Should we build, buy, or use a hybrid approach?
Build
17PressureHybrid
10RecommendedBuy
14PressureWorkbench
Score the conditions. The path should change if the scores are honest.
Build
17PressureHybrid
10RecommendedBuy
14PressureRecommendation
HybridBuy the commodity layer. Build the workflow, the write-back, and the control points that make it yours.Main risk
Hybrid fails when nobody owns the last mile and the vendor cannot reach your systems.
How I see it
Choose the path the workflow can actually support
Teams pick a vendor because it is faster, or pick a build because the process feels unique. The useful answer depends on whether the workflow differentiates, how hard it is to integrate, and whether you can operate what you own.
Score nine conditions. The tool recommends build, buy, or hybrid, with the reasons and the main risk of that path.
Buy when speed and a standard process matter more than uniqueness. Build when the workflow is differentiating and you can staff it. Hybrid when you buy the commodity layer and build the last mile into your systems.
Economic model
Path testdifferentiation and uniqueness pull toward build; time and cost pressure pull toward buy; integration and security often force hybrid
A buy that cannot write back to your system of record is not a cheaper path. It is a side system.
When this is the wrong next step
Do not use this tool to decorate a decision.
- The vendor is already signed and the tool is expected to confirm it.
- You will not accept hybrid.
- There is no workflow, only a platform bake-off.
A useful next step
Bring the numbers into a conversation.
The tool is a first cut. If the result is material, we guide the implementation and stay hands-on through operations — or tell you when a simpler answer is better.
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