Why off-the-shelf solutions are falling short
‘Build or buy?’ is often the wrong question. Some capabilities will be bought. Others will be built. What matters is how they come together to produce an outcome that’s unique to your business.
What senior leaders whose organization is investing in AI are saying
Senior leaders are allocating more money toward off-the-shelf software solutions even as they say these solutions increasingly don’t meet their needs. But why? When facing the mandate to find cost savings quickly to finance other AI investments, leaders may explore these solutions that slot neatly into their product stacks, hoping to drive swift back-office improvements, for example. Everyone can access the same tools, but competitive advantage comes from what you build with them around your own data, processes and customers. Not everyone should build everything from scratch; the opportunity lies in combining purchased technologies, internally developed capabilities and AI-enabled workflows to solve problems specific to the organization.
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Explore the data, insights, and executive perspectives shaping the future of enterprise AI adoption.
Colm Sparks-Austin
EY Americas Technology Consulting Leader
their relationship with traditional enterprise software vendors will change in the next five years.
saying they are investing in off-the-shelf software, which has risen from 56% in 2025.
off-the-shelf software no longer meets their specific needs.
of senior leaders overall say...
95%
of those leaders are...
66%
of senior leaders say...
76%
