Purchasing software used to mean choosing between multiple solutions to address your business needs. When that was not possible, companies would commission the development of software to help with a particular business function.
The introduction of AI changed this.
Businesses can now use AI to automate different functions. For instance, a business can use AI to respond to customer queries, generate reports, manage internal information or support its sales process.
Before considering the options available, it is essential to understand the business function or process needing automation.
Start With the Business Problem
It is easy to get lost in technology.
AI can sometimes appear to be the solution to every business problem. The same can happen when a new SaaS tool enters the market. Another option may be to build a custom application.
But before any of that, what are we actually trying to solve?
Take the example of a company that receives leads from multiple sources. Some employees may be spending time manually copying those leads to a spreadsheet for the sales team. Do we really need AI for this?
The problem is probably not a lack of technology.
More likely the process is not automated and therefore contains inefficiencies. It may be that most of the solutions already exist and integrating the different systems may be a more effective solution than building a custom application.
Don’t rely on technology to determine your process flow. Map the process first.
When You Should Buy Ready-Made Software
If off-the-shelf software meets your business requirements, there may be little reason to spend time and money developing the same solution.
You should consider ready-made software if the business process is standard and straightforward.
It is advisable for the process to not require significant change to the software, as this may result in the need for employees to amend their way of working.
Employees should not have to rely on workarounds to manage crucial business information.
If this is the case for your business, it is advisable to evaluate your software needs in addition to employee feedback.
When To Develop Custom Software
Custom software may be an option if existing software cannot manage one or more processes that are central to your business.
For example, the pricing of a certain type of product or service may require approval at multiple levels based on criteria such as customer segmentation, product category or order value.
A CRM may serve the needs of a business perfectly with respect to customer and opportunity management.
However, it may fail to assist the business in managing approval processes.
Custom software development may help manage processes that existing systems cannot support effectively.
The software solution should be designed to fit the defined workflows, user roles, integrations, reporting and future flexibility needs of the business.
Building software systems shouldn’t always mean building from scratch.
Often, a custom application can complement your existing systems and bridge gaps in your business processes.
The software systems you use to run your business should allow your company to be effective and efficient. If your company is spending time and effort working around your business software, Decimal Technologies can help assess if development or integration of the software is the best solution.
When Does AI Make Sense?
Related service: Custom Software Development for businesses that need workflows beyond standard software.
While considering development of business software solutions, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in software solutions should be determined.
AI can help software solutions to automate tasks in business processes that involve generating or interpreting unstructured data (e.g. understanding or generating text, completing a form or answering a customer question).
As with software development, when considering integrating AI in a business software solution, the processes involved should be determined, and the software functionality should be designed to fit these processes.
In the context of business software, AI should be seen as a means to software automation and should complement other components of a business software ecosystem.
Imagine every request from a website has to be keyed into a CRM and assigned to a salesperson based on geography.
You really don’t need AI for that.
A simple automated rule can do the task.
Now imagine those requests come in as free-form conversations on WhatsApp. Someone needs to understand whether the customer is looking for technical support, a quotation or information about a specific service.
Interpreting messages would suggest AI is a better option.
A simple question can help identify the answer. Does the task require the system to interpret a message?
Sometimes the Right Answer Is a Combination
In a corporate setting, the right answer is often a synthesis of the available options.
From a practical standpoint, a business can automate workflows in its CRM by integrating software, developing apps and/or utilizing AI.
An example workflow would look like this:
Website Enquiry → CRM → AI Lead Analysis → Salesperson Assigned → WhatsApp Follow-Up → Opportunity
For conversational workflows, see Decimal’s WhatsApp Business Solution and automation capabilities.
In reality, most of the components of this integrated system may have already been purchased.
Look at the Total Cost, Not Just the Software Price
Building software looks expensive, but depending on the type of business, using a combination of customized integrations, AI, and other software purchased from different vendors may be a cost-effective solution.
Since many AI tools offer monthly subscription or usage pricing, many consider AI a low-cost solution.
This is far from true.
There are many hidden costs associated with tools, such as: licensing, integration, employee costs, maintenance, flexibility costs, and the manual work the tool does not replace.
A tool costing AED 500 per month is not necessarily inexpensive if 10 employees still spend hours every week doing work the tool does not automate.
Justifying the development of a custom solution because of recurring tool costs is also false economy.
There are numerous factors that must be considered when evaluating a business case.
Before You Decide, Ask These Questions
- What business challenge are we trying to solve?
- Is this challenge unique to our business?
- Does an existing third-party solution already address it?
- Can our existing systems be integrated?
- What are the manual steps in the process?
- Does the task require AI, or would conventional automation be enough?
- Which existing systems will be affected?
- How many people will use the solution?
- Will the solution continue to work if the number of users doubles?
How Decimal Technologies Analyses Build vs Buy vs AI Decisions
At Decimal Technologies, we start with the business process rather than the technology.
Depending on the business, the right solution could be custom software, integration, process automation or AI.
There may also be business processes where an existing software solution exists to meet the business need.
Deciding between build, buy and AI can be complicated. Talk to Decimal Technologies about the business process first, before choosing the technology.