By: Mr. Sapnesh Agrawal, Director of Engineering, Gathr Data Inc.

If you are searching for an adaptable software solution due to inefficiencies detected within your business, where the team is not performing optimally, and you seek to overcome barriers to efficacy and collaboration, you are aware of the urgent need for a flexible solution. The market offers countless possibilities primarily categorized into two options: software development and software acquisition.

The significant issue needs to be answered before you begin evaluating vendors: should you use a no-code development platform to build your own custom software, or should you buy off-the-shelf software to address the issue? Examine your company’s requirements in more detail and assess the benefits and drawbacks of each choice.

Build vs. Buy: What is it? 

First, clarify what ‘build’ and ‘buy’ mean in the context of software. When building software is chosen as the solution, it needs to undergo some engineering or development boost. A built solution makes it easier to customize software to meet a business’s requirements and gives the buyer the freedom to choose how the program will be used.

It used to take a lot of IT and development resources to implement and build solutions. However, as low-code and no-code technology have advanced and vendors have placed more of an emphasis on continuing support, build solutions have become less dependent on skilled coders and more commonly utilized throughout business operations.

Purchasing software denotes acquiring a solution that is ‘out-of-the-box’ and ready for use. Vendors create software specifically designed to address particular issues, which are then marketed to end-users in businesses. Purchased solutions typically allow for minimal customization and do not require developers to write additional code after purchase.

Point solutions are a common type of software purchase. They are designed to enhance specific business operations. While business users can easily adopt this software, it may not integrate well with other programs already in use. Point solutions—and purchased solutions in general—often fulfill specific requirements at the expense of other processes.

Things to Consider Before Purchasing Software

Ease of Deployment

An online point solution is a desirable option for many companies searching for a quick answer to a critical business issue. Neither hardware acquisition nor IT system upkeep is necessary. It is simple to deploy and immediately functional right out of the box. To help with common business processes like project management, IT service management, customer support, and HR onboarding, they receive a set of prebuilt features that they may use immediately. Additionally, since the service provider handles security, software updates, and scalability, they do not need to be concerned about any of it.

This might be the ideal solution for you, and it is for many businesses out there if your data and process needs are generic and static and you do not mind a one-size-fits-all approach.

Absence of a Custom Solution

Point solutions are meant for a wide range of users and specifically address issues in areas that all businesses use (like ITSM or CRM). Finding an appropriate out-of-the-box solution will, therefore, likely lead to disappointment if you are seeking custom software that falls outside the scope of typical mainstream operations, such as a system to more effectively support internal compliance efforts. Single-purpose, prebuilt solutions provide a “what you see is what you get” experience. They are not designed to be easily modified or improved in the future.

When choosing a stand-alone system approach to problem-solving, many businesses wind up installing several systems from various vendors. If systems can be integrated at all, it will be necessary to become familiar with their various data formats, comprehend their business principles, and use application programming interfaces (APIs) to establish connections.

How to Determine Whether to Build or Buy

The benefits and drawbacks of every kind of software have been discussed, but how can you decide if you should create your own or buy software? 

Here are some things to think about for your company when you make that choice:

Scope of Software

How many stakeholders will your new software require interaction from? A paid-point solution might work well if the user pool is limited to a small number of internal users and processes. A more comprehensive piece of software makes more financial sense if the task that the new solution is intended to solve calls for access from external users and input from several data sources.

Need for Adaptability and Customization

Is the process you plan to fix specific to one department or a component of larger inefficiencies inside the company? As things change over time, will you require any additional software? Software purchases are an easy fix if the issue is known. Custom building software is the way to go if several tasks need to be integrated into a single program or if you plan to gradually incorporate more processes into your solution.

Cost

The cost of developing versus buying solutions varies greatly based on functionality. Depending on the business case, more expensive, time- and resource-intensive solutions may be less cost-effective and have a lower overall value for the company.

You can create an app using no-code platforms for a fraction of the price of custom development. The subscription fee for the platforms represents your dedication to no-code creation. A start-up optimized plan typically costs between $100 and several hundred dollars a month. You might still want to go with no-code development for most of the apps, even if you have a large budget to deal with. It is easy to see why. Compared to manual coding, no-code is far more effective at transforming business processes into apps.

Time

Building a normal app with bespoke development takes two to five months on average. You can cut the delivery timetable in half by using no-code. An app can be available in two to three weeks instead of taking months to develop.

Time is a valuable resource, particularly for new business owners. If you utilize the no-code strategy, you will have the advantage over those who would spend months developing an app. In the least amount of time feasible, you can release the app onto the market and begin receiving user feedback.

Should you Buy or Build Software?

Photo Courtesy: Sapnesh Agrawal

The final question is: What should you select after learning about the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing software vs. developing custom software? And what important variables should you consider in the process? It depends on a straightforward response!

When you decide it’s time to purchase technology to solve an issue inside your company, you need to take several variables into account to determine which option is best for you.

For most firms, creating their own solution using a no-code development platform is the most efficient approach. Single-purpose apps are becoming less and less attractive as alternatives to platforms that let line of business executives create custom solutions without the need for expert coders. 

By using drag-and-drop components, no-code technologies shield users from the coding portion of software development. No-code platforms have given rise to aesthetically pleasing and practical programs from clever concepts. Businesses create apps by dragging the building blocks onto the app interface, rather than learning how to code.

Selecting no-code development results in easier and less expensive maintenance and updates, as you can modify the app without the assistance of professional programmers; it just requires adjusting the app’s building blocks.

Published by: Martin De Juan