For the last 15 years, the dominant IT strategy has been "Buy, don't build." The logic was undeniable: Why spend millions building a CRM when Salesforce exists? Why build an ERP when Netsuite works out of the box? The SaaS (Software as a Service) revolution promised we could rent best-in-class software for a low monthly fee.
But in 2025, the pendulum is swinging back violently. Companies are realizing that the "SaaS Promise" had hidden clauses: Infinite cost scaling, vendor lock-in, and most importantly, Process Rigidity.
The Hidden Cost: Validating "The SaaS Tax"
SaaS pricing is per-seat. This means you are penalized for growth. If you have 1,000 employees, you are paying $100,000/month for Slack, $50,000/month for Jira, and $200,000/month for Salesforce. You are renting your infrastructure, and the rent only goes up.
Compare this to "Owned Software." If you build a custom internal communication tool (tailored to your needs), you pay the development cost once. The maintenance cost is minimal. It is an asset on your balance sheet, not a perpetual liability on your P&L.
The Rigidity Problem: "Change Your Business to Fit the Tool"
The biggest issue with SaaS is that it is generic. It has to be. Salesforce has to work for a Pharma company and a Car Dealership. This means it is bloated with features you don't need, and it lacks the specific features you do need.
We often hear Operations Managers say: "We do our logistics this way, but the software doesn't support it, so we have to do a manual workaround using Excel."
This is insanity. You are degrading your unique competitive advantage—your workflow—to fit the generic constraints of a vendor. Software should conform to the business, not the other way around.
The AI Catalyst: Lowering Activation Energy
So why did we buy SaaS? Because building software was hard, slow, and expensive. "Custom Software" used to mean a $2M budget and an 18-month timeline.
AI has collapsed this cost.
With AI-assisted development (Cursor, V0, Replit), a small team (or even a single "AI Engineer") can build a robust, tailored CRM or ERP module in weeks, not months. The cost to build the "80% version" that perfectly matches your workflow has dropped by an order of magnitude.
The "Compose, Don't Build" Philosophy
We aren't suggesting you code your own Database or Authentication system. You still use "Infrastructure as a Service" (Supabase, Auth0, AWS). But the Application Layer—the screens your employees interact with—should be yours.
We are entering the era of the "Internal App Store." Instead of one giant monolith, companies will have dozens of small, hyper-focused "Micro-Apps" tailored to specific teams. The "Warehouse App," the "HR Onboarding App," the "Q3 Sales App." They all share a common database, but they are built fast, cheap, and disposable.
Conclusion
The "Buy vs. Build" binary is dead. The new answer is "Compose." Buy the infrastructure (Cloud, Auth, DB), but Build the workflow. Stop renting your competitive advantage.