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A practical framework for deciding when to build infrastructure in-house versus buying SaaS solutions. Covers a true cost formula (initial build + ongoing maintenance at 20-40% of original team + opportunity cost), category-by-category verdicts for identity management, CI/CD, observability, secrets management, feature flags, load balancing, message queues, and internal developer platforms. Includes real-world cost comparisons across startup stages (15 to 500+ engineers), five common mistakes teams make, and a decision template. The core argument: 95% of engineering teams should buy rather than build, with exceptions only for infrastructure companies, massive scale (500+ engineers), or unique compliance requirements.