WEBINAR 2: Should You Build, Buy, or Wait?
1 hour to make smarter, strategic AI decisions and a window into the Executive Education course.
You’ve moved past the hype. You understand AI’s capabilities and limitations.
Now comes the next executive challenge: how should your organisation act?
Build in-house and control the IP... but at what cost?
Buy off-the-shelf solutions and accelerate deployment... but risk vendor lock-in?
Wait and observe... but risk falling behind competitors?
Each option comes with trade-offs in cost, time, capability, risk, and long-term flexibility. Many organisations make these decisions without a structured approach, leading to stalled initiatives, wasted budgets, or missed opportunities.
This one-hour webinar gives senior leaders the frameworks and practical insights to make these decisions with confidence. It also serves as a gateway to the Executive Education course, where participants go deeper, applying these frameworks hands-on to their own organisations.
Why Attend?
Executives are under pressure to “do something with AI,” yet few have clarity on:
What building in-house truly requires (talent, data, infrastructure, time, and cost)
When buying or partnering is the smarter route
How to evaluate AI vendors and avoid costly lock-in
When waiting is the optimal strategic move
This session gives you a structured approach to evaluating AI deployment options before committing resources.
What We’ll Cover
Our expert panel will address the questions executives are actually asking:
Build, buy, or wait, what makes sense when?
A decision framework you can apply immediately, based on capability, cost, risk, and strategic fit
What does building in-house really require?
Talent needs, data infrastructure, timelines, hidden costs, and technical debt most organizations underestimate
How do we buy smart and avoid vendor lock-in?
Evaluation criteria, contract terms to negotiate, technical assessment questions, and flexibility protection strategies
When should we actually wait instead of rushing in?
Identifying scenarios where patience delivers better outcomes than FOMO-driven decisions
What can we learn from those who've done this at scale?
Real implementation insights from global technology leaders managing AI strategy in data-intensive enterprises
What you will walk away with
1. Confidence to Make Defensible Decisions backed by a framework your board and stakeholders will understand
2. Realistic Build Assessment so you know upfront whether your organization can actually deliver, or if you're setting yourself up for failure
3. Smart Buying Criteria that help you evaluate vendors on capability and fit, not just features and pricing
4. Cost Transparency revealing what each option truly costs when you factor in talent, time, infrastructure, and opportunity cost
5. Strategic Patience Toolkit for when waiting is the right move, and how to communicate it effectively
6. Battle-Tested Lessons from technology leaders at JLL and Data Clan who've made these calls in complex, regulated environmentsYou will also see how these frameworks are applied in the Executive Education course, where they work hands-on with expert guidance to address real organisational challenges.
Who Should Attend
C-suite and senior executives
Board members and non-executive directors
Strategy, transformation, and innovation leaders
Anyone responsible for approving, funding, or overseeing AI initiatives
No coding required
Speakers
This session brings together leaders who have lived the build, buy, and partnership decisions in real organisations, alongside UCL CSRI academics researching AI deployment and governance.
Dr. Bola Abisogun OBE FRICS
Founder & CEO, AI‑QS
Bola is a Chartered Surveyor and leading voice in digital twins, built‑asset assurance and regulatory compliance. He is a Gemini Ambassador for the Centre for Digital Built Britain and co‑author of the Gemini Papers. With over £8bn in capital‑project delivery experience, he was awarded an OBE for services to diversity and young people in construction.
Dr. Carolyn Phelan
Associate Professor & Scientific Director, UCL CSRI
Carolyn began her career delivering international engineering projects in mobile telecoms before moving into mathematical finance, completing an MSc at King’s and a PhD at UCL. As Scientific Director at CSRI, she leads 30–40 industry collaborations each year through UCL’s IXN programme. Her work focuses on quantitative finance and machine learning to support data‑driven innovation in real estate.
Chris Lees
CEO, Data Clan
Chris is CEO of Data Clan and a recognised expert in real estate data strategy. He advises government on the Building Safety Act’s Golden Thread, chairs the RED Foundation Data Standards Steering Group, and teaches at OSCRE Academy. He has 30+ years delivering data‑enabled transformation across real estate and technology sectors.
Dewet Pretorius
Global Technology Delivery, JLL
Dewet is a technology transformation specialist with deep expertise across cloud infrastructure, AI/ML, enterprise architecture and software engineering. He has delivered major digital programmes for Fortune 100 clients and focuses on overcoming the execution challenges that impact large‑scale transformation. Dewet is also an Acuity Data mentor.
The Executive Education Course
This webinar is part of a broader collaboration with Acuity Data, designed to support leaders who want to move beyond experimentation and build credible, responsible AI strategies.
For those who want to go deeper, this session connects directly to our Executive Education course, where participants apply these frameworks hands-on to their own organisations with expert guidance.
The webinar gives you the foundations.
The course helps you implement them.
Check out the course HERE!