Technological advancement allows software solutions to be in constant evolution. Companies have sought to increase demand without compromising the quality of the developed products, considering different types of software solutions that best meet the needs of each client.

Within the wide range of possibilities in the software development field, there are solutions to better meet the broadest demands. Each type of software solution has specifics that vary according to capacity, scale, customization, and development time. Below you will find the spectrum of solutions in the software market today.

Discover each of these solutions.

General purpose software

General purpose software are programs developed to meet a specific purpose, but can actually be utilized for various purposes, such as video and music players, games, text editors, calculators, browsers, social networking apps etc.

Applications such as these require installation on a device, e.g., a computer, a cell phone or tablet, as well as updates by the user. Files generated by general purpose programs must be saved on a device or uploaded to a cloud: it’s up to the user.

The best known general purpose software are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Photoshop.

Check out the advantages and disadvantages of general-purpose software:

SaaS - Software as a service

Better known as SaaS, the Software as a Service project model has revolutionized the software industry. In this model, systems are sold as services. But what does it mean? First off, the solutions do not depend on installing, maintaining and updating a device. Users access software in a remote and simplified way, relying solely on internet connection.

The solution in question demands less investment and guarantees more agility, practicality, and usability, since the service is 100% online and the hosting is on the cloud, facilitating access to data from anywhere in the world. It also counts with automatic updates and optimal integration with other systems.

It is likely that you already use a SaaS model in your daily life, but you might have never noticed. Google Tools are excellent examples of Software as a Service. There are two types of SaaS: general purpose SaaS, and specialized SaaS. Check out the difference between them:

- General purpose SaaS

General purpose SaaS are systems developed for multiple applications. In general purpose systems, users have more freedom to use the tool as they wish as they offer more usage versatility.

Some examples of Software as a Service for general use are Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Miro.

- Specialized SaaS

Specialized SaaS are** systems developed for specific applications**. They are developed to meet more specific customer needs, offering customized solutions. Specialized SaaS do not offer as much versatility as general purpose SaaS, but better serve the user through extremely specialized solutions.

Among the most popular ones on the market are ERP platforms, such as SAP, Omie and Bling, and CRM tools like Salesforce and Pipedrive. Another example that has gained popularity in the design area is Figma, a graphic design platform recently purchased by Adobe which offers a user-specific service.

Softo developed Cubus, our real estate portfolio management product, and SanFlow, our ERP product for service providers.

Low-Code/No-Code

Low-code and no-code solutions were created to reduce or eliminate the amount of code needed to develop programs, which makes it much easier for non-programming professionals. These technologies emerged as alternatives to the traditional way of programming, allowing for simple and fast applications with little or no cost for those who have little or no programming knowledge.

Low-code was the first solution to hit the market with a ready-to-use modular structure. Complex programming languages give way to more visual interfaces that enable project building and customization with little code development.

No-code, on the other hand, offers a simpler and more accessible solution. Anyone can create applications that do not require a programming language. Users needn’t write a single line of code, yet they are able to create applications through ready-made and codified interfaces. Customization without difficulties is ensured.

The main difference between the two solutions is that low-code requires minimal programming knowledge, while no-code eliminates coding altogether. Both models offer flexibility, time saving and agility, which increases productivity and reduces project costs.

FlowCode is a Softo Group’s agency that offers low-code solutions.

See below the advantages and disadvantages of low-code and no-code:

Custom development

Customized software development aims to meet specific demands from clients. Softo provides DevTeam as a Service, which is nothing but an **on-demand development service model **that facilitates collaboration and ensures optimized results.

It means that clients have their ideal development team composed of highly skilled professionals, up to par with the latest technologies. The dream team is available to fulfill any open scope development demand. Project managers, analysts, designers, developers and cloud experts will get your software project off the drawing board.

The World Health Organization (WHO) relied on Softo to translate mass data regarding the impact of Covid-19 on the disruption of various countries’ health systems. For this purpose we assigned a team to work on creating dashboards according to the country and its audience.

The result had significant impacts on the organization. In addition to using friendly graphics to make information about Covid-19 more accessible, we facilitated nations' decision making through a web application. ReactJS, KendoUI, Sitefinity CMS, and Heroku were used.

Softo’s client Globalfy shares another success story. The team we put together for Globalfy developed a digital bank account platform based on “banking as a service” as a solution to facilitate the journey of entrepreneurs on American soil, the company’s main goal. **By simplifying the account creation process, we helped entrepreneurs around the world to rapidly expand e-commerce, technology, startups and industrial enterprises. **

Globalfy liked the visual identity we developed so much that it redid the entire frontend of its digital products. The web application and the admin portal were built with ReactJs, Nest.js, NodeJs, Next.js, Typescript and AWS.

Check out the advantages and disadvantages of custom development:

Conclusion

A technology partner should consider which type of solution best applies to each specific demand in order to ensure more productivity, process agility and time saving. Trying to solve a problem outside of the appropriate spectrum generates not only unnecessary costs, but waste of time, not to mention failure to meet user requirements.

DevTeam as a Service is by far the solution that best manages to meet the most complex demands. Even though it might take more time, the model Softo applies is the one that manages to solve each and every item mentioned in the previous spectrums.