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Unfold ItThink. Unfold. Move.Unfold ItThink. Unfold. Move.We're at a crossroads: our product needs AI features and I need to decide whether we build our own models and infrastructure or integrate third-party AI APIs and platforms. The wrong call costs us either years of wasted engineering or permanent vendor dependency. I need a structured framework to make this decision for each AI capability we need.
Plan for: Evaluate Build vs. Buy for Your Company's Core AI Capabilities
Vendor Lock-in: Tying your application logic too tightly to one specific provider's API structure.
Abstract AI calls behind an internal gateway or interface so you can swap providers (e.g., OpenAI to Anthropic) with minimal code changes.
Underestimating the hidden costs of 'Build' (Self-hosting).
Ensure your TCO includes GPU idle time, MLOps infrastructure, and the opportunity cost of your Data Science team managing servers instead of improving models.
Scope creep during the PoC phase, delaying the actual decision.
Time-box the prototype phase strictly to 3-5 days. Focus only on the core 'happy path' of the GenAI feature.
Ready to make this plan yours?
