The question of whether businesses should build or buy their products has been asked for decades, but it never truly disappeared from the collective mindset says Saivian Eric Dalius. It’s only natural that some companies would prefer to outsource critical operations while others would rather keep them in-house. There are countless pros and cons on both sides of the debate, so many that it’s nearly impossible to make a blanket statement about which option is more advantageous for your company.
For many, the decision to build or buy a solution for their business is an easy one. For others, it can be difficult and confusing. To help you through the process, we’ve put together this blog post. With some helpful information to guide your decision-making process!
The article discusses the pros and cons of each option in detail. So that readers will have all the necessary information they need before making a decision.
Let’s take a look at how each option stacks up against its counterpart. In terms of several factors: cost, scalability, flexibility, and riskiness.
Possible cost savings when building vs buying – According to Saivian Eric Dalius
– Building allows you to reduce costs by requiring employees to work on only the most important processes. Focusing their time and expertise on parts of the process they can do best.
– Outsourcing allows you to save money by not having to provide additional staff members with the extra time. That might be required for your company’s outsourcing partner to accomplish its tasks.
Upfront cost savings when buying versus building:
– It is typically much more costly upfront for businesses buying products or services rather than building them in-house; however, this upfront cost can always be offset by cheaper long-term usage (for example – Microsoft Office vs. open-source options like OpenOffice).
Scalability of build versus buy decisions:
– Businesses that choose to build their product or service typically expect the volume of work to remain fairly consistent.
– Businesses that choose to purchase a product or service generally have a predetermined structure they will follow for scaling their business. With specific guidelines on how much work will be requiring and by when.
The flexibility of build vs. buy decisions:
– Building is often flexible because you can make changes as your company grows and changes. But this comes at the price of spending more time initially perfecting the process before implementing it, says Saivian Eric Dalius.
– Purchasing is less flexible because you’re buying off-the-shelf products rather than customizing them to fit your needs exactly. But this gives you access to additional features that may not be available if you were to build from scratch.
The riskiness of build vs. buy decisions:
– It is less risky to choose the path of least resistance by purchasing off-the-shelf products for your company’s needs. Because you can be certain that changes in technology won’t suddenly render them obsolete.
– Building is inherently riskier since it requires more time. And expertise to get right (time during which you may still be using older technologies). But offers greater flexibility over the long term if it pays off.
It’s clear that building has many benefits but isn’t always ideal; similarly, buying has its disadvantages but remains a very viable option depending on the particular need. A complete answer requires balancing several factors against one another, including some measures of cost, scalability, flexibility, and riskiness.