How do I decide build vs buy vs compose?

Sort each capability with the differentiator test, then price it on 3-year total cost of ownership. Build the workflow, logic, or experience that is the reason you win and that you must change faster than any vendor roadmap. Buy the commodity capability every competitor also has and that a mature vendor runs better. Compose the middle by buying platforms and building only the thin owned layer that makes the combination yours, and prove the riskiest path with a vertical slice before any full-build commitment.

What goes into a 3-year total cost of ownership model?

Four parts across three years: build cost to create the capability, run cost for hosting, licensing, seats, and support, change cost to evolve it as needs move, and switching cost to leave including data export, re-integration, and retraining. Buying usually wins year one and compounds through seats and add-ons. Building costs more up front but removes per-seat growth and vendor lock-in. Deciding only on the build line ignores run, change, and switching, which are the numbers that dominate.

Did AI and vibe coding make building always cheaper than buying?

No. AI-assisted and vibe-coded development lowered the build line and the cost of proving a build is feasible, which is why the question reopened, but run, change, security, accessibility, and maintenance costs are largely untouched and dominate a 3-year model. A prototype generated in an afternoon is not a system you can run for three years, so re-price the build option but still decide on total cost of ownership.

What is a vertical slice and why does it come before a full-build commitment?

A vertical slice is one real end-to-end flow built top to bottom on synthetic data, behind production-grade quality gates, that tests the single hardest assumption in the build. It is designed to fail cheaply in days if the build is a bad idea, and to give evidence to approve the full build if it holds up. It replaces a slide and an estimate with working software measured under realistic data, latency, error, and approval conditions, which is what a real commitment should rest on.

What do you need to advise on a build-vs-buy decision?

A problem statement, a current workflow map and where it hurts, the one must-win capability that is your differentiator, current tool and license spend, integration and compliance constraints, and the owners who can approve a path. That is enough to sort capabilities, sketch the total cost model, and name the riskiest assumption. Admin logins, production credentials, payment keys, and customer data are not needed and wait until a path is chosen and data-handling rules and a rollback owner are agreed.

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