$517 billion is the expected IT spending on enterprise software in 2021 - a growth of 10.8% from the previous year. The remarkable shift is the result of most of the world moving online due to the pandemic.
Several industries availed web application development services to match the digital audience’s requirements. 87% of users switched to mobile applications in 2020. Therefore, web and mobile captured a large part for several industries.
E-commerce industry was the biggest beneficiary of the impact due to COVID. The sector saw a 32.4% rise and grew to $791.7 billion in 2020 as compared to $598.2 billion in 2019. People moved to online websites and applications for shopping to ensure maximum safety.
Why Custom Software?
All these statistics suggest that software solutions were key in the IT department for every company. With remote work, automation, and virtual monitoring in action, enterprise applications became important. Video call software, education platforms, and healthcare apps saw a massive rise - all owing to 2020.
While off-the-shelf software serves their purpose to enterprises and consumers, companies strongly advocate custom software development for their products. They want solutions that can be modified according to their will and have the features that they want. Flexibility is one of the cornerstones of custom software solutions.
This article will highlight the top industries that benefit from custom application development services. We will focus on the established, emerging, and the new economy industries - the three primary drivers of custom software.
Industries Benefiting from Custom Software Development
Every industry can benefit from custom application development - for small business or large corporations. Whether it’s manufacturing or automobile, an application can enable any company to go digital.
A single company can have both enterprise apps and consumer-focused applications. Enterprise solutions allow the company to manage the internal workings. They are mostly CRMs and ERPs to manage customers and operations.
Consumer-focused apps mainly target the end users - the customers. They are in the form of e-commerce apps, healthcare portals, social networking sites and more. Generally, these are the products for consumers.
But there’s a long list of industries that can hire a software development company and get custom solutions. It depends on the requirements of the company in each sector.
While we will not be covering all the industries in existence, we will focus on the few that are highly involved in custom solutions.
Following are the few Industries that can Benefit Drastically from Custom Software Development -
1. E-commerce
E-commerce sales grew almost 30% during 2020. The pandemic drove everyone to their homes, leading companies to sell products online. Those enterprises that didn’t have their online stores understood the importance of online shopping applications.
Most custom software development companies saw an increase in demand for e-commerce applications. The smallest retailer now wants to have a store through which customers can purchase products.The global market for e-commerce development also grew twofold.
The e-commerce industry is one of the biggest beneficiaries of custom development. Apps use Shopify, Magento, Spree Commerce and other platforms for high interactivity and engagement.
2. Entertainment
Revenue by online video subscription grew by 35% in 2020 as compared to the previous year. The fact that people were stuck at home showcases the demand for on-demand entertainment. Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu drastically grew their subscriber base.
Custom software development enables companies and media giants to connect with customers in a better way. Online video services were the new home theatre systems. Entertainment industry delivered the right content at the right time, keeping customers engaged whenever they want.
A custom software development company can help the entertainment industry to provide content that was once not accessible by consumers. These apps enable the entertainment companies to offer content of various types that is loved by all.
3. Healthcare
There was a worldwide growth of 65% in the downloads of medical apps during the pandemic. Apps for virtual appointments, fitness & nutrition, medical consultation etc. became increasingly popular as people looked for advice online. Hospitals could also easily connect with their existing patients.
The healthcare industry is diverse. Hiring a custom application development company makes sense to meet the ever changing requirements of the stakeholders in the industry. Meeting the guidelines of the health authorities is an essential aspect of healthcare app development.
Custom software solutions are for everyone in the healthcare industry - hospital staff, clinicians, administrators, etc. These stakeholders can modify the app as per their requirements, delivering the best healthcare outcomes.
4. FinTech
Another major beneficiary of custom software development is the FinTech industry. Digital payments saw a 21% YoY rise, considering that most customers now want contactless payment mechanisms. FinTech adoption is enabling companies to transact in a much better way with customers.
FinTech solutions are bringing people closer to digital finance. Mobile wallets, stock market apps, digital finance, P2P lending apps, etc. are the primary source of growth for the FinTech domain.
A custom software development company provides FinTech solutions to meet the dynamic financial requirements. Consumers now focus more on paying online rather than carrying cash - due to both safety and convenience. The rate of FinTech growth will multiply as enterprises move closer to digitizing all their transactions.
5. Education
Both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store saw their highest reported downloads in education apps in Q1 of 2020 - 470 million and 466 million, respectively. Online learning was of utmost importance as students were staying at home, away from schools and colleges.
Education applications now connect students with teachers, parents with teachers, the administration and management staff, and even other schools. Online learning apps provide courses and training that are crucial for students to learn and grow in their career.
A software development company provides custom solutions to educational institutes and facilities. They can have any feature they want - video calling for online classes, resources and material sharing, student attendance, and much more. Many people consider custom applications to be the future of digital education.
Summing Up
Custom software enables companies to mould the software as per their requirements. These software solutions are valuable for both enterprises and consumers. When companies can target customers through specific features, there are high chances of engagement rather than losing customers.
As more and more people go online, industries that were once skeptical of custom software will also adopt the approach to expand their market. It would be interesting to see where the market grows from here for each industry.
Shardul has been in the tech industry for over 18 years. He has worked with some of the global leaders like Mastercard, CIGNEX, and others. Today, Shardul stands as the CEO of Tntra - a global innovation ecosystem that provides product engineering services. He also serves as the CEO fo BoTree Technologies, a leading software development company. He is enthusiastic about the latest innovations in the software industry and writes extensively to guide businesses & engineers for making better development decisions.
