Build vs buy: a framework for internal software
Off-the-shelf is faster until it isn't. A simple way to decide when to adopt a tool and when to build the thing only you need.
Every team eventually hits the build-vs-buy question, and most answer it with gut feel or whoever argues loudest. There's a cleaner way to think about it that comes down to one question: is this software your edge, or just your overhead?
Buy your overhead
Email, calendars, accounting, CRMs — the work everyone does the same way. There's no advantage in building these, and a huge cost in maintaining them. Buy the best fit and move on.
Build your edge
The workflow that's specific to how you operate — the thing no vendor models because no vendor has your exact process — is where custom software pays for itself. Off-the-shelf forces you to bend your operation to the tool. For your edge, that's backwards.
The questions to run
- Is this a differentiator or a commodity? Build the first, buy the second.
- Will a vendor's roadmap ever prioritize our exact need? If not, lean build.
- What's the total cost of bending our process to fit a tool?
- Can we start by buying and build only the gap that remains?
Buy what makes you the same as everyone else. Build what makes you different.