Build vs. Buy: When Custom Software Is Worth It
A practical framework for operations and IT leaders deciding between custom software and off-the-shelf products: cost, fit, integration and data ownership.
Advise & run
Consulting & Enterprise Architecture
We help you make major technology decisions with confidence: technology strategy, enterprise and solution architecture, implementation planning, and support with RFPs and vendor selection.
Major technology decisions, what to build, what to buy and in what order, set the cost of the years that follow. Without a clear enterprise architecture, systems get duplicated, data conflicts and nobody can say what a change will affect. We work with you on a technology strategy tied to your organizational goals, model the current and target state across business, data, application and technology layers, and design the solution architecture for major projects before they start. We help you set up or support an Enterprise Architecture Office, and prepare RFPs and evaluate vendor proposals, drawing on established frameworks such as TOGAF and taking national enterprise architecture requirements into account where they apply to you.
Problems this service solves
Duplicated systems and rising costs
Each department buys its own solution, so systems and licences multiply and nobody has the full picture.
Major projects with no architecture baseline
Projects are tendered before architecture, integration and data are agreed, so problems surface mid-delivery when they are expensive to fix.
Vendor proposals you cannot compare
Generic RFPs produce proposals that cannot be compared, and purchasing decisions end up made on price alone.
Kinds of projects
- Technology strategy and a roadmap tied to organizational goals
- Current- and target-state enterprise architecture models
- Setting up or supporting an Enterprise Architecture Office
- Solution architecture for major projects before delivery
- RFP preparation and vendor proposal evaluation
- Technical review of an existing system or project
What you receive
- A technology strategy with architecture principles and standards
- Current- and target-state models for business, data, application and technology layers
- A business capability map with systems mapped to it
- Solution architecture documents and key design decisions for projects
- A phased implementation plan showing dependencies and risks
- RFP documents and technical evaluation criteria for vendor proposals
How we deliver
Architecture that serves decisions
We do not document for its own sake. Every model answers a real question: what to buy, what to build and what to retire.
Lightweight, effective governance
Fast architecture reviews built into the project lifecycle prevent duplication without slowing teams down.
We build your team’s capability
We train your architects and hand over the tools and templates, so the work continues after we step back.
This service suits you if
- A government entity or enterprise required to follow an enterprise architecture framework
- You are preparing to tender a major technology project and need a baseline before contracting
- You want an outside technical opinion before a major purchase or rebuild decision
How do we start?
You describe the need
In a short form: the problem, the current situation and any target date.
An introductory session
We get in touch to arrange a session to understand the context, priorities and constraints.
A written outline
We share an outline of scope, steps, team and engagement model before any commitment.
Frequently asked questions
Consulting & Enterprise Architecture
Can you bid for a project after helping us write the RFP?
That is agreed with you at the outset and depends on the procurement rules you follow. If our role in the tender is advisory, we abide by whatever you decide about our taking part in the bidding.
Do you work to the national enterprise architecture framework?
We can prepare enterprise architecture deliverables to the requirements of the framework your organization uses, including the national framework where it applies. Confirming compliance remains with the relevant authority.
Related reading
Need consulting & enterprise architecture?
Development & services
We build what you need
A website, an app, a custom system, an integration or a transformation programme. Tell us what you want, and we will come back with a clear next step.
Talk to our solutions teamWe reply by email. No account needed.