Every CIO faces this decision repeatedly. Your organization needs a new application to support a critical business function. Do you build something custom or buy an off-the-shelf solution? This question has shaped enterprise technology strategy for decades. But the underlying assumption that building means months of custom coding and massive expense is no longer true.
Gartner predicts that by 2025, 70 percent of new applications developed by enterprises will use low-code or no-code technologies. This isn't a marginal shift. It represents a fundamental change in how enterprises approach application development. The build versus buy decision now includes a third option that combines the customization of building with the speed of buying.
Build enterprise apps using no-code platform: When it makes sense
The traditional case against building was always time and cost. Custom development projects took months to complete and consumed scarce developer resources. 53 percent of projects cost 189 percent of the original estimate, and organizations cancel 31 percent of build projects. These statistics made buying commercial off-the-shelf software the default choice for risk-averse IT leaders.
No-code development changes the equation completely. When business experts can build applications directly using visual development tools, the time-to-value compresses dramatically while costs drop significantly.
Build when differentiation matters
If your application delivers a competitive advantage or embodies unique business processes, building gives you capabilities no competitor can easily replicate. No purchased software will ever give you a competitive edge because your competitors can buy the same thing.
Consider processes that reflect your company's unique approach to customers, operational workflows that you've refined over years, industry-specific requirements that generic software doesn't address, or integration patterns specific to your technology stack.
With no-code platforms, you're no longer choosing between generic software and a year-long custom development project. You can build something truly customized in weeks.
Build when flexibility is critical
Commercial software locks you into the vendor's vision of how things should work. This might align with your needs today but creates constraints tomorrow. Every workaround and customization adds technical debt. Every release brings anxiety about breaking your customizations.
Building on a no-code platform gives you complete control over the application logic, user interface, and data model. When business requirements change, you modify the application directly rather than opening support tickets and hoping the vendor's roadmap eventually addresses your needs.
By 2028, 60 percent of software development organizations will use enterprise low-code platforms as their main internal developer platform, up from just 10 percent in 2024. This six-fold increase in four years demonstrates how quickly the industry is recognizing the advantages of building on modern platforms.
When to choose no-code vs traditional development: The decision framework
Not every application belongs on a no-code platform. Understanding when no-code is appropriate and when traditional development makes more sense is critical.
No-code excels for business applications
Applications focused on business process automation, data collection and reporting, workflow orchestration, internal tools for specific departments, and customer-facing forms and portals are ideal candidates for no-code development.
These applications emphasize business logic over algorithmic complexity. They need to evolve quickly as business requirements change. They benefit from direct involvement of business experts in the development process.
Traditional development remains relevant for
Certain scenarios still call for traditional coding. Applications requiring complex algorithms or mathematical operations, real-time performance at massive scale, integration with specialized hardware or protocols, or extensive custom APIs used by external systems often need traditional development approaches.
The good news is this isn't an either-or choice. A hybrid development model that combines the agility of low-code with the flexibility of pro-code workflows is becoming increasingly popular. Build the 80 percent that fits no-code patterns quickly, then extend with custom code where needed.
No-code vs custom code enterprise: The real cost comparison
The economics of no-code development represent one of the most compelling arguments for this approach. But cost comparisons need to account for the full picture, not just initial development.
Development costs
Traditional custom development requires hiring or contracting scarce developer talent. With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing a median developer salary of $133,080, avoiding additional hires represents significant savings. The global shortage of full-time software developers is expected to reach 4 million by 2025.
No-code platforms let business users and less specialized staff build functional applications. 70 percent of developers with no programming background learned how to build applications with a low-code platform in just one month or less.
Time-to-value
Speed to deployment directly impacts ROI. Every month an application sits in the backlog is a month of lost productivity or missed revenue. No-code dramatically compresses timelines.
Maintenance and evolution
The hidden cost of traditional development often appears in the maintenance phase. As business requirements evolve, you need developers to modify the code. Updates risk breaking existing functionality. Documentation becomes outdated. Knowledge is trapped in the heads of individual developers.
No-code applications remain maintainable by the business users who built them. Changes happen directly rather than through backlog prioritization. Organizations can respond to market changes, regulatory requirements, or operational needs in weeks instead of months.
Build custom no-code apps: Getting started
Success with no-code enterprise applications requires more than just selecting a platform. You need a structured approach.
Assess your application portfolio
Start by evaluating which applications in your current and planned portfolio fit no-code patterns. Look for applications with clear business logic, moderate complexity, a need for frequent updates, and involvement of business users in requirements.
Create a prioritized list based on business value and technical fit. Don't try to move everything at once.
Establish governance early
Even with no-code platforms, you need appropriate governance. Define security and compliance requirements, data access policies, integration standards, approval workflows for new applications, and monitoring and support processes.
By 2029, enterprise low-code application platforms will power 80 percent of mission-critical applications globally, a dramatic leap from just 15 percent in 2024. As these platforms move from departmental tools to mission-critical systems, governance becomes essential.
Build competency systematically
Invest in training for both business users who will build applications and IT staff who will provide governance and support. Create centers of excellence to share best practices. Build libraries of reusable components.
Gartner forecasted 80 percent of technology products built by non-IT professionals by 2024. This democratization of development requires intentional competency building across the organization.
Measure and iterate
Track the business outcomes your applications deliver, development velocity compared to traditional approaches, user adoption and satisfaction, total cost of ownership, including platform fees, development time, and maintenance, and reuse of components across applications.
Use these metrics to refine your approach and justify continued investment. The global low-code platform market revenue reached $30.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $248.31 billion by 2033, growing at a 26.1 percent CAGR. This explosive growth reflects the measured results organizations are seeing.
How Kissflow transforms the build vs buy equation
Kissflow provides enterprise-grade low-code capabilities that let you build custom applications without the traditional costs and timelines of custom development. The platform combines visual development tools accessible to business users with powerful capabilities that satisfy IT requirements for security, governance, and integration.
With Kissflow, you're not limited to out-of-the-box functionality like purchased software, nor are you committing to months-long development cycles like traditional coding. You get the customization you need with the speed you require. Pre-built templates accelerate initial development, while full customization capability ensures applications match your exact requirements.
The unified platform approach means applications and workflows integrate seamlessly, sharing data and triggering each other without complex integration projects. This is how modern enterprises build software that actually serves their unique needs.
Related Topics:
- No-Code Workflow Automation: How To Automate Business Processes With No-Code
- Application Modernization With No-Code: Legacy to Future-Proof Systems
- The Complete No-Code Stack for Enterprise: From UI to API to Data
- Enterprise Use-Cases: No-Code in Custom App Dev, Automation and Modernization
- No-Code Case Study: How Enterprises Are Transforming Operations Without Burdening IT
