Companies are ditching enterprise software for DIY AI tools

For companies like West Monroe, the math is compelling. The Chicago-based consultancy bypassed a $300,000 annual software bill by having employees build payroll and management insight tools using OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This trend extends to industry leaders: Spotify developed an internal HR bot to handle staff inquiries, while Twilio created Jarvis, an AI coach that reduced its sales-deal lifecycle by more than half. According to a recent McKinsey survey, roughly one-third of organizations have already opted out of purchasing software products, choosing instead to develop their own capabilities through AI.

However, the shift is not without significant peril. Enterprise vendors argue that their products are built on years of specialized data and compliance rigor that in-house solutions often lack. Workday CTO Gabe Monroy warned that a failure in a homemade tool—such as a data leak or a compliance error—is not a mere software glitch, but a potential regulatory liability. Despite these risks, the financial incentive remains a powerful driver for the DIY movement. Gray, a construction firm based in Kentucky, plans to save $1 million by building its own financial forecasting tool rather than renewing a costly vendor contract. While global IT spending is projected to reach $1.47 trillion this year, the rise of self-serve development suggests a permanent change in the power dynamic between software providers and their enterprise clients.