I saw an interesting post recently about the benefits of enterprise solutions, but life with an 800-lb gorilla isn’t always what you think it will be.
While enterprise solutions often come with a myriad of features, modules, and customization options, managing this complexity can be challenging, demanding specialized skills and significant resources. This can be like Dante’s inferno, except instead of circles of hell, you have endless dropdown menus.
Implementing and maintaining enterprise solutions typically entail high upfront costs, licensing fees, and ongoing expenses for support, upgrades, and customization. But you can always get a second mortgage or donate a kidney (after all, you have two!)
Point solutions may have lower upfront costs compared to enterprise solutions and may offer subscription-based pricing models or pay-as-you-go options as well. This can make them more affordable for small to medium-sized businesses.
Customizing an enterprise solution can be tricky. Of course, you can always submit a request to your 800-lb gorilla and wait…Point solutions can often be up and running yesterday and with much less smoke and mirrors. While the 800-lb gorilla is very strong, point solutions are more like a cheetah.
Scalability is typically not an issue with the 800-lb gorilla, but unless you’re a goliath a point solution may let you start small and grow organically. Why plant a whole farm when all you need is a few tomatoes?
Perhaps its most important to remember, it’s far simpler to cozy up to an 800-lb gorilla than it is to evict one from your living room once he’s overstayed his welcome.