First trying ML in the cloud, many practitioners will start with fully managed ML platforms like Google Cloud's Vertex AI. Fully-managed platforms abstract out many complexities to simplify the end-to-end workflow. However, like with most decisions, there are tradeoffs. Organizations may choose to build their own custom, self-managed ML platform for various reasons such as control and flexibility. Building your own platform gives you more control over your resources. You can implement unique resource utilization constraints, access permissions, and infrastructure strategies that fit your organization's specific needs. You also get more flexibility over tools and frameworks. Since the system is completely open, you can integrate any ML tools that you already are using. And lastly, these benefits help avoid vendor lock-in because cloud-native platforms are by definition portable across cloud providers.