Across the publishing industry, there’s a growing trend: companies are taking a hard look at their tech stacks. Rising costs, audience expectations, and the push for efficiency are forcing publishers to ask tough questions about the tools they use every day.
But evaluating your tech stack isn’t just about swapping out software. It’s about making sure every piece of technology works hard to support your growth and isn’t a distraction from your mission.
In this blog, we examine the key questions publishers should consider when evaluating whether a piece of software is a good fit for their organisation, including the crucial decision of whether to build or buy.
If the technology sits at the heart of your business logic, you probably want to keep it in-house. But if it doesn’t directly define your brand or product, investing months of development time may only pull you away from what you do best: creating and distributing content.
Look ahead, not just to launch, but to long-term support. Building tech isn’t just about writing the first line of code. It’s about maintaining, updating, and scaling it. If your team doesn’t have the expertise (or the capacity) to manage it long term, the cost of building can quickly outweigh the benefits.
With SaaS budgets shrinking, every license and team hour counts. On paper, building might seem cheaper. However, when considering salaries, infrastructure, maintenance, and opportunity costs, buying can often be the smarter financial decision. A lean, specialised solution might be more resource-efficient.
A lean in-house team may get something functional live, but will it reach the level of polish and performance that your audience demands? External partners who specialise in specific solutions often deliver higher-quality tools - and faster.
Tech that's easy to integrate and easy to swap out reduces your risk. Ask:
Publisher should look for solutions that are plug-and-play, low-friction, and don't lock them into costly contracts.
It's also important to think about technical debt. Too many tools can drag down page performance and fragment analytics, impacting reader engagement and editorial velocity.
At Tickaroo, we've designed our live blogging solution with exactly these concerns in mind. Here's why we're worth your consideration:
With Tickaroo Live Blog, you're not just adding another tool to your stack; you're adding a growth engine.
When evaluating your tech stack, the smartest move isn't always building from scratch. The right partner can save you money, free your team to focus on content, and directly boost revenue. Tickaroo Live Blog was build with publisher in mind, so you can keep your focus where it belongs: creating stories that matter.