Build or buy,
answered honestly.
We build custom software, so we have an obvious interest in one answer. Each page below names the specific cases where the other option wins — because for a great many companies it does, and telling you otherwise would cost you money.
- Custom build · Packaged suite01
Custom ERP versus a packaged suite like SAP
Neither answer is universal. The decision turns on how much of your process is genuinely unusual, and how much change you can absorb.
- Custom build · Licensed platform02
Custom CRM versus Salesforce or HubSpot
The honest trigger is rarely features. It is seat cost at scale, or a bought CRM your team has already stopped updating.
- Custom build · HR product03
HRMS: build or buy
The tell is the shadow spreadsheet. If your real leave rules live outside the HRMS, the product does not fit your policy.
- Custom code · Low-code platform04
Custom software versus low-code platforms
Low-code is right far more often than developers admit — and wrong in a specific, predictable way that arrives late.
- On-premise · Public cloud05
Public cloud versus on-premise and bare metal
Cloud is right for most workloads. It is wrong for a specific, identifiable set — and the tell is steady load or a regulator.
Still not sure which way?
Describe the process and the constraints. We will tell you which side of the line you are on — including when the answer is to buy something and not hire us.