When buying makes sense
- The process is standard — accounting, payroll, email, general CRM.
- A mature product fits most requirements without heavy customisation.
- You want the vendor to handle hosting, updates and security of the application.
- Speed to use matters more than a perfect fit.
When building makes sense
- The process is how you compete, and a generic product would flatten it.
- Every product evaluated needs significant workarounds or spreadsheets around it.
- You need to join several systems into one workflow.
- Licence costs scale painfully with users or volume.
- You need control over the roadmap, data model or user experience.
The third option: buy and integrate
Many of the best outcomes combine products with a small amount of custom work: SaaS for standard functions, with integrations or a focused custom application orchestrating the process that makes you different.
Questions that make the decision clear
- What exactly is the process, and what would a better outcome look like?
- How closely do available products fit — tested against real requirements, not demos?
- What will workarounds cost in time and errors?
- What is the total cost over several years — licences, customisation, integration, support?
- Who will own and evolve the solution?
- What happens to your data if you change direction?
Requirements-led evaluation — the work of a business analyst — is the most reliable way to answer these questions without bias towards building or buying.