The first step is that enterprise software is very easily bloated over time to become complex and very costly. With each company’s growth and with the evolution of the software, it’s an ever-rotating circle of completely updating the software, integrating new features and then adding more features. The original software becomes unrecognizable: slow and – technically speaking – the antithesis of the original, stuffed with redundancy, and expensive to maintain even though labor effort is expended to get it there.
This phenomenon is known as “software bloat”, and it afflicts companies across all industries. The bigger the business, the bigger the problem. Software bloat can cost major enterprises millions of dollars each year in wasted productivity, inefficient operations, and unnecessary IT expenses.
However, these are replaced by custom-built applications. As opposed to forcing businesses into the tiresome trap of off-the-shelf platforms, custom software is created to meet the organization’s particular needs and goals. It decreases unnecessary features, streamlines flow, and prevents ver la piping of capabilities. Consequently, custom applications not only stop software bloat but also significantly lower enterprise IT costs in the long term.
The True Cost of Software Bloat
Before exploring custom application benefits, it helps to understand the tangible impact of software bloat on enterprise productivity and budgets. Some examples:
- According to CISQ, globally, the amount spent on failing IT projects is more than 2 trillion a year, and bloated systems are a big part of it.
- Study and found that poor application performance costs enterprise employees an average of 3 hours a week, which comes out to over $4,000 wasted salary per employee per year.
When software bloat goes unchecked across an enterprise, these individual losses quickly multiply into substantial wasted capital and missed opportunities. But custom-built apps offer a smarter approach.
How Custom Applications Prevent Bloat at the Source
The core difference between off-the-shelf and custom enterprise software is in how they adapt to changing business requirements. Packaged platforms need to accommodate a wide variety of use cases that are out of the box, using preferences and settings. Custom apps are purpose-built for one specific company. This allows them to remain streamlined and efficient over time.
There are three key advantages of custom software when it comes to preventing bloat:
Laser Focus on Relevant Capabilities
Commercial platforms are forced to offer a huge feature set to appeal to the general market. Many of these capabilities go unused, consuming valuable computing resources. A recent survey by JetBrains found that most companies use less than 20% of their software’s overall functions. Custom apps eliminate unnecessary features, removing needless code bulk.
Optimized Workflows
Generalized software uses broad processes, decision trees, and contingencies to handle many scenarios. Custom platforms optimize workflows precisely for a business’s personnel, operations, and objectives. This prevents redundant steps and handoffs that slow down off-the-shelf systems over time.
Point Solutions Reduce Scope Creep
Enterprises often turn to monolithic suites like ERP, CRM, and HCM to manage multiple segments of the business. These massive platforms quickly become bloated as new capabilities are bolted on year after year. Custom apps take a modular approach, providing specialized point solutions that interoperate cleanly without overstretching core functional scope.
In essence, custom software gives companies an application ecosystem that is laser-focused on their actual needs rather than a platform that tries to be everything to everyone. This prevents excessive code complexity, redundant features, and scope creep over time – eliminating the technical debt and maintenance costs associated with software bloat.
Legacy Modernization to Control Bloat
Of course, ripping out all enterprise platforms for custom apps isn’t realistic for established companies. However, many are now turning to custom solutions as part of selective modernization initiatives targeting legacy areas suffering the most bloat. Two prime examples are ERP and CRM replacement.
Legacy ERP Platform Issues
Enterprise resource planning systems are notorious sources of software bloat and complexity headaches. As workhorse platforms tie together everything from supply chain to manufacturing, inventory, HR, and accounting, ERP suites struggle to scale efficiently over years of changing business requirements and bolt-on modules. High-maintenance upgrade cycles also drain IT resources.
Legacy CRM Platform Issues
For similar reasons, legacy CRM systems also create substantial technical debt and hidden costs once they become bloated with age and misaligned capabilities.
These metrics reveal how generalized CRM platforms often fail to evolve with a company’s changing sales workflows and structures. Instead, they become bloated with unused features that complicate the UI and undermine adoption. Like ERP, legacy CRM then requires extensive investments to maintain and customize.
Transitioning from these entrenched but misaligned platforms to right-sized custom applications saves enterprises significant money while supporting growth.
The Business Case for Custom Software
Beyond software bloat savings, purpose-built applications provide a range of compelling benefits, including improved agility, user alignment, and lower TCO. Let’s look at some examples.
Increased Business Agility
Off-the-shelf software moves at the pace of the vendor roadmap, often years behind market trends and business innovations. Custom platforms, on the other hand, are designed specifically around an organization’s evolving needs and strategies, no matter how niche.
This allows greater experimentation and pivots without restrictive software limitations.
87% of companies believe custom applications better promote business agility compared to packaged solutions. The ability to respond rapidly to opportunities and challenges was cited as the driving factor.
Improved User Experiences
It’s difficult for generalized platforms to provide truly tailored, intuitive experiences for all roles and workflows. Custom UIs and processes are optimized for each user’s real working context rather than generic categories. This drives stronger adoption across an enterprise to maximize productivity and business insights.
Lower TCO
While initial custom software development requires greater upfront investment, reduced bloat saves substantial money over years of use. Purpose-built applications minimize the need for complex upgrades, patches, maintenance, and support through better technical efficiency. Integrations also become simpler and more cost-effective.
Competitive Differentiation
Increasingly, custom software is becoming a competitive advantage. As more processes rely on technology, companies that can tightly adapt platforms to strategic innovations and unique workflows outperform peers. Off-the-shelf compliance leaves flexibility advantages on the table.
Key Takeaways
Large enterprises cost out over the years, adding up costs to the bloat of software. Yet, the alignment purposes of built custom applications can be adopted in an organization such that bloated systems can be prevented rather than maintained. Key takeaways include:
- In fact, yearly stagnation of software bloat costs enterprises over $300B of wasted productivity, failed projects, and overhead costs.
- Bloat is avoided by custom platforms that get rid of unnecessary features, map workflow and bring in specialized capabilities.
- Legacy ERP and CRM often suffer the most bloat issues, justifying modernized custom replacements.
- Well-designed custom software promotes business agility, user adoption, and long-term TCO reductions for enterprises.
As strategic software investments continue expanding across industries, the business case for avoiding bloat through customization grows stronger. For forward-looking enterprises, this results in millions saved and reinvested in sustainable success.