To Build or Buy?

That's the question CTOs ask themselves every day before deciding whether to dedicate engineering talent to a particular project or use an outside API/SDK.

Here are a few guidelines to consider:

• How complex is the technology to build?
• How easy would it be to maintain the technology?
• What's the cost of the API/SDK versus using own engineering resources? Note: APIs/SDKs can take advantage of reduced costs based on large number of clients.
• Is it possible to use an existing API to test the validity of a project before building out a home grown solution?
• How easy would it be to replace the API/SDK? Note: in most cases that should be quite easy.