Technology & AI for Business
“We could just get an app made” is the start of a decision, not the end of one.
Many owners are tempted by a custom app: it will fit exactly, it will be ours, and a developer has quoted a price that sounds manageable. Sometimes that is right. Often a ready-made tool, configured well, does the job at a fraction of the effort. This session gives owners a way to decide, and a list of the costs that custom software carries long after launch.
Explore this page6 sections
Building is rarely the cheap option once the first version is live.
A quotation usually covers the first version. Real software then needs hosting, fixes, security updates, changes when your business changes, and someone who understands it when the first developer is unavailable. Buying has costs too: monthly fees, limits on what you can change, and dependence on a provider.
Neither choice is right in general. If what you do is the same as what many other businesses do, a ready-made tool is usually sensible. If your way of working is your advantage and nothing off the shelf fits, building may be justified. A calm look at both, with the full costs on the table, is what this session is about.
What the session covers
37 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts, from the question to the first step.
The Options, Not Just TwoThere is a spectrum between buy and build.5
- Using a ready-made tool as it comes
- Configuring it: fields, forms, rules and templates
- Connecting existing tools to each other
- Low-code and no-code builders for simple needs
- A custom build by a developer or agency
Most needs are met in the first three. Custom is worth considering when they clearly are not.
Is Your Need Really Different?Honest tests before spending.5
- Do many similar businesses already solve this?
- Is it your process that is unusual, or just your habit?
- Could a small process change fit a standard tool?
- What exactly would the custom version do that nothing else can?
- Is it a competitive advantage, or a convenience?
The Full Cost of BuyingEasy to start, easy to underestimate.5
- Subscriptions that grow with users and features
- Limits on customisation and on exporting your data
- Switching cost if you need to leave later
- Dependence on a provider's pricing, features and continued existence
- Time spent configuring and training
The Full Cost of BuildingWhat the quotation usually leaves out.6
- Defining what to build, which takes longer than expected
- Testing, fixes and the changes you ask for once you see it
- Hosting, backups, security updates and monitoring
- A person who can maintain it, and what happens if they leave
- Documentation, and who holds the passwords and accounts
- Support when something breaks on a busy day
Ask not just what it costs to build, but what it costs to keep running for three years.
Working With a Developer or AgencyProtect yourself before the work starts.6
- Writing a plain-language description of what you need, with examples
- Agreeing what “finished” means and how it will be tested
- Who owns the code and the design, in writing
- Accounts and hosting held in your business's name, not the developer's
- Handover, documentation and access if the relationship ends
- Having a lawyer read the contract, and being careful with payment milestones
Security and Data When You BuildCustom does not mean safer.5
- Who is responsible for security fixes
- Where customers' personal data is stored, and who can see it
- Access control and logins done properly rather than improvised
- Backups tested by you, not only promised
- Checking data protection duties, including the DPDP Act and Rules, with a professional
A Safer Way to DecideLearn cheaply first.5
- Running the process on paper or a spreadsheet first
- Trying a ready-made tool for a month
- Building a small, throwaway version before a large one
- Setting a budget and a point at which you stop
- Writing down the decision and why, so you can revisit it
What participants leave with
- A one-page build-or-buy worksheet applied to a real decision
- A comparison of the three-year cost of each route, with their own assumptions
- A list of questions and contract points for a developer or agency
- An ownership checklist: code, accounts, hosting, documentation
- A small first experiment they can run within a month
What this session is not
- A technical course on programming
- A recommendation to build, or to avoid building
- A review of any particular product or agency
- Legal advice on a development contract
How the session runs
A practitioner who has commissioned or maintained software for a business describes the decision using hypothetical examples, such as a booking process or a stock workflow, labelled as such. Participants then apply the worksheet to a real need in their own business, estimate the three-year costs of each route with the group's help, and draft the questions they would ask a developer. No developer or vendor is promoted.
What your students leave with
- A clear view of the options: buy, configure, connect, or build
- A test for whether their need is genuinely different from what ready-made tools do
- An understanding of what it costs to keep custom software working
- Questions to ask a developer or agency before signing anything
- A view of ownership: code, accounts, hosting and documentation
- A small first step that tests the idea before a large commitment
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Count the cost of keeping it running, not just the cost of making it.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.