Best-of-Breed? Now More Than Ever!
Cloud ALM serves as a central hub for a Best-of-Breed IT strategy thanks to its provided APIs. Find out why.
Monolithic on-premise systems work well – as long as you stay within them. All functionalities are seamlessly integrated, objects reference each other, and the result is generally a well-maintained traceability. However, issues arise as soon as you step outside the monolith. The reasons for this can be insufficient functionalities or the unavoidable need to integrate additional systems. A classic example of such a monolithic system is the SAP Solution Manager. “The Solution Manager can do everything but nothing perfectly” – a common verdict that wasn’t entirely wrong.
With Solution Manager, you could manage processes, handle integrated document management, test management, incident management, and more. All these functionalities existed and served their purpose. However, for each of these areas, there was always a competitor offering a better solution. The real challenge was integrating these competitors and countless other systems. Countless interfaces and custom developments not only caused significant costs during implementation but also introduced risks and expenses in ongoing operations. A Best-of-Breed strategy was simply too complex and expensive with Solution Manager, which is why very few companies pursued it.
What Are the Advantages of a Best-of-Breed Approach?
The advantages are clear. The best tool is chosen for each functional area based on suitability and available features. As a result, each business area benefits from the optimal tool for its user group, leading to higher acceptance and satisfaction. Unless required by process dependencies, seamless interaction between different tools becomes secondary.
