Almost every automation project runs into the same fork in the road: adopt an existing platform, or have something built for your specific process. Both are valid, and the right answer depends on how standard your workflow actually is.
When an off-the-shelf platform is enough
If your process looks like most other companies’ version of it, a platform will get you running fast and someone else maintains the underlying logic. Standard approvals, standard notifications, and standard integrations are all well served by existing tools.
When custom code earns its cost
Custom automation pays off when your process has real, durable differences from the generic version, or when the workflow touches systems that don’t have clean off-the-shelf connectors. It also makes sense once volume is high enough that per-transaction platform fees start to add up.
A useful test: describe your process to someone outside your company in one sentence. If it sounds like everyone else’s, start with a platform. If the interesting part is what makes it different, that difference is usually worth building for.
