If 'B' represents what you need in order to perform satisfactory test automation for your own particular context and 'A' is the set of tools that are available to you, then "Homebrew Test Automation" is what you may need to create on your own in order to bridge the gap between 'A' and 'B'.
"Homebrew Test Automation" may include adding extensions to or modifying existing tools. It may also include writing new tools and/or integrating exiting tools in novel ways.
Whether the tools are commercial or free should be irrelevant. What is relevant is how easily the tools lend themselves to the above activities, either through providing source code, a well thought out extensibility interface or some combination, and whether you can ultimately demonstrate a positive return on investment in time and materials.
--written by Mike Silverstein in Stickyminds Roundtables