About Dear Aimee: Dear Aimee is an advice series for the modern technical leader. Hosted by Aimee Cardwell (CIO & CISO in Residence at Transcend) and Cameron Ivey, each episode tackles the hardest questions at the intersection of infrastructure, security, and AI, with straight talk and actionable strategies.

In this episode of Dear Aimee, CIO & CISO in Residence Aimee Cardwell tackles a challenge facing technical leaders everywhere: the pressure to build everything in-house. Engineering teams are confident they can "just code" a governance layer. But as Aimee points out, building is only half the battle.

The real challenge? Maintaining that governance layer as laws and regulations evolve, demonstrating compliance to auditors, and keeping up with global privacy requirements. Most engineering teams don't have the expertise, or the bandwidth, to do this well. Aimee shares her framework for helping stakeholders understand the true cost of building vs. buying, and how to get Engineering, Security, and Legal aligned on the path forward.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• The hidden costs of building in-house: Why maintaining a governance layer as regulations change is often more expensive than licensing from vendors who do this as their main job.
• The "back of the envelope" calculation: How to show the true cost of building, testing, hosting, and maintaining a governance service, and compare it against SaaS alternatives.
• Getting stakeholder alignment: Aimee's approach to helping engineering understand complexity, security evaluate risk, and legal see the compliance picture clearly.
• What to look for in a solution: Key requirements for a governance platform, including keeping data on your premises to satisfy Security and Privacy teams.

Watch the full episode below to learn how to navigate the build vs. buy decision and get everyone aligned on AI governance.

Note: You can also watch this video directly on YouTube.

Submit your question

Have a tough question about infrastructure, security, or AI strategy?

Drop it in the comments on YouTube or LinkedIn, or reach out directly to Cameron or Aimee. Your question may be featured in a future episode of Dear Aimee.