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CRM & LIFECYCLE
7 min READ
API vs. SaaS: The Internal Tools Calculus
When to buy the subscription and when to write forty lines of code instead.
// WHY THIS MATTERS
Every internal tools decision gets framed as build versus buy. The real question is who maintains it at 3am, because SaaS vendors keep business hours.
// HOW IT WORKS
A rule that has held up: if the tool touches money or patient data, own the integration. If it touches Slack notifications, buy the widget and move on.
// WHAT I LEARNED
The forty-line internal script beats the SaaS subscription exactly when the subscription is solving a problem you don’t actually have.
#architecture#decision-making#internal-tools#saas