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An enterprise software development company provides software solutions for brands, businesses, and organizations instead of an individual consumer.
What distinguishes enterprise software development from regular software development companies is that it requires expertise to make the solution scalable, customizable, interoperable, highly secure, and future-proof. The enterprise solution should also be accessible by multiple users, compliant with laws and regulations, and provide administration control.
Examples of enterprise software include:
According to Statista, the enterprise software industry has an annual growth rate of 6.55% and is projected to reach a market volume of $376.4 billion by 2028. Among enterprise software solutions, CRM systems comprise the largest revenue share, with over 20% of the enterprise software market. In addition, the biggest name is Salesforce, dominating 23.8% of the CRM market.
Enterprise software development companies offer IT services and custom software solutions for brands.
Here are the most common enterprise software services:
One example of implementing IoT is Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a Fortune 500 real estate company, that wanted a web and mobile app for reporting technical anomalies and malfunctions within its facilities and machines. TechAhead used IoT and AI technologies to provide real-time data on performance history and equipment issues.
The enterprise software development company also developed predictive maintenance features, data security mechanisms that restricted the access of third-party technicians, and data visualization for easier-to-digest information.
As a result, JLL reported:
A technology or tool is considered enterprise software or enterprise application software if it enhances a business’s organizational efficiency, employee productivity, product development, and customer service. It also has the following characteristics:
The difference between enterprise software development and regular software development is the objective.
The goal of enterprise software development is to increase the efficiency of a business through automating workflows, collecting and analyzing data, and customizing solutions. Meanwhile, regular software development aims to improve the lives of individuals.
Here is a more detailed comparison of the differences between enterprise software development and regular software development.
| Enterprise software | Regular software | |
| Who is the target user or audience? | Businesses | Individual end user |
| Who has access to the software? | Usually, only the members of the organization for whom it’s developed | All the users or account holders of the software |
| Can you control user access according to their position and other organizational factors? | Administration controls allow leaders to customize permissions, views, and other features according to the roles and positions of the users accessing the software. | While you can control access to a certain degree, it’s not as customizable as enterprise software. |
| Can it securely and efficiently store, retrieve, analyze, and manage enterprise-level data? | Yes | Not necessarily |
| Can it integrate with complex business systems to streamline processes, workflows, and data? | Yes | Usually lacks mature integration capabilities |
| Can it scale with growing business operations? | Yes | No |
| Does it comply with business laws and industry standards? | Yes | Not necessarily |
| How much does it cost? | $500,000 - $100 million | $30,000 - $300,000 per project |
| Examples of software | Slack, Click Up, Quickbooks | Viber, Evernote, Nerdwallet |
An enterprise software development company charges $500,000 to over $100 million for a project and $385 to $850 per hour on average. However, the top 50 enterprise software development companies featured on DesignRush charge an average of $53 per hour.
In addition, 5.5% of the enterprise software development services on DesignRush accept a minimum project rate of under $1,000, and 7.1% accept a minimum of $50,000 and up.
Aside from project scope and an agency’s level of expertise, the rates of an enterprise software firm can vary due to the following factors:
You should look to hire an enterprise custom software development company because they have specialized talent and expertise, offer tailor-made services, and ensure legal and security compliance.
Building enterprise software needs specialized expertise that not all developers possess. An enterprise software developer needs in-depth understanding of business processes, communication and management methods, and laws and regulations.
In addition, specific enterprise software development tools, like Oracle, Microsoft Azure, and IBM Cloud, aren’t as widely utilized outside of enterprise solutions, and that knowledge is highly coveted.
Lastly, enterprise software developers are usually business-minded, so they understand how to build solutions that meet the overall goals and impact the bottom line — not only solving the immediate pain points.
Because enterprise software development companies help automate manual tasks and workflows, employees are less likely to make mistakes. Moreover, employees can quickly access updated information relevant to their tasks, reducing knowledge-based errors. This, in return, improves your business’s security and saves you money.
In fact, the World Economic Forum reports that 95% of cybersecurity issues are due to human error.
Enterprise software development companies leverage business data and conduct extensive interviews with key stakeholders to identify workflow inefficiencies and pain points.
Then, they may design custom enterprise solutions that automate repetitive tasks, integrate disparate systems, and optimize workflow processes. These solutions may include enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) software, or workflow management platforms tailored to the organization's needs.
Additionally, a custom enterprise development company centralizes your data, allowing you to monitor operations and activities.
One example is when a UK-based B2B telecommunications provider approached Iflexion to upgrade its billing system. The enterprise software development firm replaced the legacy billing and rating system (BRS) with a new one.
The new BRS generated invoices provided flexible invoice distribution schedules and created branded invoices and email templates. It also integrated with the client’s systems and automated many manual tasks.
Now, the client can process over 10 million records a day and reduce invoice run time by 80%. It also made the business process more predictable and transparent, allowing for better visibility over business accounts.
According to IBM, the global average data breach cost is $4.45 million. The top enterprise software companies understand the gravity of cyberthreats and employ stringent methods, as well as the latest technology, to ensure that all your data is safe against security breaches.
Add to that the necessary training, certificates, and experience to ensure that all technology they produce follows the best security practices and complies with laws and regulations, and you can see how important it is for businesses to utilize enterprise software development.
Common standards, frameworks, and agreements utilized by enterprise software development companies include secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC) testing, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), end-user license agreement (EULA), and ISO 27001.
For example, an Azerbaijani commercial bank worked with ScienceSoft to build a robust SIEM solution compliant with PCI DSS. The enterprise software development company connected firewalls, IPS/IDS systems, EPS, central authentication system, and remote access control software, among many others. It also tailored the client’s IBM Security Qadar SIEM solution according to its unique needs and requirements.
As a result, the solution met all the PCI DSS requirements and provided 24/7 APT protection and insider threat detection.
In 2023, Wells Fargo and 10 more banks were fined for using consumer-grade apps Signal, Meta, WhatsApp, and Apple to discuss business matters. This was in violation of the US federal security laws for record-keeping, which requires businesses to keep a record and log of all business-related interactions.
Enterprise software development companies help you avoid these types of violations, as part of their quality assurance process is to perform legal checks. Plus, they ensure that their enterprise solutions include encryption, access controls, and audit trails so that communications adhere to regulatory requirements and industry standards.
For instance, ScienceSoft is an enterprise software development company specializing in the healthcare industry and is compliant with:
One of the most significant features of enterprise software is collecting and analyzing “big data.” Through this, you can understand the big picture with just a glance. You can also customize reports based on your needs, investigate the smallest detail, and glean actionable insights that optimize business processes.
Additionally, enterprise systems help businesses make plans and track goals. So, owners can understand client satisfaction, monitor expenses, and receive real-time notifications when potential issues appear.
A global retail company partnered with ITRex to improve its data analytics. The enterprise software development service developed a custom web portal with a 360-degree view of all data sources in various formats and a self-service business intelligence platform.
As a result, three million internal users can access the big-picture view of the data, and the solution is used over 13 million times. The client received actionable insights and discovered hidden connections for seemingly unrelated data.
You can choose the best enterprise software development company by following these steps:
Contact us for tailored recommendations on enterprise development companies for your project. Our team will help you find your perfect solution. You can browse our Marketplace for more details.
You should ask an enterprise software development company the following questions before hiring it:
The top 5 enterprise software development companies in the US are:
Scroll up and learn about additional leading enterprise software development companies. All of them have been chosen based on successful projects, industry reputation, customer reviews, and team expertise. If you want to further personalize your search, you can sort companies by location, budget size, hourly rates, and reviews.
Selina Garcia has authored 500+ articles and edited 50+ published books in economics, law, and history. Her unique blend of experiences allows her to approach content creation from a well-rounded perspective. Currently, Selina applies her expertise to producing insightful articles on IT, software, and applications for DesignRush.
Sergio is a technology leader with over six years of experience managing global teams and delivering projects across fintech, sportstech, and B2B platforms. At DesignRush, he drove product growth and development execution, building tools that speed up processes by 95% and cut costs by 35% while maintaining full uptime.
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