While most legal professionals understand the benefits of CLM, there is still a debate about whether or not to build their CLM solution in-house or buy it from a third-party vendor. We’ve written about why a homegrown CLM is a lousy idea – check out that perspective here. That said, there are pros and cons to consider for everything, and legal leaders need to weigh each choice against business goals, needs, and capacity before making a truly informed decision about which one is right for them.
Here are some things to consider:
Pros of Building Your CLM
Building could be a better approach to procuring a CLM solution for some companies. Some pros to building over buying include:
Building to your exact specifications
When you build your CLM tool in-house, you can make it to your exact specifications. When you purchase software from a vendor, you’re accountable for the features of capabilities that the vendor provides. Building in-house allows you to customize your tool to your team’s unique workflow, tech stack, and internal processes.
Having more control over fixes
Purchasing your CLM solution from a vendor means halting work progress when their servers experience downtimes or a bug in their product. While you can run into these issues while building in-house, you also have more visibility into the fixes your team deploys.
Cons of Building Your CLM
Some of the downsides to building your CLM in-house include the following:
Taking too much time to build
Building sophisticated software like CLM will take time to roadmap, build, QA, and upgrade. So, if your team has an immediate need for the software, building probably isn’t the best solution. While your engineers could likely ship the minimum viable product (MVP) quickly, it won’t have all the features you need out of the box, delaying legal’s ability to drive the business forward fast.
Needing a whole team to manage
Whereas buying software would allow you to lean on external support, building it in-house would require an entire team to manage the build, debugging, and feature upgrades. This will require extra employees and a dedicated team that many companies can’t swing in today’s market.
Pros of Buying CLM
Buying your CLM solution is the right solution for most teams. Below are some reasons you should consider buying over building.
More cost-effective
Unlike building a solution in-house, purchasing a CLM solution is better for teams that need to watch their spending. If you add all the costs of building the solution — including the required dedicated team to ensure the software continues running smoothly — you’ll realize you come out on top when purchasing from an accredited vendor.
Allowing experts to do their jobs
Third-party solutions often specialize in the tools they build. This means they understand the regulatory compliance needs within their industry and develop their tool to meet those specifications. Plus, since CLM is their focus area, they will likely have a more robust feature set than what your team can create in-house.
Cons of Buying CLM
The vendor doesn’t provide what you need
Buying CLM from just anybody will cause more problems than it solves. You must pay extra attention when evaluating vendors. Take your time to understand if they are a good fit and viable long-term partner and if the ROI checks out.
Takeaways
Ultimately, whether you build or buy depends on your business's needs to achieve its goals. See how LinkSquares can meet your business needs right out of the box. Request a demo today.
