Build vs. Buy: Navigating Software Strategy in Geoprofessional Practice

This webinar is part of the GBA Knowledge Sharing Webinar Series: free online learning opportunities for geoprofessionals that directly connect them with our industry partners who are creating impactful technology to elevate the industry.

Programming and software development have long played a role in geoprofessional practice, but the available options continue to expand. Today, firms can use everything from scripts and low-code platforms to APIs, custom applications, and AI-enabled “vibe coding.”

With more options comes an important strategic question: Should your organization build its own software tools or invest in commercial solutions?

Join GBA and Seequent on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time for a practical discussion of the benefits, trade-offs, and potential consequences of each approach.

Presenters Mark Skinner, CEng MICE, CITP MBCS, and Carl Grice will examine the technical and cultural factors that encourage firms to develop their own tools. They will also discuss the often-overlooked risks and costs associated with self-built software, including security, compliance, maintainability, access, transparency, quality assurance, privacy, and return on investment.

The session will conclude with a look at how connected, extensible commercial platforms can support innovation and competitive advantage without preventing organizations from developing workflows that meet their specific needs.

Attendees will:
• Explore the geoprofessional mindset and common development techniques that drive custom software creation.
• Better understand the benefits, costs, and trade-offs associated with in-house programming and software development.
• Learn how integrating and extending established software platforms can accelerate innovation and support competitive advantage.

Presenters
Mark Skinner, CEng MICE, CITP MBCS, leads the Seequent Product Management team responsible for its geotechnical information management software, including gINT, HoleBase, and OpenGround. Before moving into product management, he spent 15 years as a consulting geotechnical engineer in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer in the United Kingdom and a Chartered IT Professional with the British Computer Society.

Carl Grice is a Senior Director at Seequent and leads the software-development teams that build and maintain Seequent’s subsurface information management products, including gINT, HoleBase, OpenGround, MX Deposit, and Imago. He has more than 20 years of experience building and supporting software for the subsurface.

This webinar is free and open to GBA members and nonmembers. Attendees will earn 0.5 professional development hours.