Best in Class vs All in One - How should a hospitality brand decide on their tech stack?

Written By Jack Milward

It’s no doubt that technology within hospitality is becoming more prevalent. 

If you’re a hospitality brands searching ‘EPOS’ into Google you could be scrolling up to page three before seeing the solution you use - this makes choosing new tech either a complete minefield or very time consuming without the right advice and begs the question, where do I start?

Undertaking a tech audit is usually the best place. It’s here you decide on which pain points you need to resolve and prioritise must have features. Then onto market research…

At this stage you’ll head onto a search engine, your favoured AI tool, or better, ask for a recommendation. 

Results will vary and you’ll find that some providers can manage multiple elements of a hospitality tech stack, for example: EPOS, Payments, Inventory, Loyalty, Employee Management etc - the list goes on. This is known as know as an ‘All in One’ provider. 

On the flip side of this, you will find ‘Best in Class’ providers, who will specialise in one element of the tech stack, designed to perform each task to perfection.

Let’s dig into pros and cons of each!

Best in Class:

aka Best In Breed 

Pros

Specialisation - By selecting a solution designed specifically for a task, the idea is that this element should excel in its required feature set. In other words, the best tool for the job. 

For a Payments provider for instance, this would be a seamless integration into to the ePOS, fast payouts, zero outages, low rates and aesthetically appealing hardware. 

Flexibility - Arguably as important as above. Change comes fast in hospitality, so amending tools with agility can provide help to drive efficiencies without a short term impact.  

Scalability - Utilising new tools can help you scale without uprooting your whole tech stack. A nice example here is adding a stock management tool at 3+ locations as physically managing stock may become impossible.  

Cons:

Cost - Specialists providers are as described, specialists. Utilising specialists generally means paying a premium so expect much pricier tech stack when solely opting for 

A fractured tech stack - By utilising multiple providers, there can be a risk that not all integrations are built as sold meaning that the tools you have purchased may not speak to each other in the way you imagined, leading to operational inefficiencies and missing data. It’s imperative to ask questions around the depth of integrations between your systems if choosing this approach! 

Feature overkill - Often specialist tools can be daunting, overpowering and often just complete overkill. Ensure to select a solution based on the value it can bring to your business, not because it’s a shiny new toy. 

All in one:

Pros 

One source of truth - All in one solutions are owned by one provider, so there is no need to jump around multiple systems to find the information, or the support that you need quickly.

Cost effectiveness - By using one provider you are only paying one subscription cost (+ payments fees if not bundled in).

Ease of use - Generally, all in one systems are designed for ease of use and simplicity. All features and integrations are built in house so navigating around the system should be easier. 

Cons

Lack of features -  Providers that opt for this approach are looking to solve challenges in hospitality tech more holistically, not focusing on a specific pain point but offering a more ‘out the box’ solution. A suite of solutions from same provider usually means that they are a jack of all, master of none. 

Most all in one providers are born specialists who have added features inmove upstream with the demands of their customers growth. 

Take Square, who are now deemed an all in one solution, started out as a payments provider for nano merchants who wanted to take payments using a mobile phone.  Over time, they have flourished into a market leading SMB solution in quick service hospitality bolting adding features like POS, Kitchen Display Screens, eCommerce, Loyalty etc to accommodate the needs of their growing customer base. 

Integration capability - All in one providers often lack integrations dues to their desire to keep everything in house.

How Do I I Make The Right Choice?

Consider the following checklist to help you decide on which route to go down:

  • Identify pain points and goals or speak to us about a Tech Audit 

  • Prioritize must-have features 

  • Market research + vendor analysis - Top Tip: speak to as many as you can. 

  • Evaluate integration and scalability

  • Assess support and training from the suppliers.

  • Consider CAPEX budget and monthly software and payments charges.

  • Plan for future needs, not just todays problems.

Ultimately, you can never go far wrong looking towards an industry peer or competitor with a similar offering to you and simply asking for advice on where to turn. Utilise resources such as Trustpilot & G2 for honest evaluations too.

We are here to help too, and have been helping brands purchase solutions for many years across hundreds of partners. We would love to speak with you.

Jack Milward