On Thursday, InfoWorld published an article that may be of interest to any company that is considering partnership with a company that provides app development services. The article explores the notion of in-house app development, and specifically app development by employees who have little to no actual experience with coding. It bases the discussion on the same factors that influence so many discussions about in-house versus contract-based website development these days. That is, it notes that there are considerable tools at one’s disposal these days to allow for amateur development in fields that were once hopelessly remote.

The general topic of amateur app development is subject to the same cost-benefit analysis that governs web development decisions. The existing tools are sufficient to allow you to create something very basic in either field, but they do not allow for amateurs to create sophisticated sites or apps. For that, you still need to employ the services of a professional web development or app development company. And even if you can get by with a bare-bones alternative, there is no guarantee that an amateur foray into the field will not leave something to be desired in the simple finished product.

The expertise of an app development company can also help you to see that entire field in different ways. And if you click through to the above-mentioned article, you may find that it already has that effect, especially if you were thinking of commercial app development primarily as part of a marketing campaign. The article discusses the use of apps in marketing, but specifically focuses on internal efficiencies of the relevant department. It also details how in-house apps can have that same streamlining effect on other departments, by addressing problems that are unique to a particular workplace.

InfoWorld introduces the term “low-code app development” to describe what can be done in-house by technically inexperienced employees. But the diverse examples of that type of development underscore the fact that you might need some level of expertise in order to fully unlock its potential. Whether your company is planning on using app development to solve internal problems or to increase engagement with customers and the public as a whole, a proper app development can assist you in exploring options for how to fulfill either or both of these goals. And this is to say nothing of its ability to develop a superior app in a shorter period of time than some in-house first-timer.

App development is definitely a topic that you should explore, and we’re not suggesting that you can’t undertake a related project on your own. But if the topic is completely unfamiliar to you, there’s great benefit to be found in consulting with professionals before you commit to anything. The main point of the InfoWorld article is that only the staff of your company knows how to address that company’s unique problems. But there’s a significant difference between successfully tending a farm and personally developing the equipment that allows you to do so.