Types of business applications and the motivations of the companies that order them

Learn about the types of business applications and the reasons for which they are created

Technology is just a means of transportation. In business, software is rarely built for the art of coding itself. After hundreds of conversations with clients and analysis of completed projects as an IT company, we see in fact that the main motivations for application development are: the need for order, the desire for faster customer service or the safe scaling of the business. Below you will find an overview of the types of applications, divided not by technology, but by what real business goals they allow to achieve.

1. Motivation: order and stability of business processes

In every company, there comes a time when “it will be fine” stops working and Excel, instead of being a useful tool, begins to be a business risk. In this case, the creation of an application is the way to secure data and standardize company knowledge:

• Internal “Excel” applications (so-called Excel Killers) — is the natural evolution of spreadsheets. The goal is to turn risky files into secure applications with database, validation, change history and permissions.
  Examples: dedicated industry CRM (customer relationship management system), records and inventory of equipment, a register of contracts that monitors deadlines, tools for budgeting projects.
• Catalogues and Listings (Directories) — systems for organizing, displaying and advanced filtering of large data sets. The user not only views the records, but also has the ability to search for them by multiple parameters at once.
  Examples: internal knowledge base (wiki) for employees, product catalog for salesperson or subcontractor database, listings of companies with given services (e.g. clutch.co).

2. Motivation: speed and convenience of customer support

The modern consumer does not like to wait. These types of applications remove friction on the customer-company line, betting on self-service and immediate availability.

• Modern “Scan & Go” and access applications (on-demand/pay-as-you-go model) — instant access to a service or equipment after payment. Often they do not require installation, triggered by QR code. They integrate online payments with physical activity (IoT/Service).
  Examples: ordering food at the table (QR Menu), renting a scooter/bike for minutes in the mobile app, paying for parking/EV charging, one-time entrance to the zone (gate).
• Reservation Systems (Booking) — managing the availability of resources in the future. Using the application, the user blocks dates or resources, preventing conflicts (so-called double-booking).
  Example: from booking desks in the office (hot-desking), through arranging service visits, to equipment rentals for days.
• Customer portals and applications supporting customer service departments — a secure zone in which an external customer has access only to their own data.
  Example: Order/production status tracking panel, downloading invoices and contracts, project feedback system, all of which significantly reduces customer service costs.

3. Motivation: transparency and quality control

Trust is key, but verification matters in business — especially when the work is done outside the office. And it is precisely because of this type of business needs related to exercising control over a team or the course of work, many applications are created, among others for mobile devices.

• Field Applications — tools for mobile data collection “in the field” — offline, use the functions of a mobile device: GPS (location), camera (photos, code scanning), touch screen (signatures).
  Examples: reporting of defects on site, audits and quality checks, digital delivery confirmations, mobile applications for completing surveys in the field.

4. Motivation: increasing efficiency and patching system gaps

Sometimes an old application is too “heavy" to move, or too complicated for empoyees. And this is where tools come in that simplify the work.

• System Overlays/Proxy — integration with “heavy” systems (legacy, government APIs, SAP). Such an overlay adds missing features, business logic, or a modern UI or API without interfering with the source system code.
  Example: 360° console integrating data from 3 different applications, mobile interface to the old storage system, client panel retrieving data from SQL, overlays for government systems.
• GenAI Applications/AI Wrappers — interfaces for artificial intelligence models (RAG) that work on your private company data, providing contextual responses (so-called “chat with documentation”).
  Examples of such applications: AI assistant analyzing contracts and PDFs, history-based tender offer generator, HR/OSH chatbot for employees.

5. Motivation: scaling through trading leverage

How to sell more without hiring an army of new traders? By giving tools to partners or creating a market.

• Applications for intermediaries (Partner Apps) – These are B2B tools for external partners. These systems act as a sales “lever”, making it easier for partners to offer your products.
  Example: Portal for franchisees, quotation calculator for agents, ordering goods through partner stores.
• Business Match-making (Marketplaces) — platforms (usually web-based) connecting two sides of a transaction (demand and supply), where algorithms associate the supplier with the recipient.
  Example: transport exchanges (e.g. trans.eu), portals connecting startups with investors, order markets for freelancers (e.g. Fixly, preply.com) platforms for mentors and HR, platform connecting startups with investors (e.g. Kickstarter).

6. Motivation: education and relationship building in marketing

Tools to support sales and team competencies.

• Micro-LMS and Onboarding — lightweight training and instructional systems to track user progress. An alternative to expensive corporate LMS systems.
  Example: onboarding of a new employee (checklist), OSH training for subcontractors, video instruction database (SOP).
• Interactive Lead Magnets — marketing tools that offer immediate value (result, valuation, diagnosis) in exchange for leaving contact details.
  Example: product configurator with quotation, ROI/savings calculator, advisory quiz (“Which product to choose?”).
• Event Applications — solutions that build community or accompany events. Often they act temporarily or as an addition to stationary services.
  Examples of applications: agenda and networking at the conference, internal social network of the company, application for business club members.

7. Motivation: investment security and verification

Before you spend a big budget, you want to make sure you're going in the right direction with your app. This is the domain of innovators.

• MVP (Minimum Viable Product) application — implementation of version 1.0 of a digital product (SaaS) containing only the key functions necessary for market verification.
  Example: pilot of the new SaaS service, functional demo for investors, market tests of the new business model.
• Rapid Prototype of application — only visual layer (UI) with “rigidly killed” data. Lack of business logic, working functionalities and stability of the system. It is used for video presentations or as a “smoke test”.
  Example: clickable mockup under the video, “smoke test” for the board, visualization under the pitch deck.

Why is knowing the types of applications your advantage?

Understanding which of the above categories your idea falls into is the first step to saving. Why? Because it protects you from the fallacy of “everything included".

When you know that your main motivation is Order (described in the first paragraph), you don't waste your budget on unnecessary animations and marketing features — you focus on database stability. When you build a tool for intermediaries (example five), the priority becomes simplicity of use on the phone, and not advanced reports that no one will read.

The conclusion is simple: a business application that precisely answers one of these human needs becomes an investment that pays for itself. An application that tries to be everything at once only becomes a cost.