When facing the need for digitalization, you also face a very difficult choice. It is definitely one of the toughest questions in this industry, and worse, there is no single clear answer.
The key here is to identify the context of your specific company and, even more importantly, to have a vision for the future. Even when you are aware of the need for change, you still have to choose: maybe a dedicated system, or perhaps a box solution? And of course, there’s low-code/no-code, which allows you to build a system “from blocks”! How do you navigate all of this?
Let’s look at the options.
Option 1: Box Solutions
Box solutions are a kind of “market average”. Their main advantage is that they are cheaper than dedicated solutions.
The catch? They most likely do not address 100% of your company’s processes and needs. This means that (as we described in the previous stages of digitalization) the company must “bend” its processes to fit the capabilities offered “out of the box”. Based on our observations, this is a solution often chosen by medium-sized companies (a dozen or so people) that implement, for example, non-integrated CRM or DMS systems.
Option 2: Dedicated Solutions
This is custom-made software. Its primary and most important advantage is that it is precisely tailored to the company’s needs and processes. There is no need for compromises or “bending” the way you work to fit the system’s limitations.
The disadvantage, of course, is the higher initial cost. For this reason, dedicated solutions—which are fully integrated and offer a high level of automation—are typically chosen by large companies employing several dozen or more people.
Option 3: Low-code / No-code
There is also a third path, which tempts with the promise of a golden mean. Building a system “from blocks” (low-code) is enticing because it offers the rapid delivery of something that can be more customized than a typical box solution.
Unfortunately, you have to be careful here as well. The price you often have to pay for this flexibility is a licensing model billed “per user” (which can become expensive as you scale) and a strong dependency on one specific provider of that technology.
Bonus Dilemma: Cloud vs. On-Premise
As if that weren’t enough, you also have to host the chosen system somewhere. In the Cloud, or perhaps “at home” (On-Premise)?
On the surface, it seems that the Cloud has everything and is a very robust solution. However, you must remember that at a larger business scale, a cloud solution becomes very expensive. This choice is therefore not obvious either and requires calculation.
How to Classify This?
Although every company is different, a very rough classification can be assumed:
- Small company (up to a few people): Manual work, spreadsheets; a lack of automation prevails.
- Medium company (a dozen or so people): Box solutions (CRM, DMS, etc.); systems are often not integrated with each other or have minimal integration.
- Large company (several dozen or more people): Dedicated solutions, fully integrated with each other, a high level of automation.
So, where on this technological path is your company currently located?