AltStack Team
Engineering & Research
Remote
Collective byline for research + engineering posts contributed by multiple senior engineers and analysts on the AltStack team.
About AltStack
The AltStack Team byline covers collaborative research pieces, technical deep-dives, and industry analyses produced by multiple members of our engineering and research staff.
Every team post is fact-checked by at least two senior engineers and reviewed for accuracy before publication. We cite primary sources (Vertice, Retool, Gartner, HHS) for every statistic.
Named authors lead individual posts — look for individual bylines on AI-development and build-vs-buy pieces. Team bylines indicate multi-author or research-heavy content.
Recent Articles by AltStack
9 articles published
Subscription Fatigue Is Real. AI Just Ended the SaaS Era.
Subscription fatigue isn't a vibe — it's a measurable shift in how companies buy software. We analyzed 340 procurement decisions in 2025 and found the "rent vs own" logic has inverted. Here's what changed and what it means for the next decade.
Who Owns Your Data? The SaaS Vendor Lock-In Problem Nobody Talks About
Every SaaS vendor promises "data portability." Most deliver a CSV dump missing 40% of your operational context. We audited the export formats of 15 popular tools — here's what you actually lose when you leave.
HIPAA-Compliant Custom Software: What Healthcare Practices Need to Know
Most healthcare practices assume HIPAA compliance requires buying certified SaaS. That's a myth. Custom software built correctly can be more compliant, more secure, and dramatically cheaper than your current EHR — if you know what to specify.
The $420K SaaS Tax: How One 50-Person Team Cut Software Spend by 73%
Meet Meridian Collective — a 50-person creative agency paying $420,000/year across 47 SaaS subscriptions. Here's exactly how they replaced 9 of those tools with custom software, cut spend by 73%, and stopped paying the SaaS tax forever.
The Complete Guide to Replacing SaaS Tools with Custom Software [2026]
The average company spends $8,400/employee/year on SaaS, and a third of that is waste. This complete guide walks you through the entire process of replacing SaaS tools with custom software: from audit to architecture to migration. Whether you're replacing one tool or rebuilding your entire stack, this is the playbook.
We Analyzed 25 Companies' SaaS Spend: Here's What We Found
We analyzed the SaaS spending of 25 companies across 8 industries. The findings were stark: the average company spends $8,400 per employee per year on SaaS, prices are rising 11.4% annually, and over a third of that spend is pure waste, unused licenses, duplicate tools, and forgotten subscriptions.
How to Replace Jira, Calendly, and Intercom with One Custom Platform
Your team juggles Jira for project management, Calendly for scheduling, and Intercom for support, three separate logins, three separate bills, and data scattered across three silos. Here's how to replace all three with one custom platform built in under two weeks.
Vibe Coding for Business: How Non-Technical Teams Ship Software in 2026
Vibe coding: the practice of describing what you want and letting AI generate the code, has exploded in 2026. But most coverage focuses on developers. Here's how non-technical business teams are using vibe coding to ship real software and replace expensive SaaS tools.
The Build vs. Buy Equation Has Flipped
For decades, "just buy SaaS" was the rational default. But AI-powered development has collapsed build costs by 70–80%, while SaaS prices climb 11.4% annually. The math has flipped, and the companies that realize it first will have a permanent cost advantage.
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