Bespoke Software Consultancy
Scalable, resilient and high-transaction software solutions – for ambitious organisations worldwide.
What we do
Box UK’s bespoke software consultancy services support the delivery of mission-critical solutions, enabling clients to make the right decisions at the right time for successful business outcomes.
Our software development consultants have extensive experience working across different industries and projects, asking the searching questions needed to get organisations where they need to be.
Whether your business is looking to scale in response to a period of growth, drive forward a wider digital transformation strategy, or gain crucial competitive advantage in the face of market disruption, our services will give you targeted and detailed insight to help you achieve your goals.
Jaguar Land Rover
Before undertaking what could potentially be a major redevelopment of their Symptom Driven Diagnostics tool, JLR needed to understand what was going on with the software in its current state.
By conducting a code review as part of a comprehensive research and evaluation project, we provided JLR with the insight they needed, enabling them to make informed strategic decisions about the software’s future, and helping to ensure they get the greatest possible value out of any investment.
Why choose Box UK?
Box UK offers an unrivalled depth and breadth of IT and software consultancy services, from code reviews and Agile coaching through to complex platform and architecture design – and has been working with enterprise organisations across the globe to improve their systems for more than twenty years.
Our multidisciplinary team draws on decades of experience to help businesses achieve measurable returns from their digital investment, and act as strategic partners to an international roster of clients from our headquarters in the capital of Wales, offices in central London, and on-site as part of embedded teams.
Bespoke software examples
- Content Management Systems (CMS): Custom CMS software allows businesses to create, manage, and publish digital content efficiently, tailored to their specific content management needs for websites, blogs, or other digital platforms. This takes the functionality and customisation beyond typical out of the box CMS solutions to deliver additional value and benefits.
- E-commerce Platforms: Bespoke e-commerce solutions enable businesses to build and manage large and complex online stores, incorporating customised features for product management, functionality, order processing, payment gateways, and customer engagement systems.
- Analytics Tools: Custom analytics software tools provide organisations with insights into their data, enabling informed decision-making, trend analysis, forecasting, and performance monitoring customised to their unique data sources and business objectives. Bespoke analytics software enables data visualisation, analysis and insights which go beyond the out of the box solutions and can be customised to meet changing user needs.Â
- Project Management Software: Custom project management software assists organisations in planning, tracking, executing, and managing complex and large projects, offering personalised features such as task management, resource allocation, collaboration tools, and reporting capabilities which enables users to perform complex tasks which are specific to their organisation and their processes.
Talk to one of our digital experts
Tom Houdmont
Head of Business Solutions
Do you have an idea or a project you need support with?
Tom leads Box UK’s Business Solutions team and has over 15 years experience in the web industry. Tom is passionate about creating impactful solutions that solve real problems and deliver the outcomes our clients need.
Or call us on 020 8098 2093
FAQs
Why should my business choose bespoke software?
Developing a bespoke software solution can deliver you numerous benefits over a Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) product. Most notably, it can give you greater control over the features and functionality built, leaving you with a system exactly tailored to meet your requirements – and without redundant or unwanted elements that increase complexity and cost. You can also more easily factor your future plans and ambitions into your development roadmap, allowing your bespoke solution to be scaled and diversified as needed.
The user experience, too, is a vitally-important but often-overlooked factor in the success of your software. By following user-centred design principles you can ensure that your bespoke solution is intuitive and easy-to-use, helping drive adoption rates and user satisfaction.
Another factor is ownership. While a bespoke software solution may require a higher upfront cost than off-the-shelf software, you will have full ownership and control over the direction of development, making it an appealing choice for business-critical platforms that will be in place over a number of years.
Of course, both bespoke and off-the-shelf solutions come with their own set of benefits and considerations. Expert software consultancy can help you discover the most suitable approach for your organisation, depending on your unique business requirements, contexts of use and long-term goals.
What are the indications that my business needs bespoke software?
If you’re finding that your current software solutions are preventing you from completing key business processes as effectively or efficiently as possible, then you may well benefit from custom development. Common symptoms include manual workarounds being put in place where your existing solution does not have the required functionality to complete tasks, workflows and reporting being hindered by a lack of integration between disparate systems, and future improvements being delayed due to lack of capacity and capability.
You may also find that your solutions have become increasingly difficult to maintain; another clear indicator that change may be required. It may be that your solution is built on technologies that are out-of-date or no longer supported, and you lack the required knowledge and skills within your team to make improvements. Your systems may even be suffering from harmful hidden technical debt, the build-up of which can compound existing issues and make future development on your platform more complex and costly.
As many of these issues can go unnoticed until it’s too late, it’s vital that you regularly review the software solutions you have in place, so that you can spot the signs of danger and take action before they become major problems.
What are the basic steps involved in the creation of a bespoke software application for my business?
All Box UK bespoke software projects begin with a period of discovery that allows the team to identify requirements upfront and capture these in a clear and concise format, while also working collaboratively to define an overarching project vision. These outputs are made accessible to all project stakeholders, to create a shared understanding that helps minimise the risk of misunderstandings, and provides the development team with the information needed to build a high-quality software solution.
Requirements are then prioritised to create a project backlog for the development team to work through, ensuring the most valuable features and functionality are delivered first. Box UK employs an Agile approach to development with work carried out in short, regular ‘sprints’, each of which produces tested, working software. The iterative nature of Agile also encourages regular review and feedback cycles, to ensure that all software delivers against user behaviours and expectations, and supports long-term business goals.
What programming technologies are you experts at?
With a deep pool of cross-functional expertise Box UK is able to work across a wide technology stack, researching, identifying and implementing only the most suitable technologies to deliver value for clients. Our development team works across a broad range of languages including PHP, JavaScript and Python, and we are experienced in popular development frameworks including .NET, Symfony, React and Angular.
Box UK also works with leading technology partners to ensure the delivery of high-quality solutions. This includes content management systems such as WordPress, Sitecore and Drupal, hosting providers such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Rackspace, and we also hold Silver Application Development Partner status on the Microsoft Partner Network.
Our breadth of expertise means that clients can be confident that all technology decisions will be based on data and evidence, helping mitigate technical debt and future rework to focus instead on future growth and optimisation.
What kind of bespoke software development is available?
With a wide breadth of expertise Box UK’s multidisciplinary team undertake a diverse range of bespoke software development projects, spanning everything from enterprise websites and applications to powerful digital platforms and end-to-end technology ecosystems.
Whatever your requirements, Box UK’s software consultants will work closely with you to identify the most appropriate software solution and development approach for your specific requirements and objectives, leveraging over two decades’ experience delivering high-profile projects for ambitious and progressive organisations across the globe.
Our services also encompass technical matters including the performance, extensibility, security, stability and usability of your software development solutions, providing expert advice and guidance to guide your future roadmap.
What if I want you to work with a technology that you are not familiar with?
Box UK’s robust and mature development approach ensures the predictability, sustainability and quality that clients require, no matter what technology is being used to deliver the software solution.
Our development team will work closely with internal stakeholders and subject-matter experts to gain an in-depth understanding of project requirements, and agree upon the most suitable technologies to deliver against these. Where necessary, the team will undertake an initial period of investigation to build familiarity with these technologies, mitigating against the risk of issues arising later in the project.
Throughout, an agile, test-driven development approach ensures the security, stability and performance of software solutions, applying SOLID principles, peer reviews, robust testing processes and automated deployments to further safeguard quality.
What is the minimum project size that you will accept?
An initial software consultancy project can start from a few thousand pounds for a code review or agile consultancy programme, through to larger and more complex design and legacy software rescue projects. At the outset of any engagement we will work closely with you to understand your specific requirements in order to provide a confident estimate of project size, and to mitigate any potential risk to delivery.
Client Stories
Have a project you’d like to discuss?
Give us a call on 020 8098 2093 or fill in the form and we will get back to you.