In today's fast-paced digital landscape, organisations face the challenging decision of selecting the right technology to drive their business forward. One major dilemma can be the decision to adopt for 'Best of Breed' or 'Best of Need'?
The market is hell-bent on pushing trends such as MACH, Headless and Composable as the right thing to do, but the real answer is "it depends". Let's address some key definitions relevant to this article.
Best of Breed refers to choosing the highest-performing, specialised solution for a particular function. These solutions are often top-rated in their category, boasting the latest features and innovations. This is the key architectural design pattern for a composable strategy and often means procuring many pieces of technology to address that many and emerging requirements of MarTech, Digital, Data & AI requirements.
Best of Need, on the other hand, focuses on selecting a technology (often a single "stack") that meets the essential (or at least a larger share) of requirements of the business. These solutions are often more cost-effective, easier to implement, and aligned with the strategic vision and operational needs of the organisation. This approach often compromises overall breadth of features for interoperability and commercial/contracting advantages.
However, the reality is this line is MASSIVELY blurred now in 2024, as once traditional stack vendors have now moved to a Composable approach, on at least a technical level anyway.
Let's talk about taking a Resilience-based Approach
Strategic Technology resilience is about ensuring your technology choices align with your long-term business strategy and operational needs. It involves a deep understanding of your organisation’s vision, goals, and the specific challenges you face.
Here are some tips for navigating this decision-making process:
If you would like access to our technology decision matrix worksheets, drop us a line.
Understand Your Strategic Vision
Before diving into technology choices, clearly understand your strategic vision. By this we mean the mission, vision, goals and values of your business. Are you completely clear on the short-term and long-term goals? Are the technology choices you are making reflected in these goals? Understanding your strategic direction helps prioritise technology investments based on what truly matters to your business. Put simply, if you do not have clarity here, then stop and focus on this immediately, if you don't, you are immediately introducing risk. We recommend systems such as EOS, SAFe, Pragmatic Marketing to name a new to assist with this process.
Assess Your Operational Needs
Conduct a thorough assessment of your operational requirements. Identify the core functions that need support, and the pain points that technology can address. This will help you understand whether you need a comprehensive solution or a more specialised tool.
Evaluate Integration and Scalability
Consider how the technology will integrate with your existing systems and its scalability to support future growth. Best of Breed solutions might offer superior functionality, but they can also pose integration challenges. Best of Need solutions, while potentially simpler, should still offer the flexibility to grow with your business.
Focus on Adoption and Relevance
While Best of Breed solutions often come with significant technological advances, it's crucial to consider your organisation’s ability to adopt these features. Ask yourself: Are these capabilities relevant to your business? Can you realistically adopt and utilise them within the next two to three years? Often, businesses purchase advanced solutions only to find that many features become shelfware—unused and forgotten.
Learn from Past Choices
Reflect on previous technology investments. Did choosing the best possible product lead to certain features becoming shelfware? Understanding these past decisions can help inform your current strategy, ensuring you focus on what you truly need rather than what seems impressive in a brochure, demo or POC.
Embrace the Evolution of Technology
Best of Breed has emerged from the shift away from monolithic software acquisitions to a multi-vendor approach. This method allows organisations to select the most suitable solutions for their needs. However, technology is constantly evolving. The decisions you make today might need revisiting in three to six years, as new advancements emerge. Staying adaptable and ready to update or adopt new tech stack is essential for long-term success.
Focus on ROI
Evaluate the return on investment for each option. Sometimes, the Best of Need solution can provide a higher ROI by meeting critical needs without overburdening your budget. It’s essential to balance performance with cost-effectiveness.
Conclusion
Choosing between Best of Breed and Best of Need is not about selecting the superior product but about making the right choice for your organisation. By aligning your technology decisions with your strategic vision and operational needs, you can build a resilient, adaptable, and future-proof business.
Remember, the goal is not to have the most advanced technology but to have the right technology that supports your journey toward success. Make informed decisions, stay focused on your strategic goals, and prioritize what truly matters for your business.
