Custom software guide
Should an enterprise build on a platform or commission custom software?
Build on an enterprise platform such as OutSystems when you have developers, many applications to deliver and a need to govern them in one place. Commission custom software when the business depends on a small number of systems, because a custom system you own has no per-user fee and no platform ceiling as the company grows.
| What you are comparing | A product | A custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Cost over five years | A subscription for the whole period, priced by users, by application size or by quote, plus the salaries of the team that builds on the platform. It rises as users and applications are added. | A one-time build with a written scope, followed by running costs such as hosting and the database. No subscription, so growth in users does not raise the cost of the software. |
| Per-seat fees | Usually yes. Power Apps and Creatio publish per-user prices, Retool prices builders and internal users separately, and OutSystems counts end users in its quote. | None. Every employee, contractor and outside user can be given access without a license. |
| Fit to your process | Good, within what the platform can express and what your builders have time to model. Unusual rules often become workarounds. | Built from the process itself, including the exceptions and approval paths that are specific to your divisions. |
| Time to launch | Fast for a first application if the platform team is already in place. Slower if the platform has to be procured, secured and staffed first. | Starts with discovery and a written scope, which sets the schedule. Working screens are shown as the build proceeds. |
| Governance and security | Central controls for many applications and builders, usually on the top plan. The platform vendor is one more party in your security review. | Can sign in through your identity provider and runs in accounts your company owns, so your own security team can inspect the code and the hosting. |
| Who builds and maintains it | Your own developers, trained on the platform. Their skills are tied to that vendor. | Black Badger builds it with its own team in the United States. The code is written so any competent developer can maintain it afterward. |
| Leaving | Applications generally run only on the platform, so leaving means rebuilding them elsewhere. | Nothing to leave. You hold the source code, the database and every account. |
When an enterprise low-code platform is the right answer
Choose a platform when the company has a real backlog of applications and developers to work through it. Spread across dozens of apps, a platform subscription and a trained team are good value, and central governance keeps the portfolio in order.
Choose one as well when the company is already committed to a vendor whose platform is in place, such as Microsoft or ServiceNow. Building on what you already license is often the shortest path.
When custom software is the right answer
Commission a build when one system matters far more than the rest. A system that hundreds of people work in daily, that holds records found nowhere else and that must agree with the ERP, is poorly served by per-user pricing and plan limits.
Commission a build when a business unit has a need the corporate platform will not reach soon. A scoped system with a clear owner can be delivered without waiting on a platform program.
How to compare the two for a budget committee
Use the same horizon for both, and count people as well as licenses. The platform figure is subscription plus the team that builds on it. The custom figure is a one-time build plus running costs. Black Badger does not publish a price. A written scope after discovery supplies the number.
Then ask what each choice leaves you holding at the end of the period. With a platform it is a renewal. With a custom system it is an asset your company owns.
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
Questions buyers ask
Can an enterprise use both a platform and custom systems?
Yes, an enterprise can use both a platform and custom systems, and most do. The platform handles the many small apps, and the few systems the business depends on are built to order. The decision is which applications belong on which side.
Is custom software harder to govern than a platform?
Custom software is governed differently from a platform. A platform gives one console for many apps. A custom system is governed like any other software your company owns, through access to the code, the hosting accounts and the sign-in provider.
What does a large company risk by commissioning a system from a smaller firm?
A large company risks continuity when it commissions a system from a smaller firm. Ownership answers that risk, with the source code and every account in the name of the company and code another team can read. With that in place the system does not depend on the firm that wrote it.