9 Challenges of Enterprise Software Development

The efficient organization of key processes and interactions between people is a prerequisite for the successful operation of any business. To achieve these goals, many companies use specialized enterprise software solutions.

Technology has become an important tool used to increase the competitive performance of businesses, which is why the enterprise software development industry is growing steadily. However, while trying to develop its own IT product, a company may face several challenges, which we will talk about in this article.

We will describe the main enterprise software development challenges you will face and some ways to solve them.

[Quick Stats & Facts]

Business Requirements and Environments Keep Changing

The market is dynamic. The needs of businesses can change over time, and are often radically different from what they were when they started. As a business grows, it can face major scalability issues that pose a serious challenge that is difficult to manage without loss. 

Therefore, flexibility and the ability to respond quickly to change are important non-functional requirements for any enterprise software product.

Solution:

Off-the-shelf software products are very limited in their ability to be customized for a specific business. By building a custom enterprise software product, developers can set the necessary requirements for flexibility and scalability from the start.

Security and Access Control

When using an enterprise application, people are always working with sensitive data that should not be available to unauthorized users. Any software product can become a target for cyber-attacks and hacks, and security is one of the most challenging issues for companies. Therefore, all available preventive measures should be taken to protect corporate data.

Solution:

Think about security at the design stage. It is better to prevent problems than to suffer reputational and financial losses later when you have to clean up the consequences.

 It is necessary to regularly test an enterprise software product for vulnerabilities, use encryption when storing and transmitting data, and differentiate user access privileges.

Legacy Software Migration

All software becomes obsolete over time. Legacy products have problems integrating with other systems and no longer meet the real needs of the business. Outdated enterprise software is much more expensive to support, it is prone to crashes and bugs, and it is difficult or impossible to implement new functionality.

Solution:

A software product should start with a well-designed architecture that allows for flexible changes and scalability. It is also not worth neglecting regular product updates and upgrades.

Processing and Storage of Large Amounts of Data

Enterprise software typically generates massive amounts of data, raising the question of how to store and manage it efficiently. Most of this data is unstructured and difficult to leverage. In addition, data storage requires a sophisticated infrastructure that consumes a lot of time and money.

All of this presents a challenge for organizations of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.

Solution:

Data can be stored locally or in the cloud (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud). The final choice depends on your organization’s needs. However, in most cases, cloud services will be the best solution because they provide mobility, stability, and high operational speed.

Integration With Third-Party Systems

Your enterprise application’s versions for different platforms (web, desktop, and mobile) can connect to different third-party services via APIs, as well as cross-integrate with each other at different levels. All of these features should be well thought out and properly implemented.

It can be difficult to comply with interoperability standards, but it is necessary, because some things are easier and much cheaper to implement by connecting to a third-party service than to develop this functionality from scratch.

Solution:

When developing enterprise software, it is critical to anticipate integration capabilities from the outset or to design the system to support modular expansion.

Cooperation With Multiple Vendors

Having different teams involved in the various stages of app development can create chaos, increase development time, and escalate costs. This is especially true if you are strapped for resources or facing a tight release deadline.

Solution:

A well-thought-out project development strategy, clear workflow, and detailed documentation make the transition from one vendor to another virtually seamless.

Maintenance and Support

Businesses can experience significant negative consequences when their enterprise applications experience brief downtime due to a few crashes or unexpected bugs. The ability to quickly identify and fix problems is just as important as the quality of development. Maintainability should not be an onerous task.

Solution:

The software developer building an enterprise application for your company must provide full implementation support and post-release support for the product.

Time & Cost of Software Development

Low return on investment in enterprise application development can be a serious challenge if the project workflow is not thoroughly planned and developer experience is insufficient.

Enterprise application development takes months to complete. When many details are unclear at the outset, it is difficult to predict the exact budget and completion time. This approach can result in your customer running out of money before the project is complete, or the final product not meeting all requirements.

Solution:

It is crucial to clearly plan all software product development processes, set the right priorities, and regularly evaluate the results achieved at different stages of project creation.

Insufficient Development Team Expertise

Finding experienced professionals with the expertise you need has always been a challenge. When it comes to technology, the challenge is compounded by the high demand and the difficulty for customers to adequately assess the expertise of potential contributors. 

In addition, it is necessary to understand that the customer’s business efficiency depends on the results of the work delivered by the development team.

Solution:

The only correct solution in this matter is to be scrupulous about the remote team selection process. It takes time, but your effort will pay off. 

Takeaways

After reading this article, you will begin to understand the main challenges of enterprise software development and how to overcome them successfully. Your company should get a product that exactly meets your business needs, optimizes your business processes, and perfects the interactions between people.

SmartTek has extensive experience in software development in various business domains. If you need a simple, efficient and cost-effective solution, contact us to discuss the details.

Yuriy Nayda CTO, Managing Partner at SmartTek Solutions