On The Fence About Creating Custom Apps? These Tips Will Get You Up And Running

By Andrew LeCates, Director, Americas Sales, FileMaker, Inc.

In its report, The State Of Digital Business 2016 to 2020, Forrester found 46 percent of executives surveyed believe that in less than five years, digital will have an impact on more than half their sales. Digital transformation is everywhere, affecting every industry and individual. Enabled by mobility trends and a more flexible workplace, business can happen anywhere, any time.

Organizations of all sizes and types have embraced the use of apps to productively manage this transformation. To have apps that meet their unique needs, it might seem the easiest and best solution would be to buy them off-the-shelf. However, it’s important to consider apps of this type tend to be generic in order to appeal to a wide audience. They may get the job done, but there’s little to no personalization available. You may pay for features you don’t need, and you may not get the features that would best serve your team.

These apps also cannot be updated to accommodate business growth and change. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee an off-the-shelf app will be compatible with external data or existing business systems. Fortunately, there is another option: custom apps.