The TCC Framework
Total Cost of Capability — what it actually costs to HAVE a capability over three years, whichever way you get it.
Most build-vs-buy content compares an app's sticker price to a developer day-rate and stops. That's wrong in both directions—it hides the app path's real costs (usage-tier creep, stacking, the speed tax, lock-in, vendor risk) and the build path's real costs (maintenance, platform churn, opportunity cost). TCC counts both sides, honestly.
The 12 Dimensions
Cost
Acquisition & implementation · Recurring fees · Maintenance & upgrades · Switching & exit
Risk
Vendor risk · Security & compliance surface · Platform-deprecation exposure
Value
Fit to requirement · Time to market · Performance & scale · Data ownership & AI-readiness · Focus & opportunity cost
How Scoring Works
Each dimension is scored 0–5 for each path against a stated reference scenario, weighted (Cost 40% · Risk 25% · Value 35% by default), and rolled up into a Buy Score and a Build Score out of 10. A gap of 1.5+ makes a clean verdict; anything closer earns a CUSTOMIZE evaluation or a scenario-band split—the honest "it depends," structured. A dated native-roadmap event inside two quarters overrides any score with WAIT.
Every build figure is a labeled Deploi estimate with stated assumptions. Every app price carries an as-of date and gets re-verified quarterly. When a verdict flips, we log the change with its date and reason—never a silent rewrite.
How We Make Money (and How We Don't)
We make money building and integrating solutions—not on referral fees. No app vendor pays to appear here, no ranking is for sale, and no link on this hub is an affiliate link. That's why our BUY verdicts are loud when buying wins: they're what make our BUILD verdicts worth trusting.