Build vs. Buy in the Age of AI: The New Rules

The "build vs. buy" debate has been a constant in the tech industry for decades. Do you create a custom solution to fit your exact needs, or do you purchase an off-the-shelf product and accept its limitations? While this question has always been complex, the rise of Generative AI is completely changing the conversation. This guide explores why the answer is no longer a simple "either/or."

The Rise of User Programming

Historically, building was a luxury reserved for technical teams. Everyone else relied on IT to create solutions. This began to change with the invention of the spreadsheet, which was the first form of "user programming" for non-technical people. Now, with the new generation of AI-powered tools, programming is becoming as simple as using natural language. This new era of "vibe coding" empowers nearly anyone to solve their own problems by crafting custom applications.

This has led some to believe that the days of SaaS products are numbered—that everyone will simply build their own solutions and stop buying software. But this prediction overlooks a critical factor: business rules.

The Unseen Power of Business Rules

Most enterprise software—from HR to finance to sales—is built on a foundation of thousands of complex business rules. These rules govern everything from legal compliance and security to financial policies and pricing logic. They are the accumulated knowledge and best practices that make a business function.

A significant challenge is that these rules are often buried deep within the code, and the people who created them may have long since moved on. A non-technical person using a simple AI tool would have no idea these rules exist, making it impossible to build a viable solution from scratch. This is why powerful SaaS vendors, who have spent years codifying these complex rules into their products, are not going anywhere.

The Future is a Hybrid Approach

The future of "build vs. buy" is not one or the other—it’s both. Companies will continue to buy sophisticated, valuable, and pre-built solutions for core business functions. The difference is that these solutions will be designed to be accessed and controlled by both humans and AI agents.

These powerful new tools, like the proposed Model Context Protocol, are creating a world where AI agents and custom-built applications can seamlessly interact with and control the sophisticated software you've already purchased. This allows businesses to get the best of both worlds: the robust, reliable, and compliant foundation of a bought solution, with the flexibility and customizability of a built one.

In this new era, the real work isn't building the solution—it's figuring out the right solution to build. The age of user programming is here, and it's making everyone a builder. The most successful organizations will be those that learn to strategically buy powerful components and then build custom intelligence on top of them.