As software as a service offerings have matured and proliferated, conventional wisdom has said that it’s smarter for enterprises to purchase software from these experienced vendors rather than build it themselves. But two large companies have recently gone back to writing their own applications, signaling a possible shift in the debate. Facebook will be building its own sales software, and Delta Airlines appears to be working on its own operations and reservation system. And anecdotally, other companies are saying that it makes sense to build their own cloud computing infrastructure using open source components.
Some industry experts advise enterprises to examine the build vs. buy question on a case-by-case basis. With SaaS applications becoming more expensive and seeking to lock companies into long-term contracts, it may make sense for companies to go it alone.
