Many ambitious mid market organisations invest in digital platforms to increase revenue using custom software, whether through internal systems, ecommerce platforms or customer facing applications.
However, these initiatives often become difficult to manage without clear commercial direction, experienced technical leadership and a structured approach to delivery.
In this video, we explain how leadership teams can avoid common development risks and ensure bespoke software creates measurable long term business value.
Highlights
Transformative potential of bespoke software (0:06)
About a third of clients seek help with bespoke software, whether for internal systems, web applications, or mobile apps aimed at revenue generation. While custom software can have a transformative effect on a company and be enormously valuable, it is inherently difficult to get right. If it were easy, every business would be doing it successfully, but the complexity often leads to significant commercial and technical issues.
Challenges of managing custom development (0:42)
The expert identifies four reasons why custom software is hard to manage: the lack of physical boundaries means focus is easily lost, the technical intricacy makes communication with developers frustrating, and the “invisible” nature of code makes assessing progress difficult. Additionally, many businesses mistakenly treat software as a one-off capital project, failing to realise that costs and team requirements often persist long after the initial build.
Maintaining clarity on vision and value (1:33)
A critical step for success is staying clear on the project’s vision and exactly where the software provides value. Many projects fail because the team loses track of these goals, leading to wasted time and effort on irrelevant features. By defining the value early, leadership can ensure that the development team stays focused on the elements that will actually drive business growth and return on investment.
Active management and project effort (1:49)
Bespoke software projects do not manage themselves and require a deep understanding of the necessary effort for both development and overall project management. Without strong leadership, these initiatives can quickly become energy-sapping and time-consuming. Ensuring there is a dedicated management structure in place is essential to navigate the technical and commercial hurdles that inevitably arise during the development lifecycle.
Importance of modern technology choices (2:02)
Using mainstream and modern technology tools throughout the project is vital to avoid long-term technical debt. The video notes that projects often end up in “cul-de-sacs” because poor technical choices were made at the very beginning. By selecting widely supported and modern tools, businesses ensure their software remains maintainable, scalable, and capable of supporting future digital initiatives.
Organisations that increase revenue using custom software typically succeed because their leadership teams stay focused on commercial outcomes rather than technical features alone. With the right governance, technology choices and project structure, we help ensure bespoke platforms deliver measurable value and support long term growth.