Bank-breaking IT Dev Costs v/s Lean NoCode Digital Transformation
We have come a long way from the times when digitisation meant having numerous Excel sheets…when people accepted that manually compiled reports were a necessity and leaders waited days/weeks for information from multiple spreadsheets to be consolidated and made decisions on information that had aged beyond the typical use by date of a pint of milk.
Now a few clicks can automate business workflows in seconds; and whoever is faster in that race, stands to become the de-facto “fittest to survive” the digital age. No wonder why bespoke software development is so coveted and costly at the same time. The “right” kind of digital transformation can pivot a business to heights of giants. But a mismatched one inevitably creates shadow IT where managers have to make excel sheets for processes that their core systems don’t address or can adapt to. For business functions as versatile as Quality Management, this challenge of digitisation poses much larger implications in the modern era where tech advantages go on to impact the brand’s financial and compliance workflows as well.
So how does a company make the right choice? Which method to choose to build a digital solution? Overspend on custom code or buy an expensive packaged solution which might remain underutilized? Or build the solution on your own.
This dilemma also hit Alex Marshal, a graduate who is doing a 6-month placement in Quality Management at a major Beverage Bottler. Most of his day gets consumed in consolidating KPIs and producing reports that the upper management reviews in their operations meetings regularly.
He wanted to automate this manual work because it was too time consuming and tedious and carried risk of error. However, on investigation, he realised the company’s 15 sites operated on different systems. Some captured information on Excel while others did it on isolated apps, and all the information needed to be augmented to make any sense. They had also made acquisitions and the older sites still use legacy solutions.
Alex inquired about using modern digital solutions to solve this complex mix of challenges, and was asked to come up with options. The biggest factors of analysis were, of course, the estimated cost of development, the ease and speed of deployment, and integration with legacy systems. This is what he learnt…..
How much does it cost to develop a digital solution in 2024 and beyond?
The approach to building digital solutions significantly affects their cost of production and time to value. The need of the hour for Alex was to filter out options that were within budget and easy to build and manage without overhead costs.
App Development Cost Breakdown in 2024
Custom Code by Developers:
Custom apps are highly flexible, secure, and scalable with sophisticated backend infrastructure and can work on multiple platforms for complex scenarios. Alex’s company would need to hire an expert IT team and coders to have a custom solution built from scratch. When the company’s scales, and some new process needs to be digitised, the coded solution might take more funds and developer resources to customise it and build more functionality into.
Ideal For: Companies needing fully custom solutions with unique functionalities, such as investment analysis, real estate management, social networks, CRMs, healthcare or financial services applications with strict regulatory requirements, etc.
Challenges: Long development timelines, significant upfront costs, and a need for ongoing maintenance and updates. Hiring highly skilled developers is also a challenge, which can add to costs.
Development time: 3 - 12+ months, depending on the platform (iOS, Android, Web)
Development cost: $50K - $1 M+
Development process: From scratch, solution design, MVP, testing, needs a dedicated Project Manager as well for elaborate solutions
Developer: Development agency / expert coders
Packaged Off-the-shelf Software:
Packaged solutions like CRM or ERP systems offer a ready-made approach. These solutions are built to serve general needs and often come with predefined features and functionalities. While Alex’s team needed an industry-grade solution, he wasn’t sure if his company’s unique challenges could be addressed right away with a packaged solution - which aren’t flexible enough and sometimes don’t gel well with legacy systems easily.
Ideal for: Businesses seeking quick-to-deploy solutions for common operations like accounting, supply chain management, or sales tracking. Packaged solutions work best when minimal customisation is required.
Challenges: These apps may lack flexibility, requiring workarounds or additional tools to integrate with existing systems. For businesses with fragmented legacy systems or custom processes, it may be harder and costly to adapt the packaged solution to your specific needs.
Development time: 2 - 6 months
Development cost: $60K and can run into 7 figures depending on complexity!
Development process: buying off-the-shelf package, pay for extra customisations
Developer: Industry-specific Software Solutions providers [like SAP or Salesforce]
Low Code Platforms:
Low-code development can reduce both costs and development times. They enable faster prototyping, but technical expertise may still be required to build custom integrations and scalable solutions. Since Alex didn’t have any technical background, he wasn’t sure how he could take on the transformation of quality operations for 15 sites.
Ideal for: Mid-sized businesses looking to prototype quickly or develop moderately complex apps without a full development team. Low-code platforms enable the development of apps with custom features, but still require some technical expertise for advanced customisations.
Challenges: While faster and less expensive, low-code platforms may not be ideal for large-scale applications or those requiring highly specific customisations. They may also have limitations in terms of scalability.
Development time: 2 - 8 Weeks
Development cost: $10K to $100K+
Development process: pre-coded templates, needs a low-code developer or an IT expert to assist in building, deployment and integration at scale.
Developer: Low code app builders, Technical Project Managers with IT support
NoCode Platforms:
NoCode offers the fastest and the most cost-effective way to develop digital solutions. NoCode platforms, such as Softools, provide businesses with the ability to build their own secure custom solutions, without requiring any IT support or developers. Any professional, like Alex Marshal, can take up app building, learn Softools in 3 weeks and begin deploying digital solutions for his company. Alex can build custom automations on-the-go as per the requirement of his quality management processes and locations. Especially when addressing repeatable tasks like reporting, data collection of KPIs, and quality audit workflows which can vary from site to site in a company, Softools already has pre-built app templates which Alex can customise in the App Studio by just dragging and dropping features.
Ideal for: Internal business apps, workflows, and process automation. NoCode platforms allow non-technical users to quickly build diverse apps for reporting, data collection, or task management without needing developers.
Alex chose to explore NoCode platforms because this option was the most accessible from a cost, speed and skills perspectives. With Softools he was up and running within days, building apps independently. With drag-and-drop simplicity, he quickly automated KPI monitoring and data processing for quality management across his company’s 15 sites. He could easily build and deploy powerful, secure and scalable applications with features like audit trails, data import/export, standardised reporting and dashboards.
This way Alex’s team did not have to rely on too many Excel sheets anymore for their Quality Management operations, and are now saving hundreds of hours each quarter in reporting. The apps he builds now can also easily adapt to any process change that the company needs.
Development time: 1 - 6 weeks
Development cost: $5 to $30K+
Development process: Learn and DIY
Developer: Any professional who knows the business process
Why Softools?
Softools stands out for its scalability, ease of use, and seamless integration with legacy systems, making it an ideal solution for businesses like Alex's. In just weeks, the entire organization began leveraging custom-built apps, reducing manual effort and enhancing operational efficiency with continuous improvement.
Watch below: Exclusive interview with a professional Quality Manager who built her first app using Softools, which was a GMP Inspection app, and has currently surpassed the mark of building 30 apps for Reyes Coca-Cola Bottlers.