Custom D and ICE InsureTech Collaboration

Custom D has joined forces with ICE InsureTech, a leader in innovative insurance platforms (Policy and Claims), following our successful collaboration on a legacy transformation for New Zealand’s Provident Insurance.

Many businesses are asking how Microsoft Copilot compares to custom generative AI solutions. This is relevant for organisations wanting to offer a smart AI assistant to customers, but are concerned about inaccurate, insecure, or unreliable responses.

Discover why a tailored GenAI platform provides superior security, customisation, and accurate responses compared to public LLMs like ChatGPT.

We are thrilled to have won gold at the AWS GenAI Partner Hackathon. This recognition validates all the hard work we’ve been putting in.

Competing against some of the biggest names in the industry, our team showcased our development skills and innovative thinking with our project, “Conformity.” With one judge even saying, “We need this in the market.”

Curious about what happened during the hackathon and how we navigated the competition? Check out our article for all the details!

Importance of Application Security

In today's digital age, software applications are at the heart of nearly every business operation. With the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks, it's more important than ever to implement robust security measures to protect your applications and the sensitive data they handle. One of the most effective strategies for securing your software applications is a “Defence in depth” approach.

In this video, Sam Sehnert, CTO here at Custom D, shares his vast knowledge (with you, and the audience at Laracon AU 2023) on encryption, privacy and securing your personal data.

Hiring Developers: In-house vs Outsourcing

A question that clients sometimes ask is: would it be better to hire in-house developers or partner with a team like Custom D?

While we are somewhat biased, this article serves to provide more information on the benefits and reasons our clients have given for choosing to work with us.

Pitching for Investment

Pitching for investment is a gruelling task for even the best startups. Being able to quickly convey your concept, how it works, and why it's going to change the world is essential.

Blockchain and NFTs

Blockchain and NFTs can get a bad rap, but the technology that underpins it is quietly continuing to be implemented in ways that have nothing to do with pictures of apes.

Importance of Prototyping

Prototypes allow you to simulate products, ideas, and designs without sinking the time and money it takes to develop and implement them in code. It’s essential for discovering usability issues before a product launch, testing user feedback, and determining whether what’s been designed has legs or not.

For a lot of today’s startups, most interactions with customers happen through an app. And the platform chosen for development can play a big role in the user experience and performance offered.

Tech Founders

Many of our clients are tech businesses but the founders themselves have no technical background. It raises the question, do tech businesses actually need a tech founder?

Organisations that make data-driven decisions are 23x more likely to acquire new customers. 23x! That's huge! It really is a no-brainer, this is something you should be doing.

Awards and Recognition

We were absolutely thrilled to win 'Best Solution for the Public Good' at the 2021 NZ Hi-Tech Awards for the web and mobile apps we built for the SVA.

Development Costs

Prompted by one of our clients, we've been doing a bit of reading and research on how NZ companies should treat the development costs of the products and services that we charge for.

As software has come to form a core part of many businesses now, it's a timely reminder to check and make sure that you're treating the costs correctly for tax and accounting purposes.

Below is our understanding of Inland Revenue's official document on the subject, the exciting and riveting: "INCOME TAX – COMPUTER SOFTWARE ACQUIRED FOR USE IN A TAXPAYER’S BUSINESS". We recommend that you speak to your accountant to get specific guidance for your business and circumstance — please don't take our advice as law.

First up, it's a pretty dry read, so make sure you have plenty of caffeine on board and no tempting distractions such as cute cat gifs anywhere nearby... in fact turn off the internet and lock yourself away. Or ask your accountant to read it — that's what they're designed for.

Each company and each project is different so there is no one rule that fits all when it comes to calculating ROI. Here are 7 elements to check when evaluating the ROI of custom software development.

R&D Tax Rebate

The New Zealand Government are bringing in a new R&D Tax Rebate that takes effect from 1 April 2019. While the scheme is still only in proposal form we can see a few catches and things to bear in mind.

There is no better motivation than working on a project that has a relatable, compelling purpose and with a client that is so engaged and passionate about their cause.