Context
The marketing team was outgrowing a manual campaign management process and needed a system to manage customer targeting, scheduling, and reporting at scale. Engineering had been asked to build a custom solution, but the scope was growing and the timeline was long.
Challenge
The temptation to build was strong. The team had the skills, and an internal solution would integrate perfectly with existing data. But building meant a multi-quarter commitment, ongoing maintenance, and opportunity cost on product roadmap items.
Approach
I ran a structured build-vs-buy analysis: mapped the requirements against market solutions, modelled the true cost of building including ongoing maintenance, and separated the requirements that differentiated us from the ones any platform could cover. I presented the analysis to the CTO and marketing leadership, with a clear recommendation.
Outcome
The decision was to buy and integrate an existing platform. The integration was delivered faster than a build would have been, and the engineering team redirected capacity to higher-value product work. The buy decision has held up well over time.