Build or Buy? The Answer Is Key to Digital Transformation. Are the Resources It Takes to Build Worth It?

Companies worldwide are developing new technology strategies and solutions, and there is a fundamental question that can keep CEOs awake at night: Build or buy?

Choosing whether to buy or build has historically depended on the type of tech that a company needs to implement. But in an environment in which more people than ever are working remotely and app developers need to cater to more user modalities (such as mobile, wearable, and desktop devices) than ever before, a clear shift is emerging in favor of buying.

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The hidden costs of building

It’s understandably tempting to build new solutions — companies have teams of talented developers and want to maintain control over their costs as well as their technology. However, what initially seems like the cheaper, more reliable option can be riddled with hidden costs.

Organizations tend to underestimate both the time and money it takes to maintain security and operations when building new tech — plus it’s hard for development teams to control or push back against “scope creep” when those requests to add features or functions come from upper management or the head of IT. There are often many more building steps required before deployment than companies often realize when they first plan projects and solutions. 

The time and IT support that building internally requires can slow the deployment of new tech drastically. We are living in a time when time-sensitive information and updates are as important as ever, and remote working conditions make it impossible for IT teams to address company tech issues in person. Once an app or other technology solution is built, the journey is far from over — development teams have to maintain and update it to keep up with the needs and demands that can come from employees, partners, and/or customers.

Enterprise organizations bank on success by choosing to buy

A recent Forrester study interviewed five companies with revenue from $5 million to $6 billion and found the net financial benefit of buying new tech (over building) to be $1,686,884, with an average ROI of 207%. While building new tech might initially seem attractive because it may have fewer up-front costs, the numbers show that, over time, companies tend to save significantly by buying.

Gartner also pointed out that IT spending is predicted to drop 7.3%, while companies refocus that budget to software solutions. CIOs are investing in subscription products and cloud services, which lower upfront costs while setting organizations up with scalable, long-lasting solutions.

2020’s IDC Spending Guide showed that despite pandemic-induced setbacks, digital transformation is still a key priority across industries. Brands will continue to pivot toward bringing on and using external technologies like HCL Volt MX that deliver scalable, low code, integrated and omni-channel solutions with quick adoption time and reliable security.

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Achieving digital success by choosing your technology wisely

In the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem, companies need to invest in multi-channel solutions that meet users wherever they are. More and more companies are realizing that to stay competitive and meet the needs of their audiences, that they need to use a multiexperience development platform, or MXDP, to solve challenge and create solutions. The complexity in building multiexperience apps, let alone updating and maintaining it, is far beyond the scope of most enterprise’s in-house capabilities. You would need an army of developers to make sure that your solution works across multiple devices, operating systems, and is constantly being updated. Buying becomes the clear choice when looking to adopt highly complex, secure tech that can run on–premises or in the cloud with a quick adoption and onboarding processes.

AI-powered data analytics and tools like smart chatbots are also factors to consider when adopting new technology. Maintaining advanced technical offerings is often beyond the scope of many remote IT team capabilities, so investing in a solution that promises this kind of operational support is a major factor of the current digital climate. 

When it comes to advanced tech solutions, it’s ultimately worth enterprise organizations’ time and resources to invest in a low code app dev platform that offers the control, flexibility, and scalability required. In order to make the most of digital transformation efforts, one thing is clear: More enterprise leaders need to embrace buying rather than building to make sure their digital transformation and consumer experiences are scalable and competitive.

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