Enterprise Software Development: 6-Steps Process That Works

Enterprise applications are essentially software systems designed to support and automate the operations, processes, and data management of large organizations. These apps are crucial for managing the complex and large-scale activities of businesses. However, enterprise software development is a complex and time-consuming process. These applications need to handle high traffic or a large number of users. Thus, performance optimization is crucial to ensure smooth operation under heavy load. Moreover, these applications need to be tailored to specific business needs and processes. Thus, they must be flexible enough to adapt to changing requirements. 

Fortunately, by using the right tools and frameworks and following best practices, developers can build high-performance, large-scale enterprise applications with ease. For instance, developers worldwide use a framework like Ext JS for enterprise app development.

In this blog, we will explore a 6-step enterprise application development process that can help you build high-performance enterprise apps. 

Let’s first understand the difference between traditional and modern enterprise software development.

What is Enterprise Software?

Enterprise software is essentially a software application that meets the specific needs of large organizations. These apps are designed to support and enhance various business processes, such as:

• Finance
• Human resources
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Supply chain management
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Today, enterprise apps are an essential part of all modern large organizations. These apps help organizations in various ways:

• Automate different business processes and tasks, such as reporting, data collection, etc., saving time and improving productivity. 
• Provide a centralized management system 
• Provide real-time data and analytics, enabling businesses to make informed decisions

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Difference Between Regular and Enterprise Software Development

Here are some differences between both approaches.

Regular Software Development

• These software solutions are usually generic.  
• Designed for small to medium-sized businesses or individual departments within a large organization.
• Examples include basic accounting software, simple project management tools, and standard office productivity suites.
• Focuses on specific and more straightforward tasks. For example, a simple accounting software used by a small business might handle invoicing, payroll, and basic financial reporting.
• Suitable for small-scale operations that involve limited users and data. It may not be able to handle the demands of a rapidly growing business.
• These solutions often have limited integration capabilities. They also often require manual data entry between different tools.

Enterprise Software Development

• Designed for large organizations. 
• Examples include ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, and SCM (Supply Chain Management) systems.
• Provides a wide range of complex functionalities required to meet the diverse needs of an entire organization. This includes integrated modules for finance, supply chain management, HR, sales, marketing, and more, all within a single system.
• Enterprise software development focuses on scalability. These systems are built to scale efficiently and manage large volumes of data, transactions, and users.
• Integrates seamlessly with other enterprise systems. These systems support complex workflows and data exchanges across the organization.

Enterprise Software Development Examples

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software

ERP software is designed to manage the core business processes in real-time. It centralizes data from various departments. This ensures a constant flow of information and coordination across the entire organization. 

ERP systems typically include modules for:

• Finance
• Human resources
• Manufacturing
• Supply chain
• Services
• Procurement, and more.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

These systems manage a company’s interactions with customers, including current and potential customers. They basically consolidate customer information into a single database.

They help businesses:

• Build customer relationships
• Streamline processes
• Increase sales
• Improve customer service

Supply Chain Management (SCM) Systems

These systems help organizations manage the flow of goods, information, and finances throughout the supply chain cycle.  SCM systems help businesses:

• Improve efficiency
• Reduce costs
• Ensure timely delivery of products.

What are Enterprise Software Development Challenges?

Integration with Legacy Systems

Legacy systems are outdated software applications that have been used for a long time. These systems may have limited functionality, poor performance, and security vulnerabilities. 

Moreover, these systems often lack compatibility with modern technologies. Hence, integrating them with modern enterprise applications is challenging. 

Poor Collaboration Between Business and IT

Collaboration is crucial for creating effective apps for businesses. Both the business and IT teams need to work together. There’s a problem when business and IT strategies don’t match. 

Moreover, it gets tough to satisfy the organization’s requirements. Business teams may have unrealistic expectations. On the other hand, IT teams may struggle to deliver solutions that align with the business goals. 

This misalignment can result in delays, rework, and inefficient use of resources.

Developer Shortage

The demand for skilled software developers often exceeds the available supply. Numerous organizations encounter difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled developers. 

Lack Of Organizational Agility

Organizational agility refers to an organization’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to customer needs. Inflexible organizations may struggle to adapt to evolving requirements. 

Download WhitePaper: Building Data-Intensive Applications To Accelerate Enterprise Growth 

6-Step Enterprise Software Development Process

The 6-step enterprise software development process typically includes the following stages:

Requirement Gathering 

This initial phase involves gathering and documenting detailed requirements for the enterprise software. It includes understanding the purpose for developing the software, business goals, user needs, and functional requirements. 

The development team interacts with stakeholders, conducts interviews, and performs analysis to define the software’s scope, key features, and specifications. 

Planning And Alignment

This phase creates a detailed project plan outlining the features, development approach, timelines, resource allocation, and milestones. 

The plan ensures alignment between the development team, stakeholders, and project objectives. It includes establishing communication channels, defining roles and responsibilities, and identifying potential risks and mitigation strategies. 

Here are the key features that an enterprise app must have:

Security

Enterprise app development platforms should prioritize security measures. This helps protect sensitive customer and company data. Moreover, depending on the industry you’re operating in, you may be bound by the law to comply with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.

Security features must include:

• Secure authentication
• Data encryption
• Role-based access control
• Compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Scalability

Organizations must build applications that can handle increasing user loads, data volumes, and transactional demands. Moreover, enterprise apps must be designed to be scalable and the business and user base grows.

Integration

An effective app must have robust data integration capabilities. It should seamlessly integrate with existing business systems such as CRM and other critical applications.

Reporting and Analytics

Reporting and analytics features are essential for custom enterprise software. These features enable decision-makers to gain insights from the data collected by the applications.

Cloud Access

With the increasing adoption of cloud computing, an enterprise app development platform should offer seamless integration with cloud solutions.

UI/UX Design

This step focuses on creating an intuitive and user-friendly interface for the enterprise software. Designers work on wireframes, prototypes, and visual designs that align with the requirements and user expectations. 

Moreover, the UI/UX design considers:

• Usability
• Accessibility
• Branding 

This helps deliver a visually appealing user experience. 

Here, you can leverage a front-end development framework for creating stunning, interactive, and functional UI. Ext JS is an example of a framework that developers worldwide use for enterprise software development.

Here are the key reasons why Ext JS is a great JavaScript framework for building enterprise-grade applications:

Build Scalable Apps

Ext JS provides a robust foundation for building scalable enterprise applications. It offers 140+ pre-built and fully tested high-performance UI components. Moreover, it supports both MVC and MVVM architectures, allowing you to build scalable enterprise-level apps.

Increased Productivity

Ext JS offers a low-code development approach. This low-code approach speeds up the development process and saves time. 

Moreover, Ext JS supports cross-browser and cross-platform development. This means developers don’t have to create a separate codebase for different platforms and browsers.

Robust Data Handling

Ext JS provides powerful data management capabilities. These include models, data stores, and proxies. These features help with efficient handling of large datasets.

Moreover, Ext JS offers a robust data grid for developing data-intensive enterprise-grade apps. Features like sorting, filtering, and paging are built-in, making it easier to manage complex data sets.

Responsive Design

The framework supports responsive design principles. This ensures that applications look and function well on various devices and screen sizes.

For example, layout managers and flexible grids help create adaptive UIs.

Enterprise-Grade Features

Features like drag-and-drop support, advanced grid functionality, and sophisticated form handling make Ext JS a great choice for building complex enterprise applications.

The framework is designed to handle large-scale applications with heavy data requirements.

Comprehensive Documentation and Support:

Ext JS has extensive documentation containing all the details about the framework’s features and capabilities, as well as various coding examples. 

You can also contact Sencha support and get expert help.

Enterprise Software Development

This stage involves the actual development of the enterprise software. Developers write the code and integrate necessary components and modules. Moreover, they implement the desired features and functionalities. 

There are two common modern ways to build apps:

Low Code

Low Code development uses a visual development environment. It provides a set of pre-built components and drag-and-drop interfaces. Developers can rapidly build applications by visually configuring and connecting these components. Thus, this approach requires minimal coding. 

Low code platforms often provide tools for database integration, user interface design, & business logic implementation. 

Low Code development accelerates the mobile app and development process. Hence, it reduces the need for extensive coding and enables faster iteration and deployment of applications.

No Code

This development takes the concept of Low Code further by allowing users to create applications without writing any code at all. These platforms provide intuitive interfaces and pre-built templates. 

Moreover, they enable users to design, build, and deploy applications through visual interfaces and configurations.

Users can create custom applications using drag-and-drop functionality, form builders, and workflow builders. 

No Code development empowers users with little coding experience to create functional applications. 

Testing & Deployment

Software testing is a crucial part of enterprise software development. It helps ensure that the software works as intended and meets specific requirements.

There are various types of testing. These include unit testing, integration testing, end-to-end testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT). 

Maintenance & Support For Enterprise Application Development

After deployment, the enterprise software requires ongoing maintenance and support. This includes addressing reported issues or bugs and releasing updates and patches. Hence, providing technical support to end users. 

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve discussed a 6-step enterprise software development process. These steps include:

• Requirement gathering
• Planning and alignment help to establish a clear roadmap for development
• UI/UX design, which focuses on delivering an engaging user experience. 
• The actual enterprise software development phase
• Testing and deployment to ensure quality and functionality. 
• Maintenance and support, which ensures the software remains reliable, up-to-date, and aligned with evolving business needs.

FAQs

What is the difference between enterprise software development and regular software development?

Enterprise software is designed to support large organizations with thousands of users. It often integrates with multiple existing systems, databases, and third-party applications.

In contrast, regular software often operates independently. Moreover, it has limited or no integration with other systems.

What is enterprise development in software?

Enterprise applications are software solutions to meet the specific needs of large-scale organizations. They streamline business processes, enhance collaboration, and improve efficiency.

What is an example of enterprise development?

Examples of enterprise software include:

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
• Customer relationship management (CRM) systems
• Supply chain management (SCM)

Build high-performance large-scale enterprise-level apps with Ext JS!