Build vs Buy: When to develop a Power Platform solution instead of buying a CRM add-on

Stop losing weeks and budgets choosing the wrong path: a practical matrix for IT

You need a CRM capability today, but do you build it on Power Platform or buy a marketplace add-on and integrate? The wrong choice costs time, budget and long-term agility. This guide gives IT leaders a repeatable, score-driven cost, time-to-value and risk matrix and practical steps to decide — complete with a worked 3‑year TCO example, code snippets, and a workshop template you can run in a day.

Why this matters in 2026 (what’s changed)

The landscape changed fast between 2023 and 2026. The Power Platform matured into a mainstream enterprise development platform, with deeper integration to Microsoft Fabric, expanded Copilot-assisted app generation, and more robust ALM tooling. Meanwhile CRM marketplaces proliferated with verticalized add-ons that promise instant functionality. Both trends create new trade-offs: the speed and reduced risk of a vetted add-on versus the flexibility, control and lower long-term marginal costs of a custom Power Platform solution.

At the same time, organizations face tool sprawl and mounting integration debt. Every add-on introduces new licensing, potential data duplication, and integration points to secure and maintain. The goal of this article is not to preach one answer — it is to give you a defensible, repeatable decision method that aligns cost, time-to-value and risks with your organization’s priorities.

Decision framework: the Cost, Time-to-Value & Risk Matrix

Use the matrix to score both options on a common scale and make the trade-offs explicit. Score each criterion 1–5 (1 = poor, 5 = excellent) and apply weights to reflect what matters for the project. Example weights are below; adjust to your org.

Core criteria (recommended)

• Feature fit — How closely does the solution match requirements out of the box?
• Time-to-value — How quickly will users gain benefit?
• Total cost of ownership (TCO) — 3‑year view including licensing, development, integration, and maintenance.
• Integration complexity — Data movement, APIs, identity, and transformation needs.
• Security & compliance — Data residency, certifications, ability to enforce governance.
• Maintenance burden — Patches, upgrades, vendor dependency, and support SLA.
• Scalability & performance — Can it scale with users, transactions and data growth?
• Vendor lock-in & extensibility — Exit costs and ability to extend or replace parts.
• User adoption risk — UX quality, training needs, and change impact.

Scoring and weighting (example)

Use the simple weighted score formula: (score * weight) summed across criteria. Weights should sum to 100. Example weights below are tuned for typical mid-sized IT projects where time-to-value and integration matter most.

• Feature fit: 20
• Time-to-value: 20
• TCO (3 years): 15
• Integration complexity: 10
• Security & compliance: 10
• Maintenance burden: 10
• Scalability & performance: 5
• Vendor lock-in & extensibility: 5
• User adoption risk: 5

How to interpret scores

• Above 80: Strong fit for the chosen path
• 60–80: Acceptable; requires mitigation plans for key gaps
• Below 60: High risk; reconsider requirements or solution

Sample matrix: Build (Power Platform) vs Buy (CRM add-on)

Below is a condensed, realistic comparison for a hypothetical organization that needs a customer onboarding workflow, custom approvals, and document generation integrated with Dynamics 365 Sales.

Weighted scores (example math): Build = 4*20 + 3*20 + 4*15 + 4*10 + 4*10 + 3*10 + 4*5 + 5*5 + 4*5 = 400 — divide by total weight (100) = 4.0 out of 5 → 80/100. Buy = similar math → 78/100. In this example, build narrowly wins because of lower long-term marginal cost and lower lock-in risk.

Three-year TCO example (numbers you can reuse)

Use concrete numbers to avoid wishful thinking. Below is a simplified sample for the same onboarding scenario. TCO = Licensing + Implementation + Integration + Support & Maintenance + Opportunity cost.

Assumptions

• Users: 250
• Years: 3
• In-house dev rate: $120/hour
• Initial build effort: 1,000 hours (Power Apps + Power Automate + Dataverse design)
• Annual maintenance: 200 hours/year
• Add-on license: $10/user/month
• Integration costs for add-on: one-off 300 hours + annual 100 hours

Build (Power Platform) — 3-year cost

• Licensing: Use existing Dataverse/PP licenses or P2 - assume incremental $20/user/month = $60,000/year → $180,000
• Implementation/dev: 1,000 hrs * $120 = $120,000
• Maintenance (3 yrs): 200 * $120 * 3 = $72,000
• Infrastructure & storage: $15,000 (Dataverse capacity additions)
• Training & Change Mgmt: $10,000
• Total 3-year TCO (Build): ≈ $397,000

Buy (CRM add-on) — 3-year cost

• Licensing: $10/user/month * 250 users * 12 * 3 = $90,000
• Integration & config: 300 hrs * $120 = $36,000
• Annual integration/support: 100 * $120 * 3 = $36,000
• Vendor support premium & upgrades: $20,000
• Training & change mgmt: $8,000
• Total 3-year TCO (Buy): ≈ $190,000

The add-on is cheaper on a 3-year TCO in this simplified model, and it delivers faster time-to-value. But the matrix score earlier still favored build because build lowers long-term marginal costs, avoids future license inflation risk, and enables stronger extensibility and data model ownership.

When to choose Build on Power Platform (practical signals)

Opt to build when these conditions are true:

• Requirements are unique — Significant workflow or data-model customizations that marketplace add-ons can’t cover without expensive bolt-ons.
• Long-term ownership matters — You want control over data model, SLAs, or future pivots (multi-year roadmap).
• You have in-house Power Platform skills or can staff them inexpensively; ALM and governance practices already exist.
• Scalability or IP is strategic — The solution is a competitive differentiator or core IP you want to retain in-house.
• Integration surface is primarily Microsoft stack — Dataverse, Teams, SharePoint, and Fabric reduce integration overhead.

Power Platform snippets and patterns

Quick examples you can reuse when prototyping.

Power Fx calculated field example (concatenate customer name):

Concatenate(FirstName, " ", LastName)

Power Automate expression to format today’s date in ISO:

formatDateTime(utcNow(), 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ')

Power Platform CLI (export a solution) — sample command for automation:

pac solution export --path ./exports/OnboardingSolution.zip --name OnboardingSolution --publisher-prefix contoso

These short snippets help accelerate prototypes, and the CLI command is key to automate ALM in CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps). In 2026, Microsoft’s ALM story for Power Platform matured — use the CLI and solution-aware pipelines to avoid drift between environments.

When to choose Buy (CRM add-on)

Buying is the right call when speed and proven functionality outweigh long-term flexibility.

• Need speed — Business must deploy in weeks, not months.
• Feature parity exists — The add-on covers >80% of the required functionality and vendor roadmaps align with your needs.
• Lower initial budget — You have constrained upfront investment but need immediate results.
• Vendor maturity — The provider has solid support SLAs, security certifications, and a transparent upgrade policy.
• Minimal integration — Add-on integrates natively with Dynamics or uses standard APIs reducing custom integration work.

Checklist when evaluating an add-on

• Request a 30‑day proof-of-concept with real data.
• Validate data model alignment and export paths (no siloed data).
• Confirm upgrade path and breaking change policy.
• Inspect security posture: SOC2, ISO27001, data residency, and encryption at rest/in transit.
• Measure latency for high-volume operations; ask for performance benchmarks.
• Ask for exit & data extraction plan in writing.

Mitigating risks regardless of choice

There are practical controls you must put in place whichever path you pick. These reduce downstream costs and prevent tool sprawl.

Governance & lifecycle

• Create a solution register — catalog all add-ons and custom apps, owners, and renewal dates.
• Define data ownership and data mapping for each solution (where the canonical record lives).
• Implement environment strategy: dev/test/prod with automated solution exports and import pipelines.

Security & compliance

• Enforce Conditional Access, MFA, and least-privilege connectors for all integrations.
• Run periodic penetration tests and review vendor SCA reports for add-ons.
• Document and automate data retention and eDiscovery processes for all solutions.

Operational & maintenance

• Estimate ongoing support hours up-front and include in TCO.
• For builds, implement automated tests for flows and key UI paths; integrate with GitHub Actions.
• For buys, establish a vendor escalation matrix and run quarterly reviews.

Mini case study: Contoso Financial Services

Contoso needed a KYC (Know Your Customer) onboarding flow integrated with Dynamics 365 and external ID verification. They evaluated an add-on that delivered 70% of requirements but required separate storage for verification artifacts and a $15/user/month license. They also prototyped a Power Platform solution that integrated Dataverse, Azure Functions for the ID vendor, and document generation using Word templates.

The add-on delivered in 2 weeks and cost $120k over three years. The build took 10 weeks, cost $160k initial and $40k/year to maintain — about $280k over three years. Contoso chose the add-on for immediate compliance needs, but committed to a 12‑month roadmap to replace parts with a custom build. This hybrid approach reduced short‑term risk while preserving a long-term path to reduce licensing spend and centralize artifacts in Dataverse.

"Use the matrix to make a defensible decision, not a permanent one. Treat buys as strategic short-term accelerators and builds as long-term investments — and document the transition strategy."

Decision workshop: run this in a day

Run a half-day workshop with stakeholders to get alignment. Below is a practical agenda and artifacts you’ll produce.

1. 30 min — Problem framing & goals (Business owner, IT lead, Security). Produce prioritized requirements (MVP).
2. 60 min — Vendor demos & build prototype review. Use real sample data if possible.
3. 30 min — Score each criterion using the matrix. Capture assumptions.
4. 30 min — Run a quick TCO sketch (3-year) for each option using the template numbers above.
5. 30 min — Decide next steps: Pilot the add-on, pilot a build, or hybrid pilot with migration triggers.

Artifacts: Completed matrix, TCO spreadsheet, POC acceptance criteria, migration trigger list (if buying first).

Practical takeaways

• Don’t decide on gut alone — Use the weighted matrix and a 3-year TCO to make choices auditable to finance and auditors.
• Prefer buys for speed, builds for strategic IP — But commit to a migration or extension plan if you buy as a stopgap.
• Automate ALM early — If you build, use the Power Platform CLI and pipeline automation to avoid environment drift.
• Mitigate vendor lock-in — Force vendors to provide data export, documented APIs, and an exit plan in the contract.
• Measure adoption and instrument telemetry — Track time-to-first-success and process completion rates to measure time-to-value objectively.

Next steps (clear call-to-action)

Want the editable decision matrix and 3‑year TCO spreadsheet used in this article? Download the template, run the one-day workshop, and validate your assumptions with a lightweight POC. If you’d prefer help, schedule a short advisory session to run the exercise with your stakeholders and get a recommended, auditable path (buy, build or hybrid) tailored to your environment.

The right choice is context-dependent. Use this matrix to make it explicit, measurable and defensible — then execute the chosen path with governance and ALM best practices so the decision remains reversible and low-risk.

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