• by Ray Schultz , October 1, 2019

Brands are increasingly building DIY technology to drive their marketing efforts. But they are losing a third of the work week to coping with it, according to a study released on Tuesday by Mailjet.

Mailjet surveyed 600 decision makers in the UK, the U.S. and France.

The company found that 77% in the UK alone are developing homemade technology, despite concerns over cost and time spent. They are building tools for advertising (77%), project management (76% and email marketing (73%).

The main factors driving them to this approach are concerns about cost (27%), data security (21%) and reliability (10%). The data security security is especially potent given GDPR, and 51% see it as a barrier to using third-party solutions, the study says.

Of those polled, however, 52% say homemade marketing tools are more time-consuming than third-party technology they have used. In addition, 38% are still trying to build the right skills within their teams.

Mailjet, of course, is a third-party service provider and clearly comes down on the side of outsourcing.

Judy Boniface-Chang, CMO, Mailjet, argues that “maintaining an infrastructure that protects businesses’ data properly can be a full time job. Not to mention keeping up with the ever evolving laws and practices that have to be monitored and followed diligently.”