A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization in relation to its products or services. It can be used for both short-term and long-term decision making purposes, including when deciding whether to buy versus build a particular system. When considering buy versus build options, it is important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option before making a final decision. This SWOT analysis will look at the pros and cons of both buying an existing system as well as building one from scratch in order to help make a more informed decision.

Strengths:
The primary strength of buying an existing system is the cost savings associated with it. Since it has already been designed, developed and tested by someone else, there would be no need for additional research development costs or time spent on design or testing that would come with building from scratch (Huang et al., 2019). Additionally, most pre-existing systems are supported by technical teams who can provide support/maintenance if needed which could reduce customer service costs (Chattopadhyay & Patra 2020). Finally, since these systems are already established they’re likely more secure due to their past security testing (Hammouda & Akelaitis 2020).