Enterprise software costs are rising while vendor performance often isn't, and AI has fundamentally changed what enterprises can credibly threaten to build in-house. In this episode, David Cost, Chief Digital Officer at Rainbow Apparel, explores how enterprise leaders can restructure vendor contracts to maintain exit leverage, eliminate auto-renewal traps, and use AI-enabled build alternatives as a legitimate negotiating tool. The conversation examines the cost-benefit calculus of build versus buy in the AI era, red flags in service-level agreements, and how to negotiate exits from underperforming contracts.
