Insights / Research Report / Navigating Build-versus-buy Dynamics for Enterprise-ready AI
January 31, 2025

Navigating Build-versus-buy Dynamics for Enterprise-ready AI

Mike Leone
Practice Director, Data Management, Analytics & AI

Emily Marsh
Associate Research Director

Market Topics

Cloud & IT Operations Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Operations

As organizations pursue AI, the path to success is filled with challenges. Massive data volumes, data privacy and security concerns, rising costs for high-performance infrastructure, advanced skill requirements, and other challenges make AI implementation a complex endeavor. Organizations want a solution that can improve the time to value but need assurances they can rapidly scale to meet the wider needs of the business. This fuels the debate of whether to build custom AI solutions or leverage third-party, pre-integrated solutions.

This decision ultimately depends on the specific needs and goals of each organization. Some may find that building a custom solution is worth the investment in talent and best-of-breed infrastructure that provides greater flexibility and control. Others may prioritize simplicity, time to market, and time to value with a pre-integrated solution. Regardless of which approach organizations choose, they must consider critical factors for successful AI implementations, including the level of expertise and available resources within the organization, data privacy and security requirements, and the long-term scalability needs of the business.

To gain further insight into these trends, Enterprise Strategy Group surveyed 376 technical and business stakeholders at organizations in North America (U.S. and Canada) involved with or responsible for the strategy, decision-making, selection, deployment, and management of AI initiatives and projects.

Already an Enterprise Strategy Group client? Log in to read the full report. If you are not yet a Subscription Client but would like to learn more about accessing this report, please contact us.

Unparalleled insights from analysts with an "insider" perspective

From strategy and product development to competitive insights and content creation, we deliver high-quality, actionable support services.