**The Rise of DIY Software: How Generative AI Is Reshaping Enterprise Technology and Challenging Traditional Vendors**
Companies of all sizes are increasingly turning to a do-it-yourself approach to software development, leveraging generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Codex to build internal applications that would previously have been purchased from major enterprise software vendors such as Workday, SAP, and Salesforce. West Monroe, a Chicago-based consultancy, exemplifies this shift: rather than paying an estimated $300,000 annually for vendor-provided payroll error-checking and manager insight tools, its employees built comparable software in-house earlier this year. This emerging trend represents a third option for employers who previously faced a binary choice between buying from a vendor or continuing manual workflows. According to a recent McKinsey survey of 1,719 executives and managers, roughly one-third of organizations decided against purchasing at least one software product or feature because they could build it themselves using AI tools. While most companies are not abandoning entire enterprise platforms, this strategy could erode the incremental revenue that vendors earn from add-on features.
The applications of this DIY approach span multiple business functions, from HR and sales to finance. Spotify, with approximately 7,000 employees, built an internal „HR Bot” that serves as a personalized help desk, drawing from the company’s regularly updated employee handbook to answer questions about vacation days, parental leave policies, and other routine workplace matters. Similarly, Twilio created an AI-powered sales coaching tool called Jarvis that analyzes sales calls and has achieved about 80% adoption across its sales teams, reducing the sales-deal lifecycle by 54% for users. Twilio CEO Khozema Shipchandler indicated that if a tool like Jarvis already exists on the market, the company „probably won’t use it, because we’ve already built our own.” These examples illustrate how businesses are realizing significant efficiency gains and cost savings while retaining greater control over their internal tools.
Despite the momentum, the DIY software movement carries notable risks and challenges. Maintaining even small homemade features over time requires ongoing investment in bug fixes, updates, and feature requests, and AI-powered tools can make costly mistakes such as leaking private employee information. Workday’s chief technology officer, Gabe Monroy, warned that an AI agent skipping a compliance step or approving pay outside established grids could result in audits, regulatory scrutiny, or lawsuits. Enterprise vendors also bring decades of experience building HR software and vast datasets that large language models alone cannot replicate, as SAP CEO Christian Klein recently argued. Nevertheless, the potential savings are compelling for some organizations: Gray, a Lexington, Kentucky-based design and construction firm with about 2,300 employees, expects to avoid $1 million in vendor and consulting fees by building a financial forecasting tool in-house using Microsoft Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude.
The broader implications for the software industry remain complex. While fears of a „SaaSpocalypse” drove investors to erase hundreds of billions of dollars from software company market values earlier this year, the sector is still projected to grow significantly—Gartner forecasts worldwide IT spending on software to increase nearly 16% this year, reaching $1.47 trillion. As Omega Venture Partners noted in an August report, „The vendor’s most dangerous competitor may now be the customer.” However, many companies may lack the expertise or appetite for the rigorous testing and ongoing maintenance that DIY software demands. West Monroe’s Tanya Moore acknowledged that each of the firm’s eight internally built tools underwent months of testing and regular reviews, emphasizing that „there’s a lot riding on that accuracy.” For now, the DIY trend represents not a wholesale replacement of enterprise software but a meaningful erosion of the walled garden—empowering HR teams and other departments to self-serve more of their technology needs while vendors adapt to a shifting competitive landscape.
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Forrás: https://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-twilio-using-ai-build-software-saaspocalypse-2026-9#article.