Key takeaways for the IOC: Stop recruiting “genAI experts”. Start developing “agent orchestrators” and invest in upskilling your MLOps team on the specific complexities of multi-agent coordination.
3. The build vs buy strategy: where to differentiate yourself
The choice between leveraging a co-pilot tool from a commercially available cloud provider and creating a custom, optimized agent is arguably the most critical strategic decision you will face. It’s a decision that should directly align IT spending with the unique value of your business.
| Decision criteria | Buy (in stores) | Build (custom/hybrid) |
| Speed of recovery | Fast (weeks) | Slower (months/years) |
| Task scope | Unique, narrow and confined system | A large, cross-system, and complex workflow |
| Control and intellectual property | Limited control, dependent on supplier roadmap | Full control over logic, data and security |
| Strategic objective | Utility function, quick wins, cost reduction | Strategic differentiation, essential competitive advantage |
- When to buy (the utility): Leverage out-of-the-box agents, like those offered by your cloud provider or ERP/CRM vendor, for undifferentiated system-specific tasks. These agents offer speed, native integration, and low upfront costs for use cases such as generating summaries within a single application or managing simple service tickets.
- When to build (the weapon): Reserve your expensive in-house talent for construction agents who create unique competitive advantages. If an agent needs to extract data from your existing manufacturing system, combine it with a real-time market feed, and autonomously execute a proprietary trading strategy, you need to create it. Custom builds provide the control and deep system-to-system integration needed to deliver true business differentiation.
Ultimately, the smarter path is often to take a hybrid approach, supported by a unified agent platform. You buy the basic infrastructure and undifferentiated agents, but you build the proprietary logic and specialized agents that connect your unique business processes. According to early adopters and industry leaders, this blended approach is essential. Start with simple “buy” options and include an element of “build” when aiming for significant business transformation.
