Build, Buy, or Integrate AI?

The build or buy question is usually asked at the wrong level. Asked about the company, it has no useful answer. Asked about one workflow, and broken into layers (the application, the workflow logic, the data connections, the model service, the controls, and operations), it becomes a decision you can defend with evidence.

This guide sets out what must be true before any vendor conversation, then tests the full delivery choice rather than the demo or the license price. For most organizations the answer is selective integration: buy the proven components, build only the workflow logic and controls that make the system fit the business.

What it covers

• Make the sourcing decision per workflow and per layer, not company wide
• Set the non-negotiable controls before a product shapes the decision
• Compare whole life cost: integration, testing, monitoring, support, exit
• Examine the dependency: who owns the code, prompts, records, and output
• Choose the smallest sufficient solution that meets the outcome