SERVICES — CUSTOM SOFTWARE
Custom software development in Turin, Italy
When off-the-shelf software forces you to bend your work around the tool, it pays to build the tool around the work. That is what we do.
Empatix is a software house in Turin, Italy, that designs and builds custom software for companies and professionals. Custom means we start from your problem, not from a product to adapt: analysis, interface design, development, launch and maintenance are one piece of work, followed from start to finish.
When off-the-shelf software is not enough
Ready-made programs work well as long as the way you work looks like everybody else's. Then the compromises begin:
- information lives in three different programs and a spreadsheet only one person understands;
- you pay licences for a hundred features and use ten, but the one you need is missing;
- every exception is handled by hand, and exceptions are half the job;
- the data is there, but getting a reliable number takes half a day.
Custom software makes sense when these compromises cost more than the software itself: in lost hours, in mistakes, in customers served worse than you could.
What we build
- Custom business software: orders, stock, customers, shifts, quotes. The software that keeps a company running every day.
- Web apps: customer portals, private areas, internal tools used from the browser with nothing to install.
- B2B e-commerce: catalogues with customer-specific price lists, reorders, integration with your back office.
- Integrations and automation: making the systems you already have talk to each other, removing manual steps, bringing artificial intelligence where it genuinely saves time.
- New digital products: from an idea to a first version you can put in users' hands and measure.
Every project includes user experience design: software people cannot use solves no problem, however well it is written.
How our software is made
We pick the technology to fit the project, not the other way round. We mostly work with TypeScript, React, Next.js, Vue and Nuxt on the frontend, Node.js and Python on the backend, PostgreSQL for data and Docker for deployment; the full list is on the technologies page.
More than the tools, a few rules matter, and we always apply them:
- readable, documented code that another developer can pick up without starting over;
- automated tests on the parts that must not break;
- security from the start: minimal permissions, personal data handled under the GDPR, dependencies kept under control;
- accessibility and speed as requirements, not finishing touches;
- frequent releases: you watch the software grow and correct it while it is being built, not at the end.
Cost and timing
Custom software has no price list. Cost depends on how many features are needed, how many systems must be connected and how many kinds of user will work with it; timing depends on the same things, plus how quickly decisions get made.
So we do not start from a quote made in the dark. First we understand the problem, then we propose an estimate split into phases. It almost always pays to begin with a reduced first version that covers the most important case: it costs less, arrives sooner and says far more than any document about what to build next.
How we work
PHASE 01
Listen
We understand the problem before proposing a solution. Workshops, questions, zero pointless slides.
We map the process as it is today, with the people who run it, and agree on what the first version must do.
PHASE 02
Design
Clickable prototypes in days, not months. You decide on something you can actually touch.
A prototype of the main screens, tried by the people who will use the software.
PHASE 03
Build
Short sprints, frequent releases. Watch the product grow week after week.
We start from the most important use case: every release is already usable.
PHASE 04
Evolve
We don't vanish after launch. We measure, improve and stay by your side.
New features based on real use, plus updates and security over time.
Frequently asked questions
When is custom software better than an off-the-shelf product?
When the process you want to manage is what sets you apart from competitors, when you pay licences for features you never use, or when you hold several programs together with spreadsheets and copy-paste. If a standard product covers your case well, we will tell you: there is no point rewriting what already exists.
Who owns the code at the end of the project?
You do. The software is built for you and delivered with its source code and documentation, so you can keep growing it with us or with anyone you choose.
How much does custom software cost?
It depends on three things: how many features are really needed, how many systems must be connected and how many kinds of user will work with it. That is why we start by listening and prepare an estimate split into phases: you can begin with a reduced first version and decide the rest once you see it working.
Do you only work with companies in Turin?
No. We are based in Turin and can meet local companies in person, but we work with clients across Italy and abroad: demos and meetings work well remotely, in Italian or English.
What happens after launch?
Software needs looking after: fixes, security updates, new features as the business changes. It is the fourth phase of our method and we agree on it from the start, with no surprises.
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