Building Or Buying: The Difference Between In-House, Outsourced, And White-Label Approaches

The programmatic advertising market is now more competitive and data-driven than ever. With global digital ad spending rising, with programmatic advertising expected to account for 90% of display ad spending by 2026, the real question isn't whether to invest — it's how. The proper infrastructure makes all the difference, and that starts with choosing the right development approach:

In-house development. Creating the platform from square one with your internal team.
Outsourcing. Hiring external specialists or a vendor to build the platform for you.
White-label solutions. Customising an existing platform developed by a custom AdTech company.

Each approach offers several assets and drawbacks, but the final choice still depends on your business needs and long-term goals. So, let's ditch all the guesswork, figure out the difference between the three, and make sure we stick to that landing.

In-house Development: Pros

In-house development means the in-house experts you hire to create the software platform entirely. These can be existing employees or new ones responsible for the platform's development, testing, and deployment.

Since the entire process is managed internally without relying on external vendors, in-house development offers the following advantages:

Full control

You'll have direct authority over every phase, from initial design and feature implementation to security protocols and future updates. That means you can set priorities, make real-time adjustments, and align the project timeline with your business goals without waiting on external vendors.

Ongoing support

If your platform demands round-the-clock reliability, an in-house team can resolve issues without relying on third-party response times. That translates to minimised downtime, fewer disruptions, and more seamless operations. This is especially critical in fintech, healthcare, or e-commerce, where system downtime could easily lead to significant losses.

In-house expertise

If your company already has a team of developers, testers, and other tech experts, leveraging their expertise may be more efficient. Additionally, an in-house team allows for continuous skill development, where your team keeps growing their skills, gaining more profound product knowledge, and becoming more efficient over time.

Long-term investment

Developing your platform in-house can prove a smart investment if you're willing to make a substantial upfront commitment. In addition to the financial and human resources necessary to sustain ongoing development, this approach offers greater control, customisation, and long-term scalability.

Downsides to Consider

Aside from multiple real pros, the in-house development approach certainly carries with it numerous trade-offs, including:

High costs

In-house development can be expensive, especially for SMBs with limited resources for a large-scale project. The companies will need to invest in hiring experts, buying development tools, and maintaining an infrastructure, which is a capital-intensive and likely risky decision.

Time-consuming

Building a platform from scratch isn't quick. Everything from planning, design, and development to testing, deployment, and ongoing optimisation takes time. Depending on how ambitious your project is, we're not talking months – we're talking well above a year.

Technical knowledge

When choosing in-house development, you will need to assemble a highly skilled team featuring:

Software developers
UI/UX designers
DevOps engineers
Cybersecurity experts
QA testers
Project managers and account managers

Sourcing, hiring, and onboarding these experts can take months, which may significantly extend your development cycle and postpone your platform's market entry.

Outsourcing: Advantages

In the case of outsourcing, the company offloads the platform development to an external contractor, reducing costs and speeding up the development process. Among other benefits are:

Accelerated development time

When you need to build and launch a platform quickly and don't have time to assemble a full in-house team, outsourcing may help. By leveraging pre-existing development teams, you can kickstart the project from the ground up and streamline the entire process.

Minimised initial expenses

While outsourcing is not the cheapest option, it is often more cost-effective than in-house development. This is mostly because you don't need to invest in hiring and maintaining a full-time in-house team.

Expertise on demand

Outsourcing gives you direct access to a team of seasoned AdTech and programmatic advertising experts. Their in-depth industry knowledge reduces development risks, accelerates deployment, and ensures your platform is built using best practices.

Focus on business operations

Outsourcing allows you to concentrate on marketing, business strategy, and other critical operations while the third-party vendor handles the technical side. You can also scale more efficiently by trusting your operational complexities to the provider.

Challenges to Consider

Besides all of the advantages listed above, the outsourcing approach also includes several challenges:

Limited control

When development is handled externally, you have limited oversight over the development process and team. Ensuring that the outsourcing team fully aligns with the project vision and business goals is crucial for maintaining consistency and meeting expectations.

Communication issues

Outsourcing can carry various language barriers and time difference issues, which can damper any collaborative efforts between you and your outsourced team. To prevent this, you should:

Establish clear communication protocols
Use collaboration channels like Slack, Trello, or Jira to track progress
Agree on working hours

Dependency on third-party vendors

By outsourcing, companies depend on an external party for updates, maintenance, and support. So, if your partner halts services, raises prices, or shifts focus, you could face sudden costs, disruptions, or the need to find a new solution.

Quality control

Ensuring that the outsourcing team meets your quality standards requires careful management. Without proper oversight and continuous testing, there is a risk of expectations failure.

White-label Solutions: Upsides

White-label solutions are pre-built, ready-to-use software platforms with all the functionalities for ad management, targeting, tracking, and optimisation. Already equipped with pre-configured settings for rapid deployment, these solutions can generally fit small and large businesses alike, offering the following benefits:

Cost-effectiveness

White-label platforms distribute costs across multiple users, typically operating on a subscription-based or pay-as-you-go model. This approach eliminates the need for significant initial expenses, making it a cost-efficient choice, especially if you have uncertain scaling needs.

Fast implementation

Since white-label solutions are pre-built, you can start implementing them almost immediately. This is perfect for companies that need to launch advertising campaigns quickly without wasting time and money building from scratch.

Ease of use

Most white-label platforms boast user-friendly interfaces, guided setup processes, and extensive documentation. They are usually easy to adopt, even for those without a technical background.

Ongoing support

White-label vendors constantly update their platforms to enhance performance, introduce new features, and secure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Customisation features

A custom AdTech company considers your business's unique needs, ensuring that every feature serves a strategic purpose and results in higher efficiency and better ROI.

Greater control and flexibility

With a white-label solution, you have complete control over your stack. This allows you to modify features, adjust algorithms, and optimise performance.

Improved data security and compliance

For industries with strict data regulations, white-label platforms offer greater control over data security and compliance with GDPR and CCPA.

A Few Nuances Worth Noting

Although the white-label platforms offer lots of advantages over the previous two options, this approach also implies:

Customisation restrictions

While you can brand the platform, deep customisation may be limited to predefined structures and functionalities. This means the underlying architecture and workflow may remain largely the same.

One technology for all

Since white-label platforms are built for multiple clients, your competitors can use the same underlying platform. This can make it harder to separate your product from the herd.

Vendor dependency

When turning to a white-label solution, you may still rely on an external vendor. This includes critical updates, security patches, and feature enhancements.

Final Thoughts

In short, if complete control and exclusive technology are your top priorities—building in-house is your best bet. On the other hand, if you're looking for a mix of control and cost efficiency, consider outsourcing as an alternative option. But, if you need a fast and cost-effective solution with minimal development costs, a custom AdTech company may be an excellent choice with rebranding and customisation opportunities.