When you’re a small or medium enterprise, it can seem like you’re fighting a losing battle against the big boys, but it is possible to compete with those huge corporations, and one of the things that can help you in the battle is good technology.
Making best use of all the great software development tools will help you to solve problems, improve productivity and even come up with new ideas, which means that investing in these tools is so important, but when do you know the time is right to invest in your own custom software? Here are some tell-tale signs:
You Feel Technology is Leaving Your Company Behind
If you’re doing well and your customers are happy, but you feel like other companies in your niche are offering more digitally than you are able to, it’s a sure sign that you need to invest in software development tools, that will enable you to increase your market share and impress more customers than you are at present.
Your Whole Company is Run with a Series of Spreadsheets
When you’re a tiny startup with one or two employees, using Excel to ensure the smooth running of the company is probably fine, but as you grow and expand, you’ll soon find that you’re spending more time managing those spreadsheets than you are developing new products and adding real value to your company. When this happens, it’s time to look into automated web apps, which will help you track, monitor and control your business in a fraction of the time.
Your Software Poses as Many Problems as Solutions
So, you bought a piece of software a couple of years ago, and it takes care of many of the tasks you require, but it’s also slow, it freezes up, and it’s been known to permanently lose some of your most important data. It’s time for a change. You can either invest in new software development tools, which will offer only solutions, or you can hire a professional to create a custom solution which is perfectly tailored to your business.
You Spend More Time than Necessary on a Task
If there’s that one task that you find yourself dedicating many hours a week to, just because you can’t work out how to do it in a more efficient way, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a better way to do things. Good software development companies will be able to find workable solutions to even the most seemingly impossible manual rote tasks, and you’ll get your time back.
You’ve Identified a Way to Solve a Problem
If you’ve been tasked with solving a problem, either for your company or your client, and you’ve found a possible solution, but you can’t currently find an out-of-the-box solution to the issue, it might be time to get in touch with a web developer who can help you develop an app, or download some software development tools, and see if you can use them in a way that brings your idea to fruition.
If you’re experiencing any of these tell-tale signs, don’t wait to seek custom solutions. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll be able to improve and grow your business.