Bespoke software solutions offer a range of benefits to businesses and organizations by providing tailored and efficient systems that can improve performance and save costs. However, many businesses still rely on countless spreadsheets, out-of-date software, and even paper documents to manage their day-to-day operations. A recent alarming example was highlighted in an article by Gizmodo, which reported that Williams Racing, a historic F1 franchise, was using Excel spreadsheets to manage more than 20,000 parts used in the construction of their Formula One car. In recent years, Williams has been struggling, finishing 7th in the constructor championship last year and bottom of the championship in 2022. When asked about the issues he was encountering at Williams, James Wolves, the new Team Principal, stated that the Excel list was a joke, impossible to navigate and update. He explained that tracking hundreds of thousands of components moving around the organization was impossible with an Excel spreadsheet. A powerful database solution was needed to track each component, its completion time, inspection status, and any problems encountered. The problems Williams Racing encountered are not uncommon in the manufacturing sector. At Genolis, we offer bespoke software solutions that can replace Excel spreadsheets with powerful database solutions, tailored to the specific needs of our clients.  If this sounds like your business, feel free to reach out to us on LinkedIn or via our website. Let us help you improve your performance and save costs with a bespoke software solution from Genolis.

Optimising Your Business Technology: When to Buy Existing Mass Market Software or Build Custom Software Every modern business needs software to function efficiently. But with so many options available, the age-old question arises: should you buy existing mass-market software (also known as Commercial Off-the-Shelf or SaaS) or invest in building a custom software application? This article will explore the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches to help you make an informed decision.   Mass-Market Software: Pros and Cons Pros: Lower Short-Term Costs: Readily available software is typically cheaper than custom development. No need to invest in upfront development costs. Fast Implementation: Existing software can be up and running quickly, minimizing downtime and disruption. Cons: Limited Flexibility: COTS software caters to a broad audience, so it may not perfectly match your specific needs. Unnecessary Features: You might pay for features you don’t need, bloating the cost and user interface. Integration Challenges: Integrating COTS software with existing systems can be complex and require additional workarounds.   Custom Software: Pros and Cons Pros: Perfect Fit: Custom software is built to your exact specifications, ensuring it seamlessly integrates with your workflows. Competitive Advantage: Unique functionalities can give you an edge over competitors. Scalability and Security: Custom software can be easily scaled to meet your growing needs and built with enhanced security features. Long-Term Cost Savings: While the initial investment is higher, custom software can streamline processes and save money in the long run due to the removal of licensing fees. Cons: Cost and Time: Custom development requires a significant upfront investment and can take longer to implement.   So, When to Choose Which? Here’s a quick guide to help you decide: When deciding between mass market software and a custom solution, consider your needs and priorities. If you have common business functions and need a solution up and running fast, existing software is a great option. It’s cost-effective and often comes with vendor support for easy implementation. However, if your business operates differently, demands specific functionalities, or prioritizes tight integration and future growth, custom software might be the better choice. It offers the perfect fit for your workflows, increased security, and the ability to scale seamlessly as your business expands. Conclusion Ultimately, the best choice depends on your specific needs, budget, and technological expertise. It can also be a good idea to explore hybrid solutions that combine existing software with custom integrations or modules. By carefully considering these factors, you can ensure you choose the software solution that empowers your business to thrive. Having dealt with many businesses in manufacturing and engineering, Genolis has often found that mass market software limits potential productivity gains for these businesses due to their highly unique business requirements. When we develop custom applications for these businesses, we often find that they save time and money in the long term as our applications are highly tailored to their operations. If your business is in need of a custom solution, feel free to reach out to us on LinkedIn or via our website. Let us help you improve your performance and save costs with a bespoke software solution from Genolis.

Stepping into a management role is exciting, but if your new company is stuck with outdated or clunky tech stack, it can make settling into your job even more difficult. Yet, while tackling tech issues can feel like a big task, 74% of companies say tech optimisation is a top priority. This means you’ve got a real opportunity to make an impact from day one. Here’s how to get started. Why prioritise the tech stack? Your tech stack is the backbone of your day-to-day operations, so it needs regular attention. You need to make sure everything runs smoothly, aligns with your business goals, and helps make your organisation leaner and more efficient. What are the benefits of optimising your tech stack? ● Increased productivity: When your systems are running smoothly, teams can cut out the clutter and get more done, faster. ● Reduced costs: Getting rid of redundant tools and outdated systems can save money across the board and boost productivity. ● Stronger security: A modernised tech stack means fewer security risks and vulnerabilities, keeping your data safe and sound. ● Happier teams: 64% of employees say their tools don’t integrate with business processes, and 59% say their tools don’t fit their work style. When everything works like it should, your team’s day-to-day life becomes easier. Change doesn’t come without its challenges, however. You might face things like resistance to change, skills gaps, or budget constraints. Here’s how you can tackle tech optimisation in four steps. Step 1: Get the lay of the land Step 2: Identity your targets Step 3: Build tech expertise Step 4: Make the case Step 1: Get the lay of the land Start by getting a clear picture of your current tech landscape, including the hardware, software, and teams at your disposal. Here are some questions you can ask to help with this: ● What tools are currently being used? Find out which programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools that are part of the stack, and why they were chosen. ● How secure is the tech stack? Check for good cybersecurity practices, incident response plans, and compliance procedures to get a sense of how well data and systems are protected. ● Does the tech stack support the company’s goals? Make sure the tech stack aligns with your team’s objectives and investments. ● How does the company handle technical debt? Technical debt is a universal problem. Finding out how your company handles this can shed light on the strength of its testing, review, and development pipelines. ● How do employees feel? Get feedback from your new team to uncover any tech-related pain points. What’s keeping them up at night? ● How well is everything documented? Check if there’s clear documentation for system architecture, processes, and troubleshooting, as well as any notes left by your predecessor. Once you’ve collected this information, it’s worth creating a visual map or checklist to give you an overview of your tech stack’s architecture. From here, you can spot inefficiencies and work out which aspects of the business could benefit most from optimisation. Step 2: Identify your targets Weak processes If your teams are working in silos, struggling to hit targets, and relying on cumbersome tools like spreadsheets or even paper-based records, it’s probably a sign that it’s time for an upgrade. Processes can also be weakened by complexity. If your company is juggling too many workflows, tools, and methodologies, it’s likely they’re making life more difficult than if they had just one, tailor-made tool for their business needs. Legacy software Outdated or redundant systems make life difficult for both your customers and employees. More than half of chief information officers say that they spend up to 60% of their time managing legacy technology. It also poses serious security risks. There are 5 key reasons why legacy software poses a serious security risk to your new company. Read more about them in our blog. Tool sprawl Less is more when it comes to tools. According to a Harvard Business Review study, employees at Fortune 500 companies switch between apps and tools around 1,200 times a day, while the average organisation has 323 SaaS applications in its portfolio. Yet, one report found that 77% of admins at small-medium sized companies would prefer to use just a single tool. By cutting down on duplicate or unnecessary tools, or even investing in custom software, you can simplify your workflows and reduce costs. Skills gaps 70% of IT fields in Australia are experiencing a talent shortage right now. Even with all the right resources to hand, many companies lack the experts to use them. This can include developers, product specialists, and often qualified leaders such as CTOs that can see through a roadmap to completion. Little or no automation Around half of current work tasks can be automated, according to McKinsey. It’s worth finding these tasks (such as data processing or report generation) and seeing where in your tech stack you can integrate automation and AI tools. This way, you can save time and resources, letting your team focus on more important and innovative tasks. Step 3: Build expertise Now you know the major sticking points of your new tech stack, you can move forward with a plan. You might find, however, that your new company doesn’t have the skills or technical resources to meet your optimisation goals. This is when it’s time to look for ways to build expertise from within the company, or source it from elsewhere. Building expertise from within Develop your internal team’s skills by investing in ongoing training and workshops, encouraging staff to get certifications, and setting up regular performance reviews. Don’t be afraid to ask your new colleagues for their ideas and advice when drawing up plans, either. Bringing in outside help Sometimes, you need extra help to hit your goals. That’s where specialists like Genolis come in. Combining your company’s expertise with outside guidance can help you make smarter, more strategic decisions. What’s more, it provides reassurance that you have a second opinion on your road map, tech stack, and high-level strategy, especially in the early days

What is the estimated cost of custom software?   More and more businesses and organisations in Australia consider bespoke software because existing off-the-shelf solutions can’t fulfil all their needs. Nevertheless, as a result of the diverse requirements, pinpointing the precise cost of custom software development at first glance can be intricate. The overall price can vary significantly, ranging anywhere from $30,000 to $500,000 AUD. Let’s dive into more detail to determine how much investment it will require in your case. What does the cost of the bespoke software depend on? Size The larger your project is, the more significant investment is required. The size of your software can give a ballpark estimate of your development cost. The more screens or pages you need – the bigger the size. Small applications range from 10 to 25 screens and cost around $40,000 to $100,000 AUD. Medium custom software systems comprise 25-40 screens and cost $100,000 to $200,000 AUD. Anything over 40 screens is considered large and can take up to $300,000 AUD and more in accumulative investment. Complexity It differs from the size, though an app that performs heavy analysis can be viewed as large. But size is about screens, and complexity is about nuances and permutations. The more functionalities you want to enable through your codes, the more complex your software becomes. If you want to add more complex logic and outcomes in your software, it will take more time and, thus, will increase your overall cost. Design The more exquisite you intend to go with your software design, the higher it will cost. Of course, you can always go simple! Integrations with other systems Most software products require integration, either with third-party applications, APIs or with the existing enterprise legacy apps, so this will add variables to the equation. Integrating with third-party apps or popular APIs might cost less than when you want to integrate your custom software with an old legacy application. Moreover, some software might also require building new APIs to integrate them seamlessly. This would also impact the overall cost. Migration of existing data When building custom software, the developers will need to take data out of your old system, dust it off and reshape it to fit into your new system. The software development team needs to handle all aspects of your database migration like validation, data conversion, cleaning, analysing, securing, profiling, and quality assurance. Your database’s size, security requirements, vulnerabilities, and other things will affect the cost of custom software development. How to pinpoint the total price of building custom software for my organisation? After collecting and analysing your ideas and requirements, a software company will work out the project’s structure and roughly estimate the amount of work needed to implement it. Most companies use the hourly pricing model for their custom development, so the work hours required will determine the cost of your project. Maintenance costs should also be taken into consideration. No matter the price, custom software development typically brings a great return on investment for any industry. It provides a convenient platform for facilitating operations management, optimising human resources, and reducing future costs. Custom software is an essential component of any enterprise’s innovation and growth. Anyway, the software can always be built to fit a certain budget. This is usually done by lowering priority items or not including some items in the project. Your Local Bespoke Software Development Partner in Australia Genolis has been offering custom digital solutions to Australia’s businesses of all scales since 2000. We have a team of dynamic and experienced technical experts to turn your software application idea into reality. Genolis is efficient, customer-focused and result-oriented, delivering optimal solutions for competitive prices. Our specialists can provide an honest and realistic estimation of the costs and timeline for a custom application tailored to your business needs and requirements. We will keep everything around your project in mind to develop an optimal solution that will perfectly meet your business needs within an affordable budget. Implementing a custom application in your business can become one of the best investments in your enterprise’s development, ensuring innovation, giving you a competitive advantage and taking your organisation to the next level in 2023. Do not hesitate to contact us to get a free consultation.

Custom software development involves designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining software per the demands of a specific company, business functions or users. While on-the-shelf software is generic, bespoke software development focuses on a narrowly defined set of requirements. More and more organisations across all industries in Australia opt for bespoke software systems –  let’s see why. Specific business requirements One of the prime benefits of custom software development is the customisation aspect. The software itself will be wholly suited to your needs and specifications. Thus, it allows you to shape it according to what you and your business require. You will have a crucial role in the development process and enjoy the freedom to direct the coding and requirements for the software. The teams that develop the software will get your detailed input about requirements to have a clear idea of business functionality and then craft the highly optimised software custom solution for your business. This approach is very distinct from general software products in the store because their makers do not design them, keeping your organisational-specific needs and challenges in mind. Easy to use  Custom software frees up your time, efforts and human resources to focus on growth and scaling to the next level. With facilitated and optimised processes, your organisation will likely need fewer human resources to manage your business tasks. You will no longer spend excessive time on your data management utilising legacy software or need specialists trained to use the peculiarities of the latest software tools on the market. Unlike off-the-shelf products, the custom software interface is intuitive, easy, and requires minimal user training. Return on investment  While custom software costs more than standard software meant for generic purposes, it also ensures the company a great return on investment. Many organisations can use their custom software for years without needing any other external software. According to a recent study, once an organisation buys the software, they do not need to discard it for at least ten years. This one-time investment will pay you a good ROI in the long run. The value for money becomes especially obvious when your business starts growing. With the custom software scaling your company to the next level will require significantly fewer changes in your workflow or tools that your business has been using and much less staff expansion. Scalability and the control to add features As organisations grow, their goals and objectives change, so consider scalability as a feature flagged as necessary in your initial project scope. One of the benefits of custom software development is that organisations have complete control over changing the software code. They can add and remove features when they like to adhere to their updated requirements. On the other hand, on-the-shelf applications cannot be manipulated at will. Friendliness with third-party software Ease of integration with a third-party application is one of the substantial benefits of custom software development. Most on-the-shelf software is generic, and integrating them with third-party software may be challenging. Having custom software onboard will help organisations integrate their software with other apps without worrying about backfire issues. The API included in this solution allows it to connect with other applications and leverage their features. This flexibility helps an organisation expand its work functionality in a shorter time. Security and reliability  Because of the unprecedented rise in global cybersecurity threats, data security is now indispensable for any company. On-the-shelf software is generally easier to hack because most use open-source code. Hackers and attackers are already aware of the vulnerabilities of such software, whereas custom-developed software is a closed-source project and is only used by your team. Hence, the chances of intrusions are minimised. So, custom software development helps organisations secure their data, eliminating the need to spend extra money on security measures. Thus, in the end, it helps companies maintain their trust levels and competitiveness in the market. Conclusion  All of the above makes it clear why customised software is an obvious choice for companies that identify their business requirements and have clarity on the features they need to run their business efficiently. Custom applications help them stay ahead of the game, provide better customer service, and stay agile with the changing technology and market trends. Genolis (Unicon Software) is an Australian company that has been creating high-quality customised solutions at competitive pricing for small businesses and corporate and government organisations for over 20 years. We will be happy to offer our expertise to help you make the most of IT to cope easily with the complexity of your processes and take your organisation to another level of optimisation, productivity and growth. We will be pleased to answer any of your questions, so don’t hesitate to contact us.

In a rapidly evolving business landscape, organisations continually seek software solutions to support their unique needs, streamline business processes and reduce the time and costs associated with manual handling. Approaches to this challenge include sourcing, configuring and integrating existing off-the-shelf software products and services or creating a custom enterprise software system tailored specifically to the organisation’s operations. Existing Solutions In today’s market, the number of off-the-shelf products and services is abundant, promising comprehensive solutions for various business needs. However, it’s important to recognise that, by definition, all pre-packaged software offerings are designed with a broad range of organisations in mind to cater to the most common needs. This is perfectly understandable as a uniform solution has the potential of attracting more users. The more customers, the better for the software provider, but being one of those thousands and sometimes millions – is it the same good for you? Are You Compromising on Convenience?   The truth is, each organisation is unique. No individual organisation can get all they need and how they specifically need it to work within a single out-of-the-box product or service. Inevitably SaaS and SAAP users find themselves adapting to pre-established patterns, navigating through plenty of irrelevant features, and devising workarounds for missing functionalities they could benefit from in their unique workflows. Seamless Integration? The strength and the weakness of all off-the-shelf systems is that each is designed for a specific purpose, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) software, human resources management systems (HRMS), supply chain management (SCM) software, business intelligence (BI) platforms, content management systems (CNS) and anything else you can imagine. Organisations are compelled to adopt multiple disparate systems to fulfil their needs. Despite seamless integrations being advertised by all modern COTS software providers, integration capabilities are always limited to a certain extent. This results in the double handling of data in organisations and the need to bridge gaps through manual processes or resorting to Excel spreadsheets. How Many Man-Hours Do You Waste Yearly? In certain instances, I have encountered situations where eliminating double handling, manual data management, and constant switching between multiple systems has saved employees up to 2 hours per day. This recovered time could then be redirected towards revenue-generating activities. When considering a scenario where ten or more employees experience such inefficiencies, a simple calculation reveals that a carefully designed custom-built system can save 5,000 hours or more annually, resulting in significant cost savings of around 200,000 AUD a year. These numbers highlight the substantial impact business systems setup can have on an organisation’s productivity and financial outcomes. The organisation’s waste of time and money associated with manual processes and double handling increases proportionally with size. While the impact may not be significant for smaller businesses, the consequences of such waste cannot be underestimated in larger organisations, as it reduces ROI and undermines their competitive edge. When Is Custom Software Development Reasonable? There are several scenarios where bespoke enterprise software development emerges as a more viable option than configuring and integrating readily available products and services. Inefficiency Costs Too Much Business systems analysis can identify significant adverse effects of bridging gaps caused by a lack of seamless integration. In many Australian organisations, hundreds of hours are consumed by inefficient processes, and the overall companies’ productivity and ROI are seriously impacted as a result. If this is the case, investing in bespoke software development emerges as a strategic decision that can significantly enhance an organisation’s long-term efficiency and foster sustainable growth. Custom software can be designed to integrate flawlessly, facilitating efficient data flow and communication across different platforms and enhancing productivity and collaboration. Unique or Complex Requirements In cases where an organisation has intricate requirements or complex calculations that off-the-shelf solutions cannot adequately address, custom software development allows for tailored solutions that precisely meet the organisation’s specific needs, ensuring optimal efficiency. Scalability and High Performance Are Crucial Organisations anticipating substantial growth or requiring high-performance solutions often find enterprise software development the optimal choice. Custom software allows for creating scalable and high-performing applications, surpassing the limitations of off-the-shelf solutions and enabling the organisation to handle increasing workloads efficiently. Legacy System Integration Organisations heavily reliant on legacy systems incompatible with off-the-shelf solutions can benefit significantly from enterprise software development. Custom software can bridge the gap between legacy systems and modern requirements, seamlessly integrating with existing infrastructure and enabling a smooth modernisation process. Visionary Approach to Cost-Effectiveness While off-the-shelf solutions may appear initially cost-effective, they often involve recurring licensing fees, customisation costs, or limitations on future updates. In the long run, enterprise software development can be more cost-effective. By owning and controlling the software entirely, organisations can reduce ongoing expenses and tailor the solution to meet evolving needs without dependency on external vendors. Bottom Line The decision between enterprise software development and purchasing and configuring off-the-shelf solutions depends on various factors, including the organisation’s requirements, budget, timeline, and available resources. While readily available SaaS and SAAP solutions provide faster implementation and require fewer initial investments, enterprise software development offers unparalleled customisation, integration capabilities, scalability, and long-term cost-effectiveness. In some cases, combining both approaches, such as customising off-the-shelf solutions, may be viable. For organisations with distinctive and intricate requirements, existing legacy systems, or ambitious growth plans, who aspire to differentiate themselves from the competition, allocating a budget towards custom software development is recommended to future-proof their operations and drive sustainable business development. A thorough analysis of the specific needs and goals of the organisation is essential in determining the most suitable option.