Do organizations opt for best-in-breed or all-in-one?

19 August, 2022 / Alex Wilbrink

The advantages, disadvantages, and trade-offs of both approaches for manufacturing companies

The question of whether a business should opt for a best-of-breed or an all-in-one solution has been around for a long time. The approach you choose should function as an extension of the teams involved. The fact that this question is still relevant today has everything to do with it; there is no default answer, due to the diverse needs and work processes among companies. To give you an idea of ​​the considerations, we will discuss both approaches.

 

Best-of-breed software

What is Best-of-breed software?

If you choose the best-of-breed approach, you are assembling a collection of software yourself. You have complete freedom to choose software solutions that each excel in their own field. For example, companies opt for a CRM system from one supplier and an ERP or MES system from another. Because these software companies have their own focus, the features can often be streamlined with very specific work processes.

 

Cons

  • Efficiency: Not all systems that companies use are connected through integrations. Some human activities might be involved such as exporting and importing data and manually communicating that certain tasks have been completed. It depends on the selection of software that you use. Many cloud platforms have matured, which means that data exchange between separate cloud tools is often possible.
  • Getting used to interfaces: A team needs some time to get used to all new software. With a large selection of software, each with unique interfaces, this will take considerably longer.
  • Costs: With best-of-breed you quickly use multiple tools for various work processes, each of which charges license fees. Again, it depends on which software you choose, but usually, an organization spends more each month on best-of-breed than an all-in-one software solution.

 
All-in-one software

What is an all-in-one system?

With all-in-one (or integrated) software you perform various work processes within one application. For example, HR and Sales work in the same application, but each with their own place. One advantage that is mentioned often, is the central database, making it possible to easily exchange data between departments. What is entered in one place can be used in real-time by other departments.

Integrated systems such as Togetr is built using a Micro-services architecture, in which the software consists of various services that work together from one database. This way, anyone who is authorized can request information, and those involved are automatically informed about important changes. A consistent user interface with each service contributes to the user-friendliness; a team or department only needs to get to know one software.

 

Cons

  • All-in-One does not mean One-fits-all: A disadvantage of all-in-one solutions is that specific work processes might not be supported with every package. A best-of-breed focuses on specific problems and all-on-one software focuses on major overarching problems.

 

Conclusion

There is no default answer to the question "Best-of-breed or All-in-one?". The choice must fit the size of the organization and the corporate culture. Some teams work perfectly together in separate applications, while other teams can only work with one central database.

 

To find a good software partner, you are often better off with a company that is close to your industry. Large software companies offer general options, which means that they could fall short of specific work processes, such as in the manufacturing industry. Togetr offers a combination of an incremental system with industry-specific functionalities, which can also be acquired separately. One database operates as a solid foundationfor your work processes.