Direct answer
What this means
A company should consider custom software when the workflow creates meaningful competitive or operational value, existing products cannot meet critical constraints, and the expected long-term benefit justifies ownership and maintenance. It should usually buy or configure existing software when the process is standard and differentiation is low.
Signals that support building
Custom software becomes more defensible as the gap between the required operation and available products becomes more consequential.
- The workflow is central to competitive advantage
- Integration constraints make packaged software ineffective
- Manual work creates measurable delay, risk, or cost
- The organization can own the resulting product lifecycle
Signals that support buying
Buying is usually better for standardized capabilities such as payroll, commodity CRM, or collaboration unless a genuine constraint prevents adoption.