Build versus buy with a total-cost view, replacing a vendor, platform bets, and exit plans.
5 questions in Executive & Engineering Leadership.
Compare total cost of ownership like for like. Buying still needs a platform team, building never ends at launch, and a later launch delays benefit. On illustrative figures for 300 engineers over three years, buying costs 1,595k against 2,775k to build, and building wins at steady state only above about 900 engineers.
Spend two weeks on facts: contract dates, notice clauses, real usage and switching cost. Cut usage you do not need, build an alternative you could execute, and negotiate term, caps and tiers, not just the headline. If you cannot switch in ninety days, buy time with a short renewal and start the exit work.
Write the vendor exit strategy before signing, while you have leverage. Insist on tested data export that includes configuration and history, a paid transition period, price and end-of-life notice, and real termination rights. Then build seams you own, and let legal and procurement shape the terms.
Not as first proposed. Approve a short discovery and a renegotiation, then a phased migration only if the full cost of owning every integration, including an on-call rota, connector upkeep and dual running, beats the renegotiated fee, or a non-cost reason such as roadmap control justifies paying more.
Decide by naming the risk you are buying down. Multi-cloud bought for resilience usually doubles serving capacity and team skills to cover a failure that multi-region already handles. Exit leverage and regulation are better served by one primary cloud, deliberate seams and a tested exit plan, priced side by side.