A custom software application, also referred to as bespoke software or tailor-made software, is a software program that has been created specifically for an organisation or user – rather than being ‘off-the-shelf’ software.

Custom software enables an organisation to have software built that completely matches their business requirements. This is often considered preferable to off-the-shelf solutions that do not match the exact needs of the end user organisation.

A decision between custom or off the shelf software is often based on price, time to market and the size of the implementation.