by : Priscilla Ng Software, Software Customization

How Much a Software Source Code Cost? Is it Expensive?

Want to purchase the source code for a mobile or computer application from a software development company or a business? Well, it is absolutely possible, but you need to remember that when it comes to its cost, things can get a bit tricky. This is because there is not really a straightforward way to decide the value of the code, which is why you need to manually look at various factors to get the right price.

The Cost of Source Code Depends on the Following Factors:

Since there is really no hard and fast rule for setting the price of a source code, you need to manually consider some fundamental yet important factors to assess a code’s worth. And to be honest, its value depends on the software itself and also what went into the software development process. Here are some of the most key factors to take into account:

The Developer’s Experience:

This is the key deciding factor behind how high or low a software’s source code is really worth. How experienced, expert, and worthy the software developer is, will decide its cost. There are basically three types of developers discussed below:

  • Beginner Programmer:
    This is the kind of individual who has just dipped his toe into the vast sea of software development and lacks practical experience. There’s a possibility that he might use a clone system with a few changes to design software. Furthermore, he doesn’t have the experience and vision to understand the future trends in your business, which means he will just use the resources at hand and design a system that can sustain for a few years. In short, his system will have many bugs and will also not be future proof. So just to give an idea, we can say his source code might cost $.
  • Senior Programmer:
    This programmer has moved past beyond the stage where the clone system is used or where there are chances of source code having errors and bugs. However, he is still in the middle; he might not have the vision and sight to design a software that can last for a lifetime. He might be able to give you a few good years, maybe one or two decades worth of software. But when business trends change and you need to add new modules in the database, you may have to spend more money to make several changes in the code or even get a new code from scratch. We can say his source code might cost $$.
  • Software Architecture:
    This is the guy who is a professional at what he does. He will design a source code in a way that is free for any bugs and will also be future proof. Plus, his source code will be tried and tested by beta users and based on the feedback, the code will be fully improved and ready to be implemented. A code developed by a software architecture will cost $$$ or more.

The Functionality of Software:

Besides the experience of the developer, the cost of software also depends on its functionality. The better the software functions and the more it benefits businesses and other users, the higher its price will be. So here are a few noteworthy factors to keep in mind as well:

  • Business Benefits:
    Is this software benefitting existing businesses, or if you have purchased it, has it improved your business? Maybe it has helped in skyrocketing your revenue directly? OR maybe it has indirectly improved your revenue by streamlining your internal procedures and increasing efficiency? If that’s the case, then the code’s cost will be high.
  • Features of the Software:
    What kind of features does the software has, is it equipped with all the latest ones, or does its source code need some tweaking for the addition of more features to meet your competition? The more useful features a software has, the higher you can expect it to cost.
  • Adoption by Users:
    If you are already using the software without its source code, then how many users do you have? The number of people using the software also impacts the cost of source code because it is already tested in the market and accepted by a wide variety of users.

Besides the factors mentioned above, you also need to see how unique the source code is, are there many software based on it? Are there only a few of them? Or are you the only one using it?

The uniqueness of the source code also defines its cost because the source code is the property of the company. So buying the code means you are buying a part of their business, so it is obvious that it will come with a hefty price tag.  

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by : Priscilla Ng Software, Software Customization

Good Database Design Defines Your Software’s Success

If you are getting software development for your business so that you can have access to all kinds of data in one place, then you seriously need to think about who designs its database.

A bad design can ruin the software, and that can ultimately do damage to your business. If you want to get more info about the database, its role, and the characteristics of a good database, keep reading this guide until the end.

Role of Database Software Development in Your Business:

Nowadays, businesses heavily rely on data to manage their internal and external operations and also make decisions that shape their future. Without the help of useful data, businesses will be shooting arrows in the dark without knowing the right direction. For instance, not having the right data on the inventory available, businesses might go out of stock, and by the time they know it, they will already be turning away customers that need their products.

Similarly, managers will not have the correct insight into the performance of their company without data, which means they cannot make the necessary decisions to grow it. So now that you know how important data is, you also need to know that without a database, all of this data is useless. You need a correctly designed database to properly organize and store that data so that it is available for the right people to access it in minutes without going through piles of unnecessary information.

For Instance: If a manager wants to see sales history for the year 2020, he can just input it in the database system, and instead of getting the history for any other year, he will exactly get the sales figures for the year 2020.

Characteristics of a Good Database Design:

You need to understand that every business needs a customized system of a good database. A bad one can result in getting wrong or incomplete data. Or it might not keep up with the pace of businesses when it starts to grow in the future. So here are the characteristics of a good database that defines the success of the software it is used for:

Independent Data Storage:

If the database design is properly created, then all the modules inside it will be independently stored. This means it will be easier to get any specific piece of information without getting the screen bombarded with all sorts of irrelevant data.

Furthermore, when you make changes to any specific data module, other modules will not be affected because they are stored independently. So if a company wants to add or remove units of inventory in the inventory management module, the sales module will not be affected unless it is programmed to do so.

Should Not be Clone System:

If you get database design from a beginner or incompetent software development firm, they might use a clone script of a database of a business similar to yours and build your entire database software based on that.

This means the database will not be unique to your business, and you might not be able to add any additional modules in it.

Data Should Be Consistent And Reliable:

A bad database design increases your risk of getting different answers to your queries. This means you might ask for the sales history of a specific product, but you might get mixed data for different products. This can result in duplication of product identification numbers in the database.

Good database design will validate the data when it is being entered and loaded and reject anything which is not according to the pre-set rules such as wrong values, duplication of ids, etc.

Should be Beginner Friendly and Load Fast:

A good database will be very easy to operate and get results from. Not everyone using it will be an IT pro, which means it should not feel like operating an airplane with lots of functions to generate simple data reports. There should be straightforward functions that deliver the right results.

Furthermore, the database should load fast. It should not take several minutes to find the data and bring it on screen; this can happen if the database is structured poorly.

Security Must Be Excellent:

The database of your business is something that should be kept very secret because if it falls into the hands of a scammer, your business can take severe damage. For instance, your CRM database leaking out means the personal information of your customers can be misused by others, and that can result in expensive lawsuits.

A good database should have layers of security like authentication that verifies the credentials of users and then give access based on the credentials stored in it.

Furthermore, different levels of users should have limited access based on their posts. A manager should not have access to executive-level data. Regular auditing also helps in finding out if there are any issues in the database like wrong people accessing the information. Moreover, there should be regular backups on a secured space so that if the database gets erased or infected with viruses, you can have a backup copy.

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by : Priscilla Ng Ecommerce Tips, Software, Website Design

Why is CRM Important for a B2B Business?

The most important and perhaps the most challenging part of running any business is to get clients. And clients are captured with the help of data, knowing who wants what helps businesses hit the right spot of their potential customers.

A B2B CRM solution can help businesses do just that. It can help you make more data-driven decisions, improve your marketing and sales campaigns, and help you optimize your funnels better.

However, the B2B CRM solutions should be programmed by a software development firm to fit your particular needs instead of using a clone system that many businesses are already using.

So What’s B2B CRM Anyway?

Short for Customer Relationship Management, CRM is all about the ‘customers come first’ approach. It is a management strategy where data is collected in order to better understand customers’ needs and provide them with maximum value. Furthermore, it allows businesses to know exactly what their customers want, which means they can upsell their products and ultimately increase their revenue.

There are many B2B CRM software solutions that can help the sales team collect heaps of data from different communication channels where they interact with their clients and then analyze it. All of this data is stored in the company’s database and can be accessed by the sales and marketing teams for their existing and upcoming campaigns.

Furthermore, B2B CRM is also about nurturing your relationship with your clients. You can stay in touch with them from time to time, help them out whenever you can, offer discounts or freebies, and earn their loyalty.

Why Your Business Needs CRM?

The basic idea behind any sales cycle/funnel is to take the customer through the journey of several steps, starting from increasing brand awareness and then ultimately making the sale. Do you know that for every dollar spend on CRM, $8.71 is earned back? (Source)

Although it can be a very challenging process, with the help of CRM software solutions, you can find out what a particular set of customers need at a specific stage. This makes things easier. Here are a few core advantages of using B2B CRM:

Highly Targeted Campaigns:

The launching of any marketing campaign is already pretty tough, but what if you need to run more than one of them? What if you sell three types of soaps; Beauty Soap, Antibacterial Soap, and Acne Soap, and you need to promote them at once? The target market for all three of them will be different, right?

So how will you keep track of potential client data, and who needs which soap? This is where B2B CRM software will help you. By collecting, analyzing, and organizing data of different types of customers via your multiple communication channels, it will help your sales team keep track of who is who and what is what.

 Detailed Analytics:

Once you have concluded a marketing campaign, how will you find out if it was a success? Well, that is where CRM will help you out as well. It will analyze the data of all your sales campaigns and will provide you with detailed reports and insights on things like:

  • Which campaign yielded the highest ROI?
  • Anticipation of sales for next quarter
  • What are the best and most qualitative leads?
  • Which of your actions impacted the sales decision of lead?

And so on. Well-developed CRM software usually has a dashboard where all of this information can be accessed with just a few clicks.

You Can Make More Data-Driving Decisions:

As discussed above, you will be provided with tons of insights regarding how your campaigns when and also which leads are the best. It can even rank leads and give them scores based on how they performed.

So the next time, when you are creating another campaign, you can use this data to better prepare yourself, and instead of wasting time on unimportant leads, you can follow quality ones. This can help you turn your sales funnel into a money-making machine.

Makes Marketing and Sales Departments Collaborate:

The two hands of any business that help it collect the profits are the sales and marketing departments. However, in many business environments, they are not directly working together, which can compromise the company’s potential to reach more potential clients and nurture the relationship with the existing ones.

With the help of the CRM system, you can align both of these departments as all the data from both sides will be fed inside the CRM software. So whenever any department needs to know something about a campaign or a lead, they can just access the data from a dashboard.

Over to You:

Make sure to hire a professional software development firm to make you a customized system of B2B CRM based on your needs and the marketing channels you use to interact with your customers.

It will not only make it a piece of cake for clients to reach you whenever they want, but your sales and marketing teams will be able to make better data-driven decisions.

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by : Priscilla Ng Ecommerce Tips, Software Customization, Website Design

Why Should You Sell on Ecommerce Marketplaces Besides Your Own Store?

Wondering if you should have your ecommerce store developed? Maybe you want to replicate the look of online marketplaces like Shopee using the clone system website and sell from there? Well, you can do these things, but you still need to sell on these marketplaces as well.

This is because the annual sales of Malasia’s ecommerce market jumped by 47% from 2014 to 2017 and expected to further grow at a rate of 24% per year by 2021 (Source).

So this means if you can not only sell from your brand website but also from ecommerce marketplaces and grow your business in the next few years.

5 Reasons You Need Ecommerce Marketplace Besides Your Own Website:

Access to Their Customer Base:

Do you know that in just Q4 of 2018, Lazada received 183 million visits, and Shopee received 147.6 million visits? (Source). This is huge for businesses looking to get more customers and ultimately increase their sales. By creating on your store on platforms like Lazada and Shopee, you will be able to access an untapped market of customers who are purchasing online. Even if you have your own separate website where you sell online, by not working on these marketplaces, you are leaving some serious money on the table.

Plus, as mentioned at the start of this article, the ecommerce market of Malaysia is on track to grow further, and this growth is not going to stop in the coming years. This means if you make a store now, it will grow with time, and you will receive even more sales and customers in the future.

Fulfillment Benefits:

Ecommerce marketplaces like Lazada have their own fulfillment programs as well. This means the hassle of packing, shipping, and dealing with product returns will not be your problem. You just need to send your product inventory to their fulfillment centers, and that’s all, they will pick, pack, and ship it whenever someone orders.

This type of freedom allows you to put your store on autopilot and make money even while you sleep. Although they charge some fee for doing this, the peace of mind and freedom is still worth it.

Marketing Opportunities:

One of the benefits of selling on online marketplaces is the marketing tools they offer that you can leverage to get ahead of your competition. You can use PPC advertising to put your product right in front of the competitor. When people search for a product that you sell, your product will be on top, which means more chances of getting the sale.

Furthermore, there are make campaigns like Black Friday deals, daily flash sales, and many more that you can enroll in and further grow your sales.

Enhance Brand Visibility:

If you are just starting out on your journey to becoming an online brand, you high brand visibility. And places like Lazada and Shopee offer this kind of opportunity. By using their platform and their credibility, you can entice and attract more potential customers.

This basically means you don’t have to spend thousands on marketing to position your brand in people’s minds. You can just start a store on the ecommerce marketplace and get benefit from their credibility and trustworthiness.

Access to Other Countries:

You are not just limited to selling in your own country when you sell on ecommerce marketplaces. If you want, you can make a store in other countries as well where the marketplace exists, send your inventory to their warehouse in that country, and immediately start selling.

For instance, Lazada allows for selling in 6 southeastern countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore. You can sell in all 6 of these countries if you want.

Why Do I Need My Own Website When I Can Sell on Ecommerce Marketplace?

Now that you realize the benefits of selling on the ecommerce marketplace, you might wonder, why do I need to have my own website? Well, that is because you can channel the customers from those marketplaces to your own brand website.

The benefit for this will be that when people start buying directly from your website, you won’t have to pay fees that you do when selling on ecommerce marketplaces. So you will have more profit per sale. Plus, you can build your own customer base using social media and get more sales on new products.

Over to You:

You can have your own customized system of ecommerce website developed and also an ecommerce app from a software development company. But if you go just one step further and also start to sell on ecommerce marketplaces, you can have access to a bigger customer base.

Plus, you can eventually get the people buying from you on the ecommerce marketplace to visit your website and grow your personal customer base. 

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by : Priscilla Ng Software, Software Customization, Website Design

Website Design & System Functionality Clone – Is It Illegal?

Do you know that 89% of people do business with a competitor of business after having a poor experience? (Oracle)

This means if you offer better customer service and have a website matching your competitor or better than them, then those 89% people can get services from you.

So to be able to attract them and offer them a better experience, you need to have a website cloned to be similar to your competitor’s website because the design and functionality of that website attracted people in the first place.

So if you are wondering whether it is legal to clone system and design or not, then stick until the end, we will tell you several benefits of doing so as well.

What is Website Cloning, and is it Illegal?

In simple words, website cloning is getting inspiration from an existing website and replicating its design and functionality on your own website. The script of the existing website is used with customization as per your needs, and a new website is designed.

This saves days of work and makes it easier to get a full-fledged website up and running in little time.

As for the legality of website cloning, then no, it is not illegal. Unless you are copying trademarked and copyrighted elements of the website like their logo, website content, and other things unique to them, you won’t be doing anything illegal.

Clone System and Website Design – 5 Key Benefits:

  1. Saves Time:
    When starting a new venture, especially something where your business depends on having a website like an ecommerce store, the development time of a website can cause some delays. However, you can save this time and quickly step into the market with the help of website cloning. The developer will just use the existing script of the kind of website you want to have, make some changes to fit your needs, and have it up and running quickly.
  2. Saves Money:
    Whether you want a website or software, developing it from scratch can put a huge dent in your budget unless you have thousands of dollars to spend. So if you are tight on a budget, you can always use website cloning, also known as script cloning, to slash your budget into a minimum because you won’t have to code from scratch, just build on an existing one which takes fewer resources. This is also done software where a software development firm will make a customized system using a cloning script.
  3. Smooth Functionality:
    Want to clone the functionality of a website? Well, that can be done as well. Besides design, you can take inspiration from a website’s functionality and replicate it on your own website. This will help you save both your time and money in enhancing the UX and UI and get turn your website into a smooth-flowing platform that will appeal to most of your visitors.
  4. Less UID Planning:
    User Interface Design planning is something that every entrepreneur needs to worry about when developing their website or software. This is because 94% of users first see the feel and look of a website before deciding to continue navigation (source). So if their platform is not appealing to their target audience, they will discard its use after some time, which will result in heavy losses. Cloning a website or software of your competitor that is already doing very well will eliminate your need to do market research and plan a design accordingly.
  5. You Can Beta Test:
    Want to test your idea for a software or a website? Why not clone the system and design of an existing website or app and find out how your idea will perform? You don’t need to shell out several thousand dollars and months in developing a platform to test out your idea. Just clone a website or app, customize it to fit your idea, and see how it works out.

Things to Keep in Mind:

  • Always work an expert having command on the clone system and design of a website or app. You will not exactly be copying a website but taking inspiration for your own. An expert will have knowledge of coding, so he will make changes accordingly to fit the website to your needs.
  • The cloning of website is a complex process where the code of the script needs to be implemented correctly and precisely. Small mistakes can result in bugs and other problems. So be extremely careful when cloning the website or app.
  • Make sure not to copy anything that is copyrighted like the logo, name, or images of the website that are the property of the brand.

Over to You:

To clone system and website, you just need to copy the script, make changes in code to fit your needs, and implement it on your own website. However, this process can be a little complex, especially if you don’t know coding.

Getting help from a professional website and software development firm to make you a customized system will be a better approach.

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by : Priscilla Ng Software, Software Customization

System Developer Lead Plays an Important Role in Architect Design

Did you know that the employment of system developers is projected to grow by 10% by 2028? (Source). This is incredible because companies are now starting to recognize their potential. There is no doubt that the system lead developers are the uncrowned kings of the website and software development world, and hiring them means getting maximum value in return.

However, if you don’t know what separates a system developer lead from a regular programmer, then don’t fret. To help you figure out the roles of both, and why you need to work with a systems developer lead for excellent results, we have come up with this guide, let’s get started:

Difference between Programmer and Developer Lead:

There’s a lot of fuss out there related to the roles of both; the regular programmers and the developer lead. When it comes to hiring one for a website or software development project, companies sometimes find themselves at the crossroads without a hint of direction. So let’s see the difference between both:

Programmer:

When we talk about the programmers, we are basically using an umbrella term that encompasses junior and intermediate programmers. Since you want the best results, you might opt for the intermediate programmers. They are more affordable and can work best for very small time projects because of limited skills.

An intermediate programmer is very competent when it comes to using complex technologies and understanding high-level patterns and architectural designs. However, he still hasn’t worked on bigger projects and is likely to make mistakes, especially in complex codes. These mistakes can end up in a disaster for their clients when they start growing and facilitate more customers.

Senior Lead Developer:

Once an intermediate programmer starts correcting mistakes, and stops repeating them, he starts walking on the course of becoming a senior lead developer. A senior lead developer is an ultimate expert, the undisputed champion of his technology stack. This means if you work with a senior lead developer who has a specialty of building websites or apps, you may get A-Z service without any future complications.

Since he is the master of his skill, Senior Lead Developer usually has a team of skilled programmers that he manages and oversees. He is the kind of professional who has the experience of both programming as well as project management. He will talk to you in detail, understand your needs, suggest ways of fixing your problems, and work with his team to develop a full-fledged customized system.

Why You Need a Customized System Developer Lead for Architect Design?

Better Understanding: Whether you want to get a clone system or one from scratch, a lead developer will be able to comprehend your needs better. Regular programmers just know how to take orders and write code; they don’t have communication skills. But the lead developer takes his time to listen to your needs, analyze your field and customers, and then offer a solution.

He is a Hybrid:

Since the lead developer is a programmer himself, he doesn’t just have knowledge of marketing, and project management, he understands software or app development better than most programmers. Therefore, he is your go-to guy if you need someone who can just take the project off of your hands and deliver you 100% ready to use system.

Works with Future in Mind:

If you work with a regular programmer, he will just complete the task to tackle your current issues. This means you can face problems in the future when you are thinking of scaling. However, a lead developer who knows your industry and understands your needs, will future proof the architectural design. Whether you need to add just bells and whistles or incorporate more features, you would be able to do that.

Has Experience and Skills:

He has experience of providing a range of development solutions to businesses and knows his way around coding very well. If the lead developer has worked in your industry before, he will already be well equipped to deal with most of the problems and challenges that may arise during the designing and development process and fast-track the progress.

Over to You:

According to a report by CodingSans; 14.45% programmers face the problem of their clients having unrealistic expectations from them. We believe this happens due to lack of communication because the regular programmers, no matter how expert they are in coding, lack of communication. However, with the help of a senior lead developer, this won’t be an issue.

A lead developer communicates well and properly at the beginning and sets realistic, achievable goals. Once the client knows what he exactly wants and how the lead developer is going to help him, then the project is initiated. The results are always as per expectations this way.

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