Vertical integration is presented as essential for developer tooling. The article argues that a tightly integrated stack—where tools work seamlessly together—can significantly enhance developer productivity. It describes various workflows that demonstrate the potential benefits of such integration, like instant access to build artifacts and automatic rollbacks when issues arise in production. These processes rely on cooperation between tools that typically operate in silos. The author points out that while integrated development environments (IDEs) facilitate some of these features, they often lack the broader integration needed across multiple projects and languages. The piece examines the reasons why vertical integration isn't standard in open source and industrial settings. For open source projects, the author notes that many are small and don't require complex workflows. There's also a culture of independence among tools, where developers prefer each tool to function in isolation, limiting potential integrations. On the industrial side, organizations prioritize cost-effectiveness. They often avoid investing in integrated systems due to high migration costs and the challenges of switching from established, bespoke solutions to new stacks. The author highlights that even when companies consider transitioning to tools like Bazel, they often encounter lengthy and costly migration efforts that discourage change. In conclusion, the piece suggests that building a commercially viable vertically-integrated development environment could be challenging. Many organizations would rather create their own systems rather than adopt a product, especially if it involves significant investment and time before seeing tangible benefits. The text emphasizes that for vertical integration to thrive, development environments must not only be capable but also fit within the existing workflows of companies, which often have their own established practices.