Avoid high licensing fees by building your own software
Leading software development company Codehesion has identified a major industry shift where companies are moving from using off-the-shelf SaaS subscriptions, to building their own custom software.
“Businesses outgrow SaaS when software stops being a tool they use and becomes the engine their business runs on,” said Codehesion founder and CEO Hector Beyers.
“At that point, customer software isn’t a cost – it’s a competitive advantage. You’re building something your competitors can’t buy off the shelf.”
AI’s ability to accelerate delivery timelines has made the case for going custom even stronger.
“With the right partner, you get purpose-built technology at a speed that would have been unthinkable even a year ago,” said Beyers.
The business case
Thanks to AI-accelerated delivery, the ROI on replacing expensive SaaS has become so compelling that any business spending over R40,000 per month on software license should already be considering a shift to custom.
“We’ve seen returns in as little as six months, and in more complex builds, it can take up to four years,” said Beyers.
“Even at the longer end, a four-year return outpaces most capital investment decisions a business will make.”
Beyers added that there is additional value that often goes forgotten – avoiding the cost of things you can’t do when stuck on someone else’s platform.
“You can’t innovate because the system won’t flex. You can’t integrate the way your business needs because the vendor’s API doesn’t support it. You’re waiting on their roadmap for features you need now and if they ever deliver them, you’ll pay for the customisation on top of the licence.”
“In the age of AI, that trade-off no longer makes sense.”
Long-term value
Going custom also flips the economics of business software.
SaaS pricing scales with your business – so as you grow, you pay more.
In contrast, custom-built software is an initial outlay – you can grow tenfold, but your technology cost will stay flat.
The element of asset ownership is extremely valuable, too, as your custom software increases in balance sheet value as you develop it.
“If you ever raise capital, seek acquisition, or need to demonstrate propriertary capability, that asset has real worth,” said Beyers.
The Codehesion advantage
Codehesion is a leader in building custom software solutions that meet the needs of South African businesses.
It recently won the 2026 MyBroadband Award for Best Software Development Company – making it three years running that Codehesion has won this award.
“The software industry has changed dramatically over the past three years,” said Beyers.
“Winning this award three years running means we’ve kept pace with that change while maintaining the engineering quality and client experience that earned it in the first place.”
Comments