Build vs Buy Framework for AI Tools and Software Decisions

Executive answer

Build when the capability creates durable differentiation and you can sustain maintenance load. Buy when speed and reliability are the priority. Compare 24-month lifecycle cost, time-to-production, and lock-in exposure. Early budget deltas alone are misleading.

SCALD model

• Score strategic differentiation.
• Compare 24-month total cost.
• Assess adoption speed to production.
• Limit lock-in risk explicitly.
• Designate lifecycle owner.

Trigger scenario

Engineering wants custom build. Ops wants vendor speed. Finance wants predictability. Launch window is 45 days.

Example

Team buys vendor core and builds thin custom routing layer.

Alternative that loses: full custom build, because delivery misses window and maintenance burden spikes.

Diagnostic checklist

• Is this capability strategic or commodity?
• What is real two-year cost?
• How fast must this go live?
• How hard is later migration?
• Who owns reliability long term?

Cost of delay

Delay extends manual operations and slows revenue-critical workflows.

Common mistakes

• Underestimating maintenance.
• Overestimating internal bandwidth.
• Buying without governance owner.

When to seek external clarity

If cross-functional conflict blocks decision closure, external facilitation can compress tradeoffs and lock an implementation path quickly.

Bottom line

Build vs buy is an operating model decision, not a tooling preference decision.