Off-the-shelf tools are excellent when your process matches the product. The trouble starts when you spend months bending the business around someone else’s roadmap — or paying for modules you will never use.
Buy when the problem is common
Licence a product when:
- Your workflow is close to industry standard
- Integration needs are shallow and well documented
- Switching cost later is acceptable
- Compliance and support are stronger from a vendor platform
Build when the process is the advantage
Commission custom software when:
- Your process is a competitive edge, not a commodity
- Multiple systems must talk in ways no single SaaS covers well
- You need ownership of the code and the data model
- You have outgrown configuration and are stacking workarounds
A decision checklist
- Map the workflow end to end — including the spreadsheets and tribal knowledge.
- List the decisions that depend on accurate, timely data.
- Cost the status quo (errors, re-entry, delayed reporting, licence sprawl).
- Pilot the thinnest useful slice before a full rebuild.
If a simpler product still wins after that exercise, we will say so. Honesty over hype is how long-term partnerships start.