Navigating the Build vs Buy Decision in Enterprise Software

3 MINS

# Navigating the Build vs Buy Decision in Enterprise Software

One of the most consequential decisions in enterprise product management is whether to build a capability in-house or buy it from a vendor. Get it wrong, and you waste months of engineering effort or lock yourself into an expensive dependency.

I've been on both sides of this decision.

When We Chose to Build

At Gabriels, our platform needed specific SEO optimisation capabilities tailored to our partners' lead generation goals. Off-the-shelf tools existed, but none fit our workflow.

We built it internally. The result:

Deep integration with our existing data processing systems

Customisation that matched exactly what our partners needed

Ongoing maintenance burden that required dedicated resources The lesson: building gives you control but demands commitment.

When We Chose to Buy

For tracking and analytics, we integrated third-party tools rather than building our own. The reasoning:

Mature solutions already existed with years of development behind them

Faster time to value for our partners

Lower total cost when factoring in maintenance and updates The lesson: buying works when the capability isn't your differentiator.

The Decision Framework

Questions I ask when facing build vs buy:

Is this core to our value proposition? If yes, lean toward building.

How fast do we need it? Tight timelines favour buying.

What's the total cost of ownership? Include maintenance, training, and integration effort.

What's the vendor risk? Dependencies on third parties can become liabilities.

No Perfect Answer

Every build vs buy decision involves trade-offs. The key is being explicit about what you're trading. Document the reasoning. Revisit it when circumstances change.

What made sense last year might not make sense today. Staying flexible is part of the job.

The Data-Driven Approach to Product Prioritisation

Karthik skipped presentations and built real AI products.

Karthik Venkatraman was part of the September 2025 cohort at Curious PM, alongside 13 other talented participants.