The build-versus-buy question sits at the center of nearly every growing company's technology strategy conversation, and it rarely has a clean answer. Both custom software and SaaS have real advantages. Both have real limitations. And the right choice depends heavily on where you are in your growth curve, what your software needs to do, and how central software is to your competitive position. What makes this decision harder than it looks is that the costs and benefits are asymmetric over time. SaaS looks cheaper early and gets more expensive as you grow. Custom software looks expensive early and gets cheaper (in relative terms) over time. The decision you make at year one has compounding consequences that you'll feel at year four. Here's an honest examination of both paths, and a practical framework for deciding which one makes sense for your business. The SaaS Case: Speed, Simplicity, and Lower Upfront Cost SaaS has genuinely won the software delivery debate for commodity business functions.…