7 Custom Software Examples That Make Life Easier (+ Tips for Creating Your Own)

In this post, you’ll discover seven examples of custom software making life easier for its users—and get tips for commissioning your own custom solution for your business.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What is custom software development?

• What are the main benefits of bespoke software development?

• 7 examples of custom software making daily life easier

• What to consider when developing custom software

Ready to build your own custom software with a team that cares about you and your processes? We’re not code monkeys, we care about you.

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What is custom software development?

Custom software development is the creation of a bespoke digital platform or application. 

Custom software is designed to fit the specific needs of your organization, including any special features, functionalities, and integrations needed to support your users to achieve their goals.

There are a variety of ways your organization can create or commission custom software:

• Hire additional in-house developers

• Hire freelance developers

• Bring in an external team of developers to integrate with existing staff and help with the custom software development process

Giving this task to in-house developers or freelancers (or even a combination of the two) is always an option. But great talent can be hard to find and retain and it can be challenging to align freelancers with existing staff and systems, especially across time zones.

At NaNLABS, we recommend hiring a third-party software development company to fully align with your existing team and create custom software that meets the precise needs of your organization. 

NaNLABS can help you develop bespoke software that’s tailored to meet your business goals. Our talented team utilizes Agile structures to keep your projects on track, communicate effectively, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your project, and deliver great value for money.

What are the benefits of bespoke software development?

Bespoke software development is great for your business because

• It’s tailored to the unique needs of your organization

• It’s a better investment in the long term

• It’s scalable, meaning it can be developed further over time

• It can lower your costs and streamline your workflow and processes

• It doesn’t have to rely on third parties for updates, unlike commercial off-the-shelf solutions

The last thing you need is to be held back by expensive third-party software or bugs.

Bespoke software is the best way to set your company up for long-term success financially and structurally. Your software solution will grow and develop as your organization does and give you the tools to scale with fewer obstacles. 

7 examples of custom software making daily life easier

Anyone with a laptop or smartphone encounters custom software every day. With hundreds of digital solutions at our fingertips, these apps make life easier and more efficient for everyone.

Here are seven great examples of custom software solutions for everyday use.

1. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity apps help both individuals and companies monitor their devices, homes, networks, and other assets. Wootcloud is a B2B company that uses its custom software to monitor and manage devices, analyze risk, and protect companies against threats in real-time.

Off-the-shelf software solutions are simply not an option for an organization offering security for high-value resources. Wootcloud users trust the company with their most valuable assets, so a strong platform is key to putting users’ minds at ease.

2. Insurance

Traditional insurance companies are updating their systems to provide a simple, reliable experience for checking accounts and submitting claims. 

With custom software, insurance companies can provide better policies that are tailor-made for each client. For example, Progressive’s usage-based insurance program requires telematics to obtain information on a client’s driving behavior.

The Progressive mobile app allows customers to store ID cards and request roadside assistance directly from their specialized software product. 

Users don’t need to go through a third-party site or even place a phone call when faced with an emergency, giving Progressive the competitive advantage over other insurance companies that don’t have custom app functions.

3. Financial

A solution that can streamline your business operations, especially financial processes, is extremely valuable.

That’s exactly what Calculate created with The Hub, a customizable platform that links a company’s financial tools together to automate business processes. 

Using The Hub won’t disrupt any of your current workflows, it simply integrates with your existing tech ecosystem to automate tasks and minimize the time you spend on admin.

4. Retail and e-commerce

Online shopping goes far beyond giant companies like Amazon. Mobile application development for e-commerce is in higher demand than ever, and many organizations turn to no-code or low-code software solutions to save time and money.

However, off-the-shelf software rarely allows for the level of automation and user experience needed to break through the saturated e-commerce market.

Artifact Uprising has an easy-to-use online editor to create professional-level photo books, postcards, and other prints. Their custom solution provides users with a level of customization that other products can’t match.

The website is sleek, accessible, and really speaks to their audience’s pain points. It’s important that users can easily browse the products or services that your company offers, and Artifact Uprising excels with its clear layout and easy-to-find help section.

5. Transportation and mobility

When you think of transportation startups or other mobility applications, you likely think of companies like Uber or Lyft. There are few other major competitors in this market so custom software applications are a must for any organization looking for a piece of the industry.

Competing in the transportation market requires airtight app development which is why it’s a good idea to contract a custom software development agency.

HyreCar used custom software to build an app that enables people to rent out their cars to Uber, Lyft, and food delivery drivers to earn some extra cash. Owners can turn their idle cars into income, and drivers who don’t always have access to a car have a vehicle to drive.

Utilizing customers’ most valuable assets (like their vehicles) can provide a fantastic benefit to them, but it carries a lot of risks. HyreCar’s application eases customer hesitations with its fantastic platform and customer service.

6. Real estate 

The real estate market has been especially volatile in recent years, and searching for a primary residence or vacation home can be difficult.

Apps like Propersum have developed specialized algorithms to make it easier for vacation home buyers to get exactly what they’re looking for in a property, including location, price, size, and more. They can even filter by travel time to a client’s most important destinations, like their office or primary residence.

Propersum stands out with innovative financial models and a custom app with features like a filtered search, allowing customers to refine their property search according to their unique preferences.

7. Health and wellness

Many people are looking for an easy way to make improvements to their day-to-day routines and find resources on subjects like nutrition, exercise, and meditation.

Ate Food Diary is an intuitive eating app that aims to set users up for long-term health goals rather than capitalizing on dieting trends. This app does an excellent job targeting users who are seeking to change their mindset about food instead of strictly counting calories.

The tracking feature stands out because it’s designed to be easy, non-judgemental, and positive while still staying true to the UI of each operating system.

What to consider when developing custom software

Before you invest in your project, it’s important to understand its parameters and what to expect from custom software development pricing.

You’ll have a better chance of finding the right team to help develop your software if you ask the following questions first:

• What is my organization’s budget for a bespoke software development project?

• What is the desired scope of my project?

• When do I need the project to be completed?

• Do I need help with additional elements, such as creative design?

At NaNLABS, we can help walk you through all these questions and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your project. Our experienced developers will work to fully align with your existing staff using Agile principles and set your organization up for long-term success.

Like what you’ve seen here? The NaNLABS team helped develop WootCloud, Calculate, Artifact Uprising, HyreCar, and Propersum, as well as other entertainment, IT, marketing and advertising, and news apps. 

Our engineers can fully integrate with your existing development team to evaluate your project and help you design a custom product to make your customers' lives better.

Ready to build your own custom software with a team that cares about you and your processes? We’re not code monkeys, we care about you.

Get in touch. We don't byte

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