information to maintain productivity and communicate with their teams.
There are COTS options for a long list of tasks and operations, including CRM, stock monitoring, financial tracking, customer data processing, and other common day-to-day activities. While these are sufficient for a number of businesses, especially smaller, less complex ones, COTS solutions are effective only to an extent before they become a hindrance or even a risk to a business on its journey of growth.
For example, in industries where data security is a high priority, like finance, law, and healthcare, the generic features of COTS aren’t enough to ensure top security for customers, especially when you account for the inconsistencies and increased risk exposure that comes with remote working.
Why choose custom software over COTS?
But when it comes to choosing custom software over COTS, it’s not just about safety and maintaining productivity. Custom software has the potential to enrich your work processes in ways that COTS solutions can’t. By creating tailor-made solutions that fit in with your individual business processes, strengths, and weaknesses, you can optimise efficiency and experience for your team, giving them a tool that makes work feel lighter, easier, and more pleasurable. By removing the rigid barriers of a generic tool, a custom software solution can align with the creativity, flexibility, and freedom of new working models adopted by your business.
A skilled custom software developer can weave a solution to meet regulatory demands, keeping your business safe and in line with any compliance, giving you peace of mind, but also offering refreshing approaches to your ways of working where there are opportunities. The possibilities are endless as we start with a blank slate and envision the best possible outcome together with you.
How does custom software support flexible working?
Custom software can transform remote and hybrid work environments. Here are some ways how:
Collaboration and communication: integration of video conferencing, collaborative workspaces, and instant messaging so that workflows can be imitated remotely as if they were in one office.
Accessibility and security of data: due to the dispersion of teams in different locations on different wifi connections, servers, and devices, both heightened security and ease of access are essential so that only authorised personnel can access information no matter where they are.
Management and productivity: tracking progress, assigning and delegating tasks, and overseeing and managing resources are made easier and more efficient. Data silos are reduced.
Reporting and analytics: bespoke software can be made to incorporate custom analytics tools geared to monitor specific KPIs. This gives businesses better foresight for decisions and approaches to working models that capture the best opportunities for productivity and employee satisfaction.
Integration and alignment: custom software can be made to replace existing systems or work alongside them. Thanks to its tailor-made approach, it can slot in with any systems that already serve remote and hybrid teams well, patching up areas to ensure completely smooth workflows.
Custom Software in Flexible Working Scenarios
Imagine a remote team collaborating in different countries and across time zones. A dynamic workflow is required in order to manage projects, track progress, and facilitate effective communications. A custom software solution can be created to ensure this team stays on track. It takes the form of a centralised project management hub with these features:
Time zone synchronisation that shows each team member’s local time, helping with meetings and deadlines.
Workflow automation: reminders, deadlines, and task-stacking based on team workflows without the need for manual input.
Communication integration: file-sharing, instant messaging, and video conferencing are all available on the platform without needing to switch apps.
Updates and notifications in real-time: keeping team members up to date on project changes according to their roles and preferences.
Let’s consider another hypothetical scenario, a hybrid working sales team. Some members work in the office, and some remotely. Staff rotate between office work and working from home. A custom CRM system is created to optimise the team’s efficiency, including the following features.
Mobile responsive interface: access to the system via mobile means field agents can inform and update clients in real-time, offering the best customer service available at all times.
Custom report generation: reports that auto-generate based on key data sets and metrics showing sales trends, team performance, and client engagement, showing information on both remote work and in-office work.
Lead distribution automation: leads are automatically assigned to sales agents based on location, availability, and expertise, removing the need for manual management.
Collaboration tools: integration with team calendars facilitates meeting and follow-up scheduling to keep all team members engaged regardless of location.
Integration and Evolution
One of the beauties of custom software is its flexibility not just to replace existing systems but to fit into the current business environment and evolve with it. Bespoke software solutions are fluid by design and can be made to work with whichever existing systems you need them to, in whatever way you need them to. This custom system connectivity creates a smooth and responsive environment for all team members.
This unification of systems under a custom software solution sets you up perfectly for the evolution of your business, as custom software is built for longevity, made to anticipate the adapting needs and scaling functionality of your business. Supporting its demands without disrupting its flow.
As the world continues to move into more creative ways of working, custom software is poised to help businesses innovate. Custom software is not just here to help you pull pace with change in the digital world it’s also about staying ahead of the curve. To those seeking better solutions for remote and hybrid working models, custom software is a strategic investment in the future of your business: its productivity, customer relations, and employee wellbeing. If you’re seeking new ways to help your team thrive through flexible working, arrange a chat with Myth Digital. We’ll ask all the right questions to pinpoint exactly what your custom software solution should look like.
Frequently asked questions
What is COTS software?
COTS stands for Commercial Off-The-Shelf Software: ready-made platforms such as Monday, Trello, Miro and Slack that most businesses start out with. They cover common tasks like CRM, stock monitoring and financial tracking, and let employees work away from the office while accessing the same central information as their colleagues.
Why can off-the-shelf tools become a problem as a business grows?
Generic tools are effective only up to a point. As a business adopts more flexible ways of working, a patchwork of separate platforms becomes convoluted and creates barriers to workflow efficiency. In industries where data security is a priority, such as finance, law and healthcare, generic features may not be enough to protect customers, particularly with remote teams.
Can custom software work with the tools my team already uses?
Yes. Bespoke software can either replace existing systems or work alongside them. Because it is tailor-made, it can slot in with the systems that already serve remote and hybrid teams well and patch the gaps between them, creating a single connected environment rather than forcing a wholesale change.
What features help a remote team working across time zones?
A centralised project management hub can show each team member's local time to help with meetings and deadlines, automate reminders and task-stacking based on team workflows, bring file sharing, instant messaging and video conferencing into one place, and send real-time updates tailored to each person's role and preferences.
