Why buy beats build
Agent memory starts as a useful internal helper and becomes shared infrastructure: ingest, permissions, retrieval, deletion, lineage, and every client your team uses. The money argument is to buy the memory layer and spend team time on the agent product.
| Signal | Figure | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Internal build | $50-75K upfront | Designing ingest, retrieval, lineage, deletion paths, MCP surfaces, and admin controls before the first team rollout. |
| Ongoing maintenance | ~15%/quarter | Keeping source connectors, model behavior, indexes, permissions, and agent clients aligned after launch. |
| Team decision pattern | 65% buy not build | Shared memory is infrastructure. Most teams should reserve their engineering time for the agent product, not the memory substrate. |
Memory modes
The team page separates personal memory that exists today from org-shared memory that must wait for per-doc ACL. Roadmap controls stay labeled until they are actually available.
Personal memory
Each builder can install the MCP server, connect a personal library, and inspect what the agent recalled without waiting for a platform rollout.
- Personal MCP library
- Tenant-isolated sources
- Inspectable lineage and erasure controls
Org-shared memory
Roadmap only. Org-shared memory stays gated until per-doc ACL exists, because shared memory with coarse access controls is the wrong product shape.
- Shared team library after per-doc ACL
- SOC 2 evidence package on the roadmap
- SSO on the roadmap
Isolation and trust
Team memory is sensitive infrastructure. Keep the available controls explicit, route deeper review to security, and do not blur roadmap work into available-now claims.
Start with personal memory. Keep the shared path honest.
Give each builder an inspectable MCP memory layer today, then evaluate org-shared memory only when per-doc ACL is ready.