Custom Software Development vs Off-the-Shelf: What’s Better for UAE Businesses?

Statistics on Off-the-Shelf and Custom Software Development Services

Custom Software Market 

• According to Grand View Research, the global custom software development services market was estimated at $35.42 billion in 2023. 
• The compound annual growth rate of the custom software market is 22.5% between 2025 and 2030. 
• Globally, 83% of companies use custom software to fulfill their unique business needs. 

Off-the-Shelf Software Market 

• The global off-the-shelf software market was valued at $477 billion in 2023. 
• It is expected to grow with a CAGR of 22.4% between 2025 and 2030. 
• Globally, 90% of companies use off-the-shelf software to provide products and services to their customers quickly. 

Let’s now understand custom software development services, their examples, and development costs. 

What is Custom Software Development?

Custom software development is the process of creating software from scratch according to the business needs and specific users. It contains designing, developing, testing, and deploying the software. Custom software is also known as bespoke or tailored software, which understands the objectives of a particular business and develops software. 

They’re flexible, unique features and functionalities that give a highly personalized experience. Examples of custom software are content management systems (CMS), customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP). 

More Examples: B2B eCommerce, education, healthcare, finance, transportation, real estate, travel, manufacturing, law, and many more software in various industries. 

Cost: The cost to build a custom software in 2025 depends on several factors, including project complexity, design complexity, technology stack, system integration, maintenance, and development team size and location. It also depends on what type of custom software you’re willing to make, for example, ERP software or CRM software. 

The average cost to build custom software is between $40,000 and $100,000. However, the price can increase when you integrate technology like AI, ML, AR, VR, etc. 

6 Steps of Custom Software Development

Once you identify that you require custom software for your business, you’ll have two choices. First, you build the software with the help of your in-house team, and second, partner with a trusted custom software development company. It doesn’t matter what you choose; you must follow the below-mentioned steps to build your software.

• Identify Your Business Requirements

The first step is to clearly define your business goals, challenges, and user needs. If you identify your business requirements and develop software, it will ensure that it addresses the right problems and aligns with your company’s vision for future growth. 

You must consider some factors while identifying your business needs: 

1. Know your business objectives, whether it's increasing efficiency, generating revenue, or enhancing customer experience. 
2. Define the end users who will interact with your product and service offerings. 
3. Analyze your current business process, tools, or system to identify challenges and their solutions. 
4. Identifying the technical requirements that you seek in your software is essential. 
5. Find out the security needs of your organization to implement into your software. 
6. Establish the time for the software development and competitive advantage you seek.

So these were the six steps that must be followed to identify your business requirements. 

• Plan Your Project 

After identifying your business requirements, now you must plan your project. Create a detailed roadmap that outlines the project’s scope, timeline, budget, and resources. If you do proper planning, it will help you minimize risks and ensure smooth execution of the software. 

This also reduces potential delays and unexpected costs that businesses generally get with a lack of strategic planning. You can also plan your project after partnering with the right development team. This leads to better collaboration between you and the development team and enhances productivity while developing software. 

• Choose the Right Development Partner 

If you don’t have your in-house software development team, the best thing you can do is choose a software development company. However, it is crucial to choose the right partner. You can do that by looking for experience, expertise, and a proven track record. 

A good partner always ensures quality work in the given timeline, budget, and resources. It ensures effective communication in the entire development process and aligns with your business goals. 

The other steps to choose the right development partner are as follows: 

1. Always check the technical capabilities and innovation the company offers. 
2. Consider post-launch support and its cost before collaboration. 
3. Look for clear contracts, ownership terms, and risk management strategies. 
4. It is essential to consider the location, timezone, and language of the development team. 
5. Ask for a demo of custom software they built for your industry. 

If you think that they stand by your consideration, you can go with them. 

• Software Development & Implementation 

After planning and choosing the right development team, now it's time to proceed with the development and implementation of the software. Around 71% to 94% of development companies use agile methodology to develop software. The methodology steps include designing, building, testing, and releasing. 

The development phases involve designing, coding, and integrating the software into your business systems. After development, proper implementation is essential to ensure the software works efficiently and smoothly within your operations.

• Testing & Quality Assurance 

After development and implementation, testing comes into action. Testing ensures the software is free from bugs and errors. Quality assurance ensures better performance, enhanced user experience, and compliance with standards. It also enhances security and usability, and the software delivers a seamless user experience. 

Majorly, development companies use the acceptance test-driven development (ATDD) approach to identify and fix errors. The steps of the ATDD method are to create and run tests, write and test code, and refactor code. 

• Post Maintenance 

After quality assurance, you will launch the software, but it's not the end; it's the beginning. This is the step where the development team monitors and improves software after it has been deployed. Ongoing maintenance is important for addressing security updates and necessary improvements after getting feedback from users. 

Regular updates and support keep the software running optimally, adapting to evolving business needs and technological advancements. This is the reason businesses invest their time and resources in post-maintenance since it improves productivity and helps in business growth. 

As you have now understood the custom software development process, it's time to know what benefits these software offer to your business. 

Also Read: How to Turn Your Idea into an App in 2025

Top 7 Benefits of Custom Software Development 

How can you choose custom software development without knowing how it will benefit your organization? Of course, you can’t go with that. But the truth is custom software provides several benefits to your business; let’s examine them:

• Tailored to Specific Needs 

The biggest reason businesses invest in custom software is its capability to fulfill specific needs. Custom software ensures you get the digital solution exactly what you thought it would. This tailored solution eliminates unwanted features that you generally get in off-the-shelf software, which increases efficiency and better resource utilization. 

• Better for Scalability 

According to HSBC, 98% of entrepreneurs in the UAE are confident that their business will grow. This makes custom software crucial because when your business grows, custom software adapts to expand needs and add new features and tools that can easily handle higher loads. This is essential for continued success without any limits. 

• Improved Security 

A report generated by Kaspersky shows that 87% of companies in the UAE have faced different forms of cyber attacks in the last two years. However, custom software reduces the chances of cyberattacks and risks from third-party breaches. They allow for heightened security measures and offer protection tailored to your business’s specific vulnerabilities. 

• Gives Competitive Advantage 

Custom software also helps streamline operations and deliver unique features and capabilities that differentiate them from competitors. This makes your business stand out in the market and offers innovative solutions that competitors using generic software cannot replicate.

• Cost Efficiency in the Long Run 

According to Forrester, businesses can achieve a 95% return on investment over three years in custom software. These types of digital solutions may have higher upfront costs but give excellent efficiency in the long run. The software reduces reliance on external vendors and minimizes costly software limitations, which ultimately becomes a smart investment over time. 

• Easily Integrates with Existing System  

Most businesses seek software that can easily integrate with their existing systems; eventually, they choose custom software. This software can be designed to integrate smoothly with your current infrastructure, eliminate compatibility issues, and boost efficiency. 

• Ownership and Control 

Custom software development enables you to own the product, meaning full control over updates, features, and functionality. This eliminates dependency on third-party providers, ensuring that your software evolves alongside your business. It also helps you to innovate and adapt quickly to changing market conditions. 

Now that we have covered the benefits of customer software development, let’s throw some light on its limitations. 

Drawbacks of Custom Software Solutions 

Undoubtedly, custom software development services give several benefits to your business, but it also comes with a few drawbacks. Let’s examine them: 

• High Initial Cost 

The initial cost of custom software solutions can be high since they are developed from scratch. It includes everything from designing to development or testing to maintenance, which requires a significant amount. It can be high spending but gives a good ROI and aligns with your specific needs. 

• Longer Development Time 

If you need software instantly, then custom software may not be the right choice for you. The timeline for developing software varies based on various factors. It usually takes at least 4-6 months, or it can go up to 9 months or even more depending on the complexity of the solution. 

• Ongoing Maintenance Cost 

Custom software requires continuous maintenance and updates to remain functional and secure. This adds to the long-term expenses, including bug fixes, performance optimizations, and adapting to changing technology or business requirements.

Now we have covered everything about custom software solutions; now it's time to understand off-the-shelf software. 

What is Off-the-Shelf Software?

Off-the-shelf software that is also known as white label is a pre-built software that can be yours in no time. These software are ready for immediate use without the need for customization. They’re available for almost all types of apps, such as customer service, e-commerce, travel and hospitality, and on-demand delivery.

The main advantage of off-the-shelf software is its lower cost and faster implementation compared to custom-developed solutions. It’s ideal for businesses or individuals with standard needs and limited budgets. However, it may lack specific features required for unique, specialized tasks, making customization challenging.

Examples: Productivity tools like Microsoft Office, accounting software like QuickBooks, and design programs like Adobe Photoshop.

Cost: The price depends on the subscription, plan, installation, configuration, license, and staff fees. 

Top 6 Benefits of Off-the-Shelf Software

In the era of custom software, businesses still choose off-the-shelf software who have limited budgets or need to incorporate software quickly. The reason behind this is it offers several benefits including: 

• Lower Initial Cost 

Off-the-shelf software is a cost-effective choice for businesses with limited budgets or who want to experiment or understand the market. They, of course, require less upfront investment than custom software solutions because the cost is shared among many users. 

• Quick Implementation 

These are pre-built software that can be deployed immediately and minimize development time. Off-the-shelf solutions enable businesses to integrate solutions faster, reduce downtime, and accelerate productivity. 

• Proven Reliability 

Off-the-shelf solutions are tested by a large user base that ensures that it has a stable performance record. And indeed, businesses benefit from a reliable product that has already proven effective.

• Regular Updates and Supports

These quick digital solutions experience regular updates and support. Vendors offer continuous updates, bug fixes, and customer support, ensuring that the software stays up-to-date and functional over time with minimal effort from businesses.

• Offer More Features 

Off-the-shelf software often meets a variety of corporate demands and has a large number of built-in capabilities. Although they are not like custom software in terms of scalability, they occasionally help businesses grow. 

• Large User Community 

A large user base exists for the off-the-shelf software, which provides valuable resources like tutorials, forums, troubleshooting advice, etc. This helps a new user like you resolve any issue with the software in case you experience it. 

Now that you know how these solutions help firms, it's time to learn why custom solutions are better than off-the-shelf ones by analyzing their disadvantages.

Drawbacks of Off-the-Shelf Software 

There are several disadvantages that off-the-shelf software offers to businesses, they’re as follows: 

• Inflexible to Change 

Off-the-shelf software cannot often adapt to specific business processes. This limits flexibility and potentially hinders operational efficiency and growth.

• Higher Upgrades Cost 

As off-the-shelf software evolves, upgrade costs can escalate.  This leads to unexpected financial burdens for businesses that need to keep the software up-to-date.

• Integration Issues 

These solutions may struggle to integrate seamlessly with existing systems. Eventually, businesses find compatibility issues that disrupt workflows and require costly additional resources to resolve.

• Unused Features 

Many off-the-shelf software packages come with unnecessary features that businesses never use. This leads to complexity and money wastage without providing any real benefit to the organization.

• Vendor Dependency 

Off-the-shelf software makes businesses reliant on the vendor for updates, support, and customization. As a result, it limits control and potentially leaves businesses vulnerable to vendor-driven changes.

• Security Risks 

With off-the-shelf software, security vulnerabilities may arise from widespread usage, making it a target for hackers. Frequent updates are needed to mitigate potential security risks.

We have a thorough understanding of both custom and off-the-shelf software. Let's now learn which option is right for UAE-based companies.

Also Read: How Much Money Can You Earn Through Mobile App?

What’s better for UAE business: Custom vs Off-the-Shelf Software 

Let’s understand this by analyzing a table that compares both digital solutions for UAE businesses. 

For startups and small enterprises in the United Arab Emirates that don't consider scalability or look for affordable solutions that accomplish their goals, off-the-shelf solutions are best. However, the nation's entrepreneurs prioritize scalability, which influences their decision to use custom solutions.

It can adapt to specific business requirements, allowing for customized solutions that expand with the firm. It guarantees competitive advantage and long-term efficiency with tremendous security. 

Depending on your services, needs, goals, objectives, budget, market, and user demand, you can choose between custom and off-the-shelf options. However, businesses that want to scale and have the confidence to generate high revenue always choose custom software development services. 

Also Read: How to Choose a Mobile App Development Company in UAE

Why Apptunix for Both Off-the-Shelf and Custom Software Development? 

Apptunix stands out as a leading custom software development company in UAE, whether you pick off-the-shelf or custom software. We use the latest technology and innovation to develop software that caters to businesses across various industries. 

The tailored solution that we offer aligns with your business needs and helps to engage customers and drive sales. Apptunix ensures scalability, security, and performance that give you countless opportunities in the long run. 

Our expertise in both areas empowers businesses to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and stay ahead of the competition in today’s fast-paced digital landscape. We understand businesses and customers of the UAE; that’s why we’re the right partner for you.