Those who favor the all-in-one approach say it’s the only way for all the systems to “talk to each other.” Typically those who prefer a best-of-breed solution say piecing together a system can best meet a company’s needs without having to perform major modifications or paying for features they don’t need. Which approach do you think is the best for your company? Is there a way to have the best of both worlds?
Do you prefer all-in-one or best-of-breed cloud accounting solutions?
Answers
Matthew,
It depends on the company.
More complex companies tend toward best-of-breed, simply because making an all-in-one fit isn't feasible (thus the existence of Adaptive Planning, Xactly, etc).
Smaller concerns with fewer touch points fit well into the All-in-ones, but we have many of our clients on best-of-breed, because the old "web services" integrations are now much more standard so they act like integrated solutions (think Xero and the hundreds of "Add-Ins").
When I think all-in-one, I'm thinking
Quickbooks Online and Salesforce are pushing towards better all-in-one, or more accurately, closed-system approaches. They *can* fit, but it really depends on what the critical information is and whether the system provides it.
KP
I agree with Kieth on his statement "it depends on the company.". It also depends on your needs, your resources, your IT "Q", your short and mid-term plans, etc.
One answer doesn't fit all, just as all-in-one systems don't and neither do "best of breed".
I would do both a GAP Analysis and Needs Assessment to really determine your three lists (must have, would like to have, wish list) and see where you sit.
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