Strategy question

You are a platform PM for AWS. There is a new third party platform that is becoming really popular in integrating with existing cloud platforms to improve the load balancing of app traffic. What metrics and goals would you consider in the build/buy decision?

Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.

What this question tests

Whether the candidate can apply a structured build versus buy (or partner) framework using both financial and strategic considerations.

Clarify the decision criteria: cost of building in-house versus licensing or acquiring, time to market, and strategic control over a core infrastructure capability.
Assess strategic importance: load balancing is close to AWS's core competency, so building or acquiring likely protects long-term differentiation better than depending on a third party.
Evaluate the third-party platform's traction as a signal: rapid adoption suggests real unmet customer need, which is valuable data regardless of the build/buy decision.
Weigh options: acquire the platform for speed and to remove a competitive threat, partner for lower risk, or build in-house if the technology isn't highly differentiated.
Recommend based on a concrete metric threshold, for example if customer demand data shows adoption growing over 20 percent quarter over quarter, lean toward acquire or build fast; otherwise partner.

Treats load balancing as strategically core to AWS rather than a peripheral capability, changing the build/buy calculus.
Uses the third-party platform's adoption rate as real market signal informing urgency, not just a technical comparison.
Gives a clear, threshold-based recommendation rather than listing build/buy/partner pros and cons without a decision.

Treating this as a purely technical comparison without considering strategic importance to AWS's core business.
Failing to use the competitor's traction as a market signal for how urgently to act.

How would you decide between acquiring the company versus building a competing feature?
What would change your recommendation if the third party is privately held with no acquisition interest?