Build-versus-buy decision
A build-versus-buy decision is an evaluation of whether to develop a capability internally or obtain it from an external product, service, or provider.
LLMs in Production
A decision framework for choosing between developing a capability internally and acquiring it from an external provider.
- How it is used
- Frames the choice between external LLM offerings and an internally built capability for production work.
- How deep it goes
- Compares practical trade-offs and proposes a phase-dependent approach, but does not specify a decision procedure in the supplied prose.
- Examples
- Uses GPT-4 or Databricks subscriptions for quick prototypes aimed at funding or stakeholder buy-in.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate/understand when to buy, build, or use each approach at a different project phase.
Read how LLMs in Production explains build-versus-buy decision →
Machine Learning System Design
A decision process for choosing between developing a capability internally and obtaining it from an external provider.
- How it is used
- Guides ML-system planning when a familiar problem may have a vendor solution, before committing to internal development.
- How deep it goes
- Works through practical decision questions and a search-service case without prescribing a numerical scoring model.
- Examples
- Uses rented cloud infrastructure, outsourced selfie verification, and a photo marketplace’s text-to-image search to test sourcing assumptions.
- What you can do after
- Practice/perform a component-level sourcing assessment using business centrality, vendor fit, price, maintenance, time, and team capacity.
Read how Machine Learning System Design explains build-versus-buy decision →
Cloud Observability in Action
A build-or-buy decision is a strategic choice between developing a capability internally and procuring it from an external provider.
- How it is used
- Guides selection of frontend, all-in-one, backend, or internal-platform capabilities against value, differentiation, and dependence.
- How deep it goes
- Explains strategic choice and practical cost checks, but stops short of a quantified decision framework.
- Examples
- Uses hosted frontends, all-in-ones, self-hosted observability, and integrated open-source platforms as decision examples.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via a value, differentiation, dependency, and total-cost assessment before selecting an observability capability.
Read how Cloud Observability in Action explains build-versus-buy decision →
Related concepts
- total cost of ownershipuses · Total cost of ownership is the aggregate cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, supporting, and eventually replacing or retiring an asset over its lifecycle.
- checklistuses · A structured list of tasks, questions, or criteria used to guide an activity or systematically verify that relevant requirements have been addressed.
- privacycontrasts with · Privacy is the protection and controlled handling of information or activities to prevent inappropriate access, collection, use, or disclosure.
- open sourceuses · Open-source software is software whose source code is available under a license permitting use, study, modification, and redistribution.
- designconfigures · Design is the process of planning and specifying an artifact’s structure, behavior, or presentation, and the resulting arrangement, to meet intended purposes and constraints.
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