Build vs Buy · Build vs Buy · Hard · 35-45 min

Build or License a Software Platform

Build or License a Software Platform is a hard Build vs Buy build vs buy case interview that runs 35-45 min. An automotive company wants a connected-vehicle software platform (telematics, OTA updates, in-car services). A strong answer works through 5 phases: Decide what is genuinely strategic / differentiating (build) vs commodity (buy); Assess capability honestly; Compare on total cost, time-to-market, control of data/roadmap, and switching risk; Consider partner/JV structures as a middle path and who owns the IP and data; Recommend an approach.

Last updated 2026-09-05

The brief

An automotive company wants a connected-vehicle software platform (telematics, OTA updates, in-car services). It can build in-house, license from a specialist vendor, or partner. Building gives control but the company has thin software talent; licensing is faster but cedes the customer data and roadmap. The CEO sees software as strategic to future margin. You advise on build, buy, or partner.

How to approach it

  1. Decide what is genuinely strategic / differentiating (build) vs commodity (buy)
  2. Assess capability honestly — does the company have the talent, and can it attract it
  3. Compare on total cost, time-to-market, control of data/roadmap, and switching risk
  4. Consider partner/JV structures as a middle path and who owns the IP and data
  5. Recommend an approach — possibly build the differentiating layer, buy the commodity base

What a strong answer does

  • Splits the stack — build the strategic/differentiating layer, license the commodity plumbing
  • Is honest about the talent gap and whether 'build' is even feasible on the timeline
  • Weighs control of customer data and roadmap as strategic, not just cost
  • Surfaces vendor lock-in and switching cost on the 'buy' side
  • Treats partner/JV as a real option with explicit IP/data ownership terms

Red flags interviewers score down

  • Decides on cost alone, ignoring strategic control of data and roadmap
  • Assumes the company can build despite no software capability
  • Ignores lock-in and switching cost when recommending license
  • Treats it as all-or-nothing rather than layering build and buy

Cases are written in each firm's style, written and reviewed by working consultants; they are not the firms' own published cases.

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