The ability to build a custom application in ServiceNow makes ServiceNow such a versatile product. As ServiceNow was first released to the market as a service desk solution, developers have explored the potential of the platform, and since then it has been used in various areas of the business.

However, there are still many ways of using ServiceNow that are not included with the baseline system, and for this, we can create a custom application.

Before creating a custom application, it is worth considering whether a custom application will provide the best solution. Sometimes, we can use an existing ServiceNow application to perform the functionality we want to achieve, using it directly or slightly modifying it for our needs. If this is the case, then it is worth considering not creating a custom application and using the platform instead.

If the functionality you need would take a large modification to an existing application or simply does not exist at that point, it is advisable to create a custom application.