“Build vs Buy” is dead. AI killed it.
For decades, companies asked one simple question: Should we build this ourselves, or should we buy it?
The answer used to be obvious.
Build was slow, expensive, engineer-heavy, and painful.
Buy was faster, safer, and came with support.
That logic worked…until AI showed up.
Today, what took weeks takes hours. What needed code now needs plain English. What required teams and infrastructure now start with a prompt.
When the cost and complexity of building collapse, the framework collapses with it.
It’s no longer build vs buy. It’s something stranger:
→ Teams building just enough
→ Customizing instead of committing
→ Prototyping internally before deciding anything
→ Blurring the line between internal tools and purchased software
We don’t even have the right words for this phase yet. But behavior has already changed.
The real constraint now isn’t engineering. It’s strategy.
And companies that don’t update how they make decisions will keep using old maps in a new terrain.
If you’re rethinking how decisions get made in an AI-first world, DM me.
