The buy option could average about half the cost and enable earlier deployment and benefits and is the right choice for shorter-term strategies. Availability, affordability, required modification, and strategic fit are key points to consider. Buying from a vendor, where customization is planned, requires a high internal knowledge index and requires tracking of a vendor's risk and knowledge indexes. Consideration must be given to the risks of sustainability, manageability, and the financial viability of the vendors. Like any other venture, planning is the major part of this undertaking.
Most organizations already have software development methods that can be used for the build options.
However, culture conflicts, conflicting priorities, and roles and responsibilities are often not addressed for the buy options during the planning stage. Creating an integrated plan that capitalizes on each other's strengths. Developing exit terms, success criteria, and an exit strategy as part of the initiative. Setting triggers for risk mitigations and how to manage them. Additionally, document lessons learned as part of the knowledge transfer process so that future endeavors have the advantage of prior experiences.