We’ve all been there. We’ve finished our shopping and we are ready to pay, card in hand, when the check-out clerk notices something amiss. “Hmm. There’s no price tag on this.” Our heart sinks. “I’ll have to call for a price check.” The heart of every person in line behind us sinks. No one’s going home any time soon.

But perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel. The time-honored tradition of summoning a human employee, showing them your Thing, sending them back into the retail wasteland in hope that they can locate said Thing and report back a true and unbiased price for Thing has come to an end at the nation’s largest retailer, Walmart. 

Now, instead of making the dreaded call, our clerk can whip out their phone and use Walmart’s internal employee app, Me@Walmart, to find our item, price it, and even scan a handy bar code right there on the screen. And it doesn’t end with inventory. 

Walmart boasts a US workforce of 1.2 million, meaning 1 out of every 200 people in America works for the retail juggernaut, and as of June 2021, they are all using this one app to manage the entirety of their relationship with the company. 

Josh Bersin, an HR technology industry analyst says, "Walmart has taken all of the complex back-office systems—scheduling, vacation, benefits, well-being and communications—and put them into one easy-to-use app for any retail, distribution or office-based employee."

While custom software represents a significant investment, you don’t have to be running a business on par with Walmart to afford it. More and more businesses are using custom internal apps to streamline their company ecosystem. Let’s take a look at 5 reasons why an internal mobile app might be a good fit for your organization.

## 1. Streamlined Workflows

According to a [recent study from Cornell University’s Ellis Idea Lab](https://assets.qatalog.com/language.work/qatalog-2021-workgeist-report.pdf), “people report spending \[on average] 36 minutes every day switching back and forth between applications. And they report taking 9 and a half minutes on average to get back into a good workflow once they’ve switched between apps.” Gaining almost 4 hours a week per employee is of interest to any employer. 

By creating custom software tailored to specific business processes, employees can access tools, data, and information all in one place, enabling them to work efficiently and effectively. Less “context switching” leads to better, more focused work.

## 2. Enhanced Security

Internal mobile apps can also offer increased security and data protection for an organization's sensitive information. Custom-built mobile apps can implement robust security measures like authentication, encryption, and data access controls. 

By controlling access rights and ensuring data integrity, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with data breaches and unauthorized access, along with eliminating the need for printed materials that could possibly contain sensitive information. 

## 3. Enhanced Data Accessibility and Analytics

By integrating relevant systems and databases, stakeholders can retrieve real-time information without having to combine multiple reports from different data repositories. 

A custom app can offer personalized dashboards, reporting tools, and data visualization, empowering employees to make informed decisions and take actions based on accurate insights.

![Two apron-adorned employees check their mobile app to accomplish a task on the store floor. ](/uploads/unleashmobileapps-workerscheckingmobileapp.jpg)

## 4. Efficiency Through Mobility

A mobile workforce is an effective workforce. Without an app that allows employees to complete tasks on-the-go, they must perform tasks manually and then duplicate the task themselves when they return to base or report what they did to someone else. This not only doubles the time required to complete a task, but it greatly increases the chances of data errors. 

A mobile app makes your workforce more efficient and your data more accurate, and this can lead to significant savings when multiplied across hundreds of employees. It can also save on other resources, such as supplies used for printing up information that could be carried digitally instead. 

## 5. Increased Stakeholder Engagement and Satisfaction

Investing in an internal mobile app demonstrates a commitment to technology and innovation, which can boost employee engagement and job satisfaction. Me@Walmart currently sports a 4.7 rating on the app store, indicating that employees find it useful and easy to manage. Personalized features and functionalities cater to individual needs, resulting in a more satisfying and fulfilling work experience. The customer is served as well, by getting what they need more quickly from a better-equipped employee. Everyone wins.

While building an internal mobile app can bring significant benefits, it requires careful planning, development, and maintenance to ensure its success. It’s not necessarily a good fit for everyone. If you are interested in learning more about whether it’s the right choice for your business, see our article [4 Signs Your Business Needs Custom Software](https://thesmythgroup.com/insights/4-signs-your-business-needs-custom-software/).

A warehouse worker using a tablet to check inventory.

Many businesses use custom internal apps to streamline their company ecosystem. See how you can too. 

5 Ways Your Business Can Benefit From an Internal Mobile App

5 Ways Your Organization Can Benefit From Internal Mobile Apps

Let’s get this out of the way: custom software is expensive. Sometimes, extremely expensive. Anyone who tells you differently is not in the business of making good software. 

Some business owners may hear a total dollar amount and immediately determine that their organization cannot afford custom software.

But before ruling out such an investment, it is important for organizations to understand what it might be costing them if they fail to invest in custom software. In other words, what are the hidden costs of keeping your current software systems if your company is outgrowing them? 

You may be asking, “Can I really afford to build the custom software my business needs?” A better question may be, “Can you really afford not to?”

## When you don’t need custom software

Let’s start by considering when a company does not need to consider a custom solution. Think of purchasing software as traveling from Point A to Point B toward a destination. 

If you live somewhere with an excellent public transportation system, purchasing a car may not be a worthwhile investment. If the metro or the bus efficiently and affordably transports you to the desired destination, take it.

Similarly, if your out-of-the-box SaaS easily moves you from Point A to Point B in the direction of your organization’s goals, consider yourself fortunate. You do not need a custom solution.

Often, this is the case for smaller organizations that have a high employee retention rate and low training costs. While no system will seamlessly meet every need, if your systems are working, your staff is sticking around, and there is not a general feeling of frustration from your staff or your customers, you don’t need custom software.

In addition, if your current technology aligns with your long-term business goals, you are content with the current state of your business, and your goal is simply to maintain that over time, then investing in custom software would not make sense for you.

## When you should consider custom software

But what happens when a company grows in size and begins to push the limits of its current software systems?

![A man is resting his head against a dramatic mound of paperwork, frustrated and defeated.](/uploads/customsoftware-frustration.jpg)

### Increasing Frustration: When Your Existing Software Fails You

One telltale sign that you are outgrowing your SaaS is a sense of sustained and increasing frustration.

If your technology no longer aligns with your business processes, here’s what happens. Your staff is frustrated because it takes an inordinate amount of time to accomplish simple tasks. They might be forced to use multiple systems, multiple devices, and re-enter the same data across platforms.

This, in turn, opens the door for mistakes and inefficiency. An increased amount of time and money for training is required, and a higher turnover rate results.

The frustration then makes its way up to management. The outgrown SaaS creates or contributes to a negative loop of recruiting, training, and losing new staff. In addition, the clunky systems lead to an increase in payroll costs and mistakes that may necessitate costly remediations. The growth of your organization is now stymied. 

Worse yet, your customers may also experience frustration if they have to use your system. In response to customer complaints about the UX, your staff member says, “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. There’s nothing I can do about that.” Now, instead of your current systems simply preventing growth, they are harming your company’s brand, your customer relationships, and jeopardizing the revenue earned through repeat customers. 

If you are a business owner who is torn between upgrading to enterprise software or augmenting staff and dealing with frustration, consider the potential ROI on the right custom software solution. Compare that to what you are losing over time if you keep the same outgrown systems. If a $250,000 custom software solution can save your company $1 million within the first few years, it has more than paid for itself.

### Dealing with Cruft & Rising Subscription Costs

It may also be time to consider custom software if your organization is using a SaaS laden with cruft—badly designed, unnecessarily complicated, or unwanted software.

I saw an example of this recently when I consulted with a pest control company. They are beholden to a software system that has so much cruft that the software company literally offers “university” classes to clients so they can learn how to use (decipher) it. If the classes aren’t enough, customers can pay $150 to $250 per hour for specialized training. That’s a lot of money to understand a crufty system with an interface that looks like it hasn’t been updated since 1999.

In situations like these, many organizations pay for features they simply don’t need or, worse yet, have no idea how to use.

Another factor to consider is rising subscription costs. Many SaaS systems raise their prices every year, and what started as an affordable compromise could become a liability. As your business grows, the value you get from the SaaS keeps decreasing while your subscription costs keep increasing.

![The old man hides in his fort made of paperwork and accepts more paperwork from someone through a window like a troll accepting a bridge toll.](/uploads/customsoftware-dataproveance.jpg)

### Data Provenance: Trust and Control Over Your Data

Data provenance is another consideration when it comes to custom software.

If you ask your team for a report and receive conflicting information from different team members or different systems, that means you have a data provenance issue. If you are using a cobbled-together system, your data resides in different places. This makes it difficult to accurately identify, and therefore correct, the source of the data discrepancy. But if you have one system that is built correctly, it’s much easier for you to trust your data.

Custom software allows you to gain full control of your data by providing the necessary trust and reliability in your data provenance as well as elevated security.

### Boosting Business Valuation with Custom Software

If you are a company that hopes to be acquired one day, a discussion about custom software is one you need to have. Having your own IP will increase the value of your business.

In most cases, companies that do not have their own tech will receive a lower valuation because an expensive, enterprise out-of-the-box solution is considered a liability.

On the other hand, companies that own their software system—particularly if it’s a well-built system—will receive a much higher valuation. A custom solution that helps optimize your business is now an asset, especially if it sets you apart from the competition. If your custom software has automated and simplified your business operations, prospects will take note.

The exception to this would be if an acquirer’s goal is to roll up the newly acquired business into a larger one with preexisting processes and technology. In this case, they may not view your proprietary software as something that increases valuation, particularly if integration is challenging.

But generally, custom software is part of the secret sauce that makes you a viable acquisition.

## The Potential of Custom Software for Business Growth

So if your out-of-the-box SaaS aligns with your processes, you don’t need custom software. If your goal is just maintenance, you don’t need custom software.

But if your goal is innovation, growth, or acquisition, then investing in your company with custom software might be your best solution. Custom software allows you to start with processes and create a solution that maps to them.

The Smyth Group is ready to help you evaluate your software needs and see if a custom software solution is truly right for you. In the past 17 years, we’ve helped countless clients build custom software that’s resulted in more efficient processes and greater valuation. Get in touch and let’s see how we can do the same for you.

A clearly old man, both physically and fashionably, sits at an old desk with an old computer feeling old and sad.

How do you know it's time to make the investment in custom software? Here are 4 common indicators.

4 Signs Your Business Needs Custom Software | TSG Article

4 Signs Your Business Needs Custom Software

A software development agency is a team of designers, developers, and project managers who work with clients to research, design, build, test, and deploy new custom software. 

After project completion, that client has a new software system—such as a web or mobile app, enterprise business application, or website—that *they own* and operate independently, which increases their value and helps them scale toward their strategic business goals.

But how can a company know when they should look externally to build custom software?

This article will outline the 5 ways to know when you need to hire a software development agency.

## 1. When Business Needs are Growing Too Fast to Handle

If your company’s demands are expanding faster than your in-house development team can keep up, a digital agency can build custom, scalable software to meet your business goals—shrinking the gap between your growing business demands and your system’s capacity to meet them.

Perhaps your company wants to add new employees and users without crashing or risking productivity, or you want to sell a service to new market segments around the world. You may have an expanding backlog of requests, expanding customer demands, and a developing pattern of unmet deadlines—suggesting your company is growing faster than your system has the means to support. Meanwhile, your in-house team is overwhelmed and overworked. 

Perhaps you only need temporary developer support and don’t have time to vet a qualified new team member. 

In these cases, an agency can plug into your mission and routines, working with your existing team to build a usable, scalable, performative system to move you toward your business goals.

![Woman CEO busily handling multiple tasks, several people asking for her input at once. ](/uploads/growingyourbusiness-toofasttohandle.jpg)

Software developers and designers in digital agencies like ours collaborate in-person or remotely with clients and stakeholders at each step of the development process, beginning by meeting with stakeholders to understand the business goals for their system. Next, we interview real-world users to learn how things have been done up to that point. Finally, we design the new program’s interface and architecture along with a plan and timeline to implement that system.

Throughout the development process, automated release updates keep you informed about real-time development progress, so you can monitor the project and make decisions along the way.

## 2. To Add Something New

If your development team doesn’t have the expertise to build the system your business needs, a digital agency accomplishes two major tasks at once—*building* the system while *cross-training* your team to use, maintain, and build projects like it in the future.

For example, some of our clients already have a web development team, APIs, and a database—but they don’t have the expertise to create a *mobile* app. During the weeks and months of the project, our developers work closely with the client's team. Sometimes the client's team develops the API and our team develops the mobile application that it needs. Sometimes we develop the CI/CD integration pipeline and train the client's team on how to use it. 

## 3. When You Need Something Better

When you need something *better*—a better-functioning team, more efficient workflows and production systems, or new ideas for your company’s software—a development agency provides a fresh perspective to improve what you already have.

### Better Ideas

Many teams go years—or even decades—maintaining outdated systems. This can happen for a variety of reasons: years of not asking good questions to end users, too much time and energy focused on maintaining existing systems, the habit of frequently starting new projects without fully finishing and implementing any of them, or a siloed team that struggles to organize for innovation.

Regardless of the precise reason, companies reach a point where they realize they *need new system ideas.*

A software development agency’s team remains up to date on the latest technological platforms, languages, design patterns, and cloud services—which helps the agency’s strategic designers and engineers identify waste, inefficiencies, and antipatterns during the process of meeting with the client’s departments and teams. 

Identifying these issues helps the development agency design a new or updated system that ameliorates them.

![Company meeting where a man is suggesting an idea while his colleagues listen intently.](/uploads/growingyourbusiness-betterideas.jpg)

For example, our agency worked with a large auto manufacturer whose sales-team training materials were spread across multiple websites and apps. This disorganized system forced new employees to create multiple login accounts and track emails and deadlines from multiple sources—which led to confused employees and high turnover.

We shadowed and conducted interviews with the client’s staff at headquarters as well as salespeople at the dealerships, asking questions to understand how sales employees got trained and where pain points existed. With this holistic view of their internal processes, our team offered new suggestions, perspectives, and resource ideas about how the company could unify training resources and design a smoother new-employee process.

### Better Team

The technological landscape develops quickly, and it’s easy for teams to fall into outdated practices without realizing it.

When a company has retained the same internal team for years, there comes a time when—despite success—leadership decides they want to take steps forward and improve their team’s technological skills in some way.

Digital agencies can mentor internal client teams by putting on workshops, auditing infrastructure or security, or performing code reviews or strategic product design sessions. These processes demonstrate new competencies, technologies, and tools that upgrade the client team’s toolbox and know-how.

For example, some of our clients are eCommerce sites or municipal agencies missing out on critical modern methods: CI/CD pipelines, code quality analysis, continuous integrations, continuous testing frameworks, or automated deployment tools that ensure frequent deployment with the goal of fewer errors. 

A lack of knowledge about how to utilize these principles, processes, and tools holds companies back from rolling out new software or improving the software they already have, leading to missed opportunities for business acceleration and better service.

We create these clients’ pipelines for them, then collaborate and train their staff over months how to use the pipelines and carry out automated testing. After deployment and data migration, clients have more skilled internal teams and a system that minimizes manual testing, saving time and reducing errors.

### Better Systems

In their early days, growth-stage companies often rush to create software systems without a clear vision of the company’s long-term service goals. While this allows quick development and service rollout, over time it can accumulate technical debt—issues like poorly written code and the inability to scale to meet ever-expanding customer demands. 

These rushed and sloppy processes lead to an overloaded system, with frequent downtime or software outages that ruin customer experience and hinder company operations. Often, a company’s outdated software simply breaks down as it fails to support new business needs, leading to massively downgraded functionality.

A digital agency can clear this technical debt and update a client’s software—with services like code remediation, breaking service features into chunks for smoother integration, and managing the software backlog—establishing agile principles so the client can move forward smoothly.

In the event of a software hack, these remediation processes play a critical role in helping your company recover quickly.

## 4. To Become More Profitable

Many custom software clients are growth-stage companies or startups seeking to get acquired for the highest possible valuation.

As a company approaches the opportunity for acquisition, its valuation may be limited by the fact that it is running on inefficient software, relying on third-party systems, or carrying tech debt.

**The following metrics play a critical role in a software asset’s valuation:**

* Ownership of intellectual property (IP)
* Source code
* Ease-of-use
* Efficiency
* Ease of updates and if the language is up to date
* Cost of replacement
* Adaptability, scalability, and integration capabilities 
* Costs involved with running systems

In other words, a company using its *own system and technology*—that runs smoothly and efficiently with up-to-date code—will earn a higher valuation in the eyes of companies seeking to acquire it.

At the same time, a company may hesitate to hire an external party to create custom IP and software because they fear that after deployment, their in-house team may lack the expertise to operate the new system or tool, forcing them to rely on the digital agency in the future and reducing their standalone valuation.

This is why it’s so important to work with a *collaborative* software development agency that will train your in-house team during the project, helping you transition to independent maintenance and operation. Self-sustainment is a huge positive in the eyes of companies seeking to acquire your company, who want to know you can operate your own technology moving forward.

## 5. To Save Costs

Upfront expenses often present a major concern for companies considering a software development agency. 

These companies may continue using third-party software that requires monthly licenses and subscriptions. As these subscriptions begin to pile up, companies begin to think about *buying*—instead of renting—their software.

Over a multi-year timeframe, the upfront investment in building custom software saves clients a lot of money, increasing ROI in multiple ways.

Ways that custom software generates a favorable long-term ROI:

### Fewer subscriptions and licenses

Running and maintaining your own software–rather than paying a third party for their solution–saves you thousands of dollars each month in subscription and licensing costs.

### Reduced IT, development, and maintenance staff

An inefficient or outdated system can lead to outages and downtime, plus the extra time required for setup and training. This taxes your IT and development teams and may force you to hire extra employees compared to an easier-maintenance option.

### Improved customer experience

Investing in well-running, fast, user-friendly software improves your customers’ experience, making them more likely to remain long-term customers.

### Reduced training costs

Outdated and clunky software systems can be difficult for new employees to learn. Many frustrated new employees will quickly seek employment elsewhere, meaning a high turnover rate and extra training expenses for companies that don’t invest in new, user-friendly systems.

### Easier scaling

Outdated and inefficient software can prevent your company from expanding your customer base, costing business opportunities and returns. New custom software can generate massive ROI by helping you scale towards business goals faster, adding new team members without racking up subscription fees.

### Error reduction

Software development agencies build a pipeline for the ongoing automated testing and integration of new code. Without streamlined testing and deployment automation, the risk of future error increases exponentially. This could result in costly security issues, future bugs that require staff resources to fix, and downtime.

To learn more about how a digital agency can help your company scale, take on new challenges, improve your systems, build new services and tools, and save costs—get in touch with us.

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Struggling to meet your business's tech demands? Discover when a software development agency could help.

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