Build vs Buy: Enterprise Identity Management for SaaS Companies
Security Boulevard, Monday, June 1st, 2026
For most SaaS companies, buying managed enterprise identity beats building it, since identity gates enterprise revenue and in-house SSO/SCIM is.
This SSOJet article frames enterprise identity as a cost center that gates enterprise revenue rather than a feature worth building, concluding that buying wins in most cases. It cites WorkOS's estimate of a roughly $2.98 million three-year cost gap between building SSO and SCIM in-house versus using a managed platform for a growth-stage B2B SaaS.
Buying makes sense once a company expects more than about five enterprise customers a year or has any roadmap feature more valuable than SSO, especially since around 72% of mid-market companies mandate SSO in procurement, meaning hand-rolling SAML blocks deals.
The decision framework: buy if identity is not your differentiator and enterprise demand is within a year; self-host if you need maximum control and platform depth; and build only if identity is your product or you face air-gap or data-residency constraints.