Custom applications: selected delivery experience — UK
A custom application earns its place when a specific workflow cannot be handled well by the existing tools alone. The work should connect the people, records and decisions that matter, with an operating model the client can maintain after launch.
The examples below describe approved group delivery experience. Their original geography and scope remain explicit. They show the kinds of integration and operational questions an engineering engagement can address; they are not a promise that another project will produce the same result.
What the engagement covers
Connected lead workflows
Connect an authorised source with the systems that receive and work the enquiry. Keep status and ownership visible.
Purpose-built application logic
Use custom development where the required workflow cannot be represented adequately by configuration alone.
Operational reporting
Bring agreed records into a reviewable view without hiding differences in source definitions.
Controlled release
Test representative users, exceptions and handoffs before expanding the deployment.
FI Digital UK / Workflow
Custom applications
Illustrative workflow, not a product screenshot or a claim about a client’s production architecture.
Step 5 of 5Resolve with the owner (Needs correction)
Keep scrolling to follow the flow
- Connected lead workflowsConnect an authorised source with the systems that receive and work the enquiry. Keep status and ownership visible.
- Purpose-built application logicUse custom development where the required workflow cannot be represented adequately by configuration alone.
- Review and authoriseDecision point
- Controlled releaseTest representative users, exceptions and handoffs before expanding the deployment.
- Resolve with the ownerOutcome: Needs correction
A practical example
In an approved Australian OEM engagement, the team connected the main website and dealership CRM workflows across 232 deployed dealerships using Zoho Catalyst and custom development. Leads could move in seconds, with visibility of their status and dealership-generated leads.
Relevant delivery experience
Australian group delivery example: an anonymous automotive OEM connector was deployed across 232 dealerships in two months using Zoho Catalyst and custom development. Leads transferred in seconds. The client confirmed approximately three hours saved per week at OEM level in total, and approximately one hour per week at each dealership. These are figures for that engagement, not forecasts for another project.
Questions that shape the scope
Use these questions to identify the first decision and the information needed to make it.
- Which workflow is not served today?
- Who owns each record?
- What evidence defines acceptance?
- What must the client team operate afterwards?
Make the UK operating requirements explicit
Separate the UK organisation’s requirements from any wider group template. Identify the legal entity, business owner, connected accounts and the people authorised to accept the result. If the workflow relies on financial or employment rules, your qualified advisers should confirm the applicable settings and obligations; software configuration alone does not establish compliance.
From assessment to an accepted result
Define a useful first release
Agree the user, workflow, expected outcome and acceptance owner. Identify the important unknowns early.
Design the system boundaries
Set out records, interfaces, permissions and dependencies. Make failure recovery part of the design.
Build and review working increments
Review usable work against representative scenarios. Keep decisions and scope changes visible.
Release with an operating plan
Confirm acceptance, rollback, account ownership, documentation and the support arrangement.
Scope and responsibilities
The scope, acceptance criteria, third-party dependencies and operating responsibilities are agreed for the engagement. No partner tier, certification, guaranteed saving or fixed delivery period is implied.
Frequently asked questions
001Are these local client examples?
The Australian OEM example is explicitly Australian group delivery experience. It must not be presented as a UK, UAE or US client engagement. A relevant technical pattern can inform another project, but geography, contracting arrangements and the new client’s operating requirements still need their own assessment and agreement.
002Does the example establish a fixed implementation time?
No. The approved OEM engagement took two months, but that duration reflects its particular scope and dependencies. A new project requires an estimate based on interfaces, access, data, testing and the people available to accept the result. Past duration is evidence about that engagement, not a universal delivery commitment.
003Can the project start with a smaller first release?
Yes, if the first release covers a useful end-to-end workflow rather than disconnected screens. Agree the user, outcome, acceptance checks and operational owner. Keep later features visible without placing them all in the initial scope. The first release should test the important assumptions and leave a maintainable foundation for the next decision.
004How are cost and delivery time estimated?
The estimate follows the agreed workflow, interfaces, data, permissions and operating requirements. Discovery should expose uncertain dependencies before they become hidden commitments. Break the work into reviewable milestones and state assumptions, exclusions and third-party costs. A fixed number of weeks or a low starting price is not a reliable substitute for a defined delivery scope.
005Can you integrate with our existing systems?
Integration depends on the systems’ available interfaces, access rights, limits and commercial terms. Review the actual records and actions required before choosing a connector or custom interface. Define identifiers, retry behaviour, duplicate prevention and reconciliation. The proposal should distinguish supported actions from capabilities that still require discovery or permission from another system owner.
006Who owns the software and accounts?
Ownership, licensing and access should be explicit in the agreement. Distinguish custom code from existing product components, third-party services and open-source dependencies. Agree where repositories, cloud accounts, credentials and documentation will be controlled, and what is handed over. Do not assume that commissioning a project automatically transfers every underlying software right or provider account.
007How do you test before launch?
Test the business workflow, user permissions, ordinary failures and recovery, using representative scenarios agreed with the people who will operate the result. Include data quality and integration behaviour where relevant. Record acceptance and unresolved issues before release, with a rollback or fallback appropriate to the change. A demonstration of the happy path is only one part of readiness.
008Is ongoing maintenance included?
The proposal should distinguish delivery, warranty or defect correction, and ongoing operational support. Dependencies, usage and business requirements can change after launch, so assign ownership for updates and monitoring. Support hours, response targets and service levels require a specific agreement. They should not be assumed from a general description of development or platform operations services.
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