FeaturedDecisionsDemo
24 Sept 2026 · 7 min read
Custom Software vs Off-the-Shelf Software: How to Decide
A practical way to choose between building and buying, based on how specific your process is and what the workarounds really cost.
Insights
Practical writing on the decisions behind software projects: cost, build or buy, automation, AI and architecture. Articles on this page are demo drafts while the editorial plan is finalised.
FeaturedDecisionsDemo
24 Sept 2026 · 7 min read
A practical way to choose between building and buying, based on how specific your process is and what the workarounds really cost.
01All articles
What actually drives the price of a custom build, and how to read a quote before you sign it.
Supports: Custom Software
Spreadsheets are excellent tools that are often stretched past their limits. Here are the signals that a process has outgrown one.
Supports: Web Apps
The difference between publishing information and running a workflow, and why choosing the wrong one is an expensive way to find out.
Supports: Web Apps
A minimum viable product is not a cheap version of everything. It is the smallest release that proves the one thing that matters.
Supports: Web Apps
Rule-based automation and AI agents solve different problems. Choosing between them starts with how predictable the work is.
Supports: AI & Automation
Retrieval-augmented generation lets a model answer from your documents. It suits some problems well and others poorly.
Supports: AI & Automation
Replacing an ageing system in one go is risky. An incremental route lets the business keep running while the new system takes over piece by piece.
Supports: IT Consulting
Tell us what you want to build. A short brief is enough to start the conversation.