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Every category is placed on two axes, then scored on five dimensions.
BUILD — your competitive edge · high differentiation + high AI feasibility
Specific to how you operate, AI can help you build it, and it costs a fraction of a one-size-fits-all vendor. Your processes become your software.
"You pay for 100 features and use 3. This workflow is unique to us. AI could scaffold it in a week."
BUY — let someone else own this · low differentiation + low AI feasibility
The vendor does it better than you ever would — regulation, network effects, or deep infrastructure make building impractical. Buy the best value and move on.
"This is table stakes. Their R&D dwarfs yours. Compliance makes DIY a non-starter."
BRIDGE — buy the platform, build the edge · high differentiation + low AI feasibility
Buy the core, then make it yours. Start from a solid platform and customize the parts unique to how you operate, extending with your own modules as AI catches up.
"The platform is solid but the workflow is ours. We need 80% of what they offer plus 20% that's unique."
BEWARE — the ground is shifting · low differentiation + high AI feasibility
Changing fast, with AI consuming or reshaping how the category works and vendor pricing shifting under captive customers. Treat as moving targets: avoid long contracts and deep integrations.
"Your vendor keeps raising prices. AI now handles a lot of this natively. The category is changing under you."
Where a category lands comes from two axes, each on a 1–5 scale (the 3.5 line splits the quadrants):
BUILD = X≥3.5 & Y≥3.5 · BRIDGE = X≥3.5 & Y<3.5 · BEWARE = X<3.5 & Y≥3.5 · BUY = X<3.5 & Y<3.5.
Urgency = average of Vendor Value and Cost Trajectory (High ≥3.5, Medium 2.5–3.4, Low <2.5).