Should you build or buy software? This Wall Street firm has a new tool to decide.
RBC Capital Markets has developed a tool to help companies decide whether to build custom software or purchase existing solutions. The analysis suggests that building in-house is often more expensive and resource-intensive than buying, especially for core business systems.
Why it matters
This tool addresses the 'build vs. buy' dilemma exacerbated by the proliferation of AI coding assistants that make custom development seem deceptively easy.
A bricklayer builds a wall at a construction site in Kuala Lumpur Reuters A version of this story originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter. Sign up for the weekly BI Tech Memo newsletter here . The build-versus-buy debate around business software has a new calculator. Last year, I wrote about how AI coding tools were making it easier for companies to create their own internal apps instead of paying an outside software provider. That shift raised a tempting question: Why keep buying expensive software when employees can now vibe code a custom version themselves? The enterprising analysts at RBC Capital Markets recently built an interactive tool to test that idea.
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