The suite is back. I have said and written
that a good number of times in the past few years.
And that is a good thing (that the suite is
back, not that I said it, of course), because one of the major challenges with
a best of breed approach is integration.
The suite is back, but it is in an
incarnation that vastly differs from what we knew about suites back in the
times before cloud computing and Salesforce brought back a supremacy of best of
breed over the suite.
Integrating different pieces of software from
different vendors into one coherent whole is easily accounting for one third to
one half of project budgets. And this part of the overall cost for implementing
new software is often plaid down by best of breed vendors.
Which is not a crime, especially if the
benefits of the best of breed software outweigh the cost of integration.
However.
Often it does not. And not openly
addressing cost of integration backfires.
Always.
Believe me. If you research my background
well enough you will find out why you should. Little hint: I am not only
writing about things.
Another strong argument in favor of the
suite is the platform war that is currently going on.
Why?
Simply, because a platform is not only a
technical platform.
It is more. A platform consists of mainly
four pieces:
·
a technical platform
·
the ability of turning data
into insight,
·
an ecosystem,
·
and productivity support.
And, very importantly, a necessary
capability that is provided by the technical platform is integration. Some
other aspects include the provision of unified user interface an open
enhancement model and solution management capabilities.
And it is here, where the suite in its new
incarnation has its real strengths. The suite, as it existed back in the early days
of this millennium, was built as a monolithic software stack. Just think of how
a CRM solution built by SAP, Oracle, or even Siebel looked like.
Again, this is not a bad thing but simply
how an integrated software suite looked like. A main reason for this was the
state of technology. And it had its advantages, too. Still, it caused overhead
that customers didn’t want to pay for and deployments were difficult at best
and took their sweet time. Hence, powered by a new delivery model, the rise of
best of breed offerings.
The new incarnation of a suite that we see
right now combines the best of the two worlds. It combines best of breed and
best of integration as it is based upon data and process integration via a
common platform rather than code integration. Via the ecosystem it is possible
for customers to get applications that support nearly all needs. The
enhancement capabilities can then be used to deliver highly specific solutions.
All big vendors have used their strength to
build and acquire an application suite that bases upon this platform thought:
Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, and SAP. Unsurprisingly, they are all claiming
customer experience reasons for doing so.
This rationale is right, because a customer
experience that bases on consistent engagements can only be delivered if all
systems operate on the same data. Silos make it virtually impossible to stay
consistent.
Consequently the Big Four are engaged in a
clash of Titans, which you can read about in a four piece series on this site (1,
2,
3,
4).
But the Big Four are not the only companies
that are engaged in a strategy of building a business software suite based upon
a single, consistent platform.
There is a small number of more SMB focused
vendors that follow the same philosophy. Some of them also have the potential
to disrupt the big ones on their turf by becoming good enough and offering
their services at a lower price point.
Sounds familiar? This is exactly the way
Salesforce started its foray into leading the CRM pack.
One of these vendors is Freshworks, a company that was
originally formed as Freshdesk. It has its origins in the customer service and ITSM
areas and has increased its portfolio
considerably, since. The rebranding to Freshworks was a natural consequence of
this scope enhancement. Freshworks has increased its functional footprint by a
combination of acquisitions and own development, very similar to the big
players. Similar to them the company now works on harmonizing their platform.
They are doing this by first focusing on a master customer record that can be
used across their products and solutions.
Another one is Zoho, which quietly evolved
into a company that offers a wide range of solutions. Zoho has recently made
some announcements that are pretty remarkable as they virtually mirror the
messaging of the Big Four. Zoho’s sequence of announcements of November 15,
2018 covers four areas:
·
Zia, the virtual digital
assistant
·
Process automation
·
Omni Channel
·
Unified analytics
All of these announcements revolve around
the topic of adding high value because of the underlying platform that provides
a consistent set of data.
In contrast to many other companies Zoho
did not rely on acquisitions so far but implemented the vast majority of the
code base itself. As a result they now probably have one of the most coherent
application platforms that are offered, especially when it comes to SMB
offerings.
Of course, neither of these companies is
offering the same breadth and width of functionality that the big ones are
offering, yet. The configuration and customizing abilities are limited.
However, if you as an SMB are looking into
fast implementations of functionality in specific areas that can integrate into
other enterprise software packages, it is worthwhile having a look at them. Make
sure that the existing functionality fits your needs and validate that their
roadmaps fit your anticipated desires – or can be made fit your needs.
There is always a tradeoff to be done.
Looking at Freshworks or Zoho might just be the right one.
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