ACTIVITY AREAS
Custom software
To each company its own custom software
Our idea is that it’s not the companies that need to adapt to the software products, but the software solutions that need to fully respond to the business needs, to make businesses and let organizations grow.
One of ELFO’s main activities is the development of custom software. Thanks to our skills, methodologies, technologies, mindset and size, we are agile and fast in designing and implementing the best applications and understanding the companies’ needs.
CUSTOM SOFTWARE
Why custom?
01
There is a pluralism of needs that are only partially or not at all fulfilled by market products.
02
Market products customization requires both the cost of license purchasing and the cost to implement customizations; in addition, costs of maintenance.
03
Something that is the same for everyone (a product) cannot be a competitive advantage.
04
Custom software solutions are developed to be natively integrated with customer’s software infrastructure.
CUSTOM SOFTWARE
Tailor-made
The development of a custom application means taking into consideration exactly the specific needs of the customer, mapping its workflow and providing the maximum ease of use.
Any problem can be approached with the help of pluralism of tools, adapting or retrofitting existing products. However, this will consist in a continuous switching between different tools and this will always lead to compromises. As a consequence, ease of use and daily efficiency will be reduced.
CUSTOM SOFTWARE
Usability
A standard software must satisfy as many requirements as possible so that it can be used more widely and can cover many use cases. This brings two unpleasant consequences:
- Wide scope: often a small part of a standard solution is really needed (even if you can switch features on and off or hide them, the management and configuration complexity remains).
- Insufficient flexibility: if there is a need for a feature that doesn’t exist yet you can try to get a modification. But will the manufacturer make it? And if so, which will be the priority of your request? The risk is that either your needs will never be integrated into the product or they will be integrated not when you need them or at a very high cost.
Custom software, on the other hand, ensures:
- Responsiveness: custom software does only what you need it to do, bringing you an easy-to-use solution
- Flexibility: custom software can be easily modified and expanded, keeping up with business and technology, transformations and changes over the years. If you own the software, you can do what you need; if you need a feature that doesn’t yet exist or an integration with a third-party program, you can apply the change quickly and easily.
CUSTOM SOFTWARE
Total control
Custom software allows you to define the development and growth of the project in harmony and accordance with the needs of your business. You don’t have to adapt your timings to the manufacturer policies but, on the contrary, you can have the total control over the evolution steps.
CUSTOM SOFTWARE
Competitive Advantage
Custom software also offers an advantage over the competitors. It is something that others don’t have – and indeed, the custom solution is something they can’t and will never have.
CUSTOM SOFTWARE
Cost
The cost of a custom software solution depends on the size of the project and on its complexity. Requirements and choices of the customer determine the cost of a software solution.
By its design, expertise and organization, ELFO works on projects ranged from “small” (20k€) to “large” (up to 3M€).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Custom Software highlights
When should a company choose custom software development over off-the-shelf software?
A company should choose custom software development when standard platforms cannot match the specific workflows of its industry. A valve manufacturer tracks VDLs, transmittals and FATs; a food producer manages shelf-life, batches and traceability; a pharmaceutical company handles dossiers and batch records. Generic systems force the business to adapt to the software; bespoke software development does the opposite. If your processes are a genuine competitive differentiator, a tailored application preserves that edge rather than erasing it.
How much does custom software development cost?
Custom software development at ELFO ranges from 20,000 to 3,000,000 euros, depending on scope, complexity and the integrations required. A focused module for digitalising a single business process sits at the lower end; a full end-to-end system covering project management, ERP integration and complex business logic sits at the higher end. More than a precise cost saving, which is hard to quantify, the concrete gains are a single source of truth for your data, tighter process control and a measurable reduction in errors.
How does custom software development work, step by step?
Custom software development starts with requirements analysis alongside the client, then moves through design, build in Agile sprints with usable increments, testing and go-live, followed by post-release support. ELFO uses Agile where requirements evolve and Waterfall where they are stable and regulated. Timelines depend on complexity: as a rough guide, from a few months up to about a year for the most articulated projects.
Who owns the source code in a custom software development project?
In a custom software development project with ELFO, the source code belongs to the client: it is built around your specific needs and processes, so it stays yours. This guarantees full control and freedom to evolve the application, with no vendor lock-in. At project completion you receive the codebase and the technical documentation needed for future maintenance, and ELFO does not reuse that work for other clients.
Can custom software integrate with our existing ERP (SAP, Dynamics, etc)?
Yes, and integration is never the real problem. Software built by ELFO connects with SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, AS400 and the other systems already in your company, removing the risk of creating another silo. As developers, we adapt to the technical approach preferred by whoever manages the ERP: from modern interfaces like REST APIs, SOAP or WebHooks to CSV file exchange or legacy-system connectors, in real time (on event) or scheduled batch. The connection technology is secondary; what matters is that data is entered and managed once, staying consistent between the ERP and the new application, whether it is document management, quoting or production data.
What is the smallest project you take on?
We do not think in terms of a “minimum size” but in terms of hours of work: custom software is priced by the hours it takes, so the more focused the need, the smaller the investment stays. As an order of magnitude, projects start from around 20,000 euros, but that is an indicative range, not a price list: the real figure comes from analysing your requirements. For focused needs on a tighter budget, ELFO products are the most affordable way in.