How One CIO Built 25+ Internal Tools Without Developers
Jerome had a problem most IT leaders know well but rarely say out loud.
He's the CIO of FICOFI, a 120-person wine company, running a six-person IT team responsible for everything — projects, helpdesk, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and a growing backlog of custom tools the business needed but couldn't afford to build the traditional way.
He knew exactly what "the traditional way" looked like. He'd spent 22 years inside BNP Paribas, one of the largest banks in the world. You write a brief. You find a vendor. You negotiate scope, sign NDAs, onboard the consultant, and wait. Multiple weeks, usually. Sometimes months. And when the product is finally delivered, you're permanently dependent on whoever built it.
At a 120-person company with a six-person IT team, that model wasn't just slow. It was a dead end.
From Banking Giant to Lean IT Team: The Pressure That Changed Everything
At BNP Paribas, there were specialists for every domain. At FICOFI, Jerome and his team were the department. That constraint forced a question most IT leaders are afraid to ask: what if we stopped waiting for external help and built it ourselves?
Jerome first heard about Genspark on social media and attended an early community event in Singapore. He went home and started building. In the evenings. On weekends. Testing the platform with clear specs and real problems — not vague ideas — and the results surprised him.
"Try Genspark. It will change your view of how you can deliver things quickly and efficiently. It's not a cost. It's an investment." — Jerome
Building Without a Dev Team: 25+ Tools and Counting
Today, Jerome has built more than 25 internal tools using Genspark AI Developer:
- Work Planner — company-wide scheduling, replaced manual spreadsheets
- Wine Recommender — AI-powered product suggestions for the sales team
- Voice Recorder tool — field notes for estate managers with wine producers
- Logistics Comparison tool — evaluates shipping routes, carriers, and costs
- PDF workflow tool — built in two hours, replaced paid Acrobat licenses entirely
- HR Scorecard Performance Management — full workflow logic, permissions, notifications; rolling out this month
From Months to Hours: The Real ROI of AI Development Tools
"Genspark is a magical box where you can do whatever you want, whatever you can think of." — Jerome
Before AI-powered internal tool development, a custom build meant finding a contractor, onboarding them, and waiting weeks to months. After delivery, the dependency continued. Now? "Hours. Days, maximum," Jerome says.
Jerome also uses Genspark's Skills feature to scan every codebase for security vulnerabilities before deployment — making security review part of his standard development workflow without bringing in a specialist.
What Jerome Did That You Can Do Today
Jerome didn't wait for a budget approval, a new hire, or the perfect moment. He picked one problem his team was struggling with, sat down with a clear spec, and built a solution. That evening. On his own.
That's the whole playbook.
If you're a CIO or IT lead reading this, the path from where you are to where Jerome is isn't a transformation program. It's a Tuesday night.
Start here
- Pick one painful, recurring task your team does manually
- Write down exactly what it should do — inputs, outputs, logic
- Open Genspark AI Developer and describe it
That's it. You don't need to be a developer. You need to know your problem well and have a clear vision of the solution you are looking for.
Two hours from now, you could have something working. Something your team actually uses. Something you built yourself, own completely, and can update tomorrow without calling anyone.
Jerome calls Genspark "a magical box." But the magic isn't in the platform. It's in the moment you realize you're no longer waiting on anyone.
Try Genspark AI Developer today →
FAQ: AI Tools for Small IT Teams
Can a small IT team really build and maintain custom business software with AI?
Yes. Jerome's team of six manages 25+ internal tools built on Genspark AI Developer — including complex systems with workflow logic, permissions, and integrations.
How long does it take to build an internal tool with Genspark AI Developer?
Jerome reports building tools in hours to days. A PDF workflow tool took two hours. More complex systems took longer but were still delivered without external contractors.
What's the biggest difference between traditional vendor development and AI-powered development?
Autonomy and speed. With traditional vendors, projects take weeks to months and create long-term dependency. With Genspark AI Developer, Jerome builds, owns, and maintains every tool internally — with AI-generated documentation included.
About Jerome — CIO of FICOFI and one of Genspark's earliest power users. He has built 25+ internal tools using Genspark AI Developer, including the Work Planner, Wine Recommender, Logistics comparison tool, and HR Performance Management system — currently rolling out company-wide.