Off-the-shelf system
Off-the-shelf ERP or CRM
A finished product, deployed quickly and cheaply. But you bend your processes to how the system's author designed them — what the supplier didn't plan for, you don't get.
Resources — System Comparison
Four paths. One will fit you.
An off-the-shelf system, a set of tools glued together by integrations, development from scratch, or an AI operating system. Each path has its place — this is a comparison without marketing, including when it makes no sense to call us.
WHAT YOU'RE CHOOSING BETWEEN
The decision isn't between products. It's between approaches.
Specific names change every year, but these four paths don't. Before you start comparing features, clarify which one you actually want.
Set of tools
SaaS applications glued together by integrations
Each tool is best-in-class. But the data lives in five accounts, integrations are held together with glue, and something breaks with every pricing or API change.
Development from scratch
A bespoke system on a green field
It fits your processes perfectly. But you also pay for everything that's the same in every system — logins, permissions, invoicing — and maintenance is left to you.
Pixelbrain
AI operating system
Ready-made modules as a foundation, custom modifications where you differ. We operate and develop it, you get a system that matches how your company really runs.
COMPARISON
Eight questions that will decide for you.
Not a list of features — things you only discover after deployment, when changing your decision becomes expensive.
| Criterion | Off-the-shelf system | Set of tools | Development from scratch | Pixelbrain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to go-live | Weeks | Days per tool, months to connect | Months to years | First process within 4 weeks |
| How it fits your processes | You adapt to the system | Each tool its own way | Exactly bespoke | Ready foundation, customisation where you differ |
| Who maintains integrations | The supplier, within their catalogue | You or an external consultant | Your developer | Us — including fixes when a third-party API changes |
| Data in one place | Yes, within the system | No — split between accounts | Yes, if designed that way | Yes, across modules |
| Automation and AI | Whatever the supplier currently offers | Separately in each tool | You build it yourself | Part of the system, over your data |
| Cost of change after deployment | You often can't get the change | Low for the tool, high for the connection | A development project every time | A normal part of development |
| Who operates the system | Vendor | Five separate suppliers | Your IT | Us, with an agreed response time |
| If we part ways | Export to the extent the system allows | Data remains in the individual tools | The code is yours | You get your data in a readable format |
The timelines are based on our deployments and what clients were running before. It will be different for you depending on how many systems are connected and how well the process is described — that's why we start with mapping, not a quote.
WHEN NOT TO CALL US
Three cases where we're the wrong choice.
We want an unprofitable deployment no more than you do. Here are situations where we'd advise something else.
You need to connect two tools
If you're just missing a bridge between two applications, don't buy a system. Build a scenario in an integration tool — it will be cheaper and faster.
You have your own development team
When you have people who can maintain and develop the system, custom development makes sense. We make sense where this team doesn't exist and isn't planned.
You're looking for the lowest price for licences
We can't beat the price of an off-the-shelf system for a few dollars per user, and we won't try. Our price makes sense when manual work is costing you time, not licences.
When we make sense
When the company runs on work that no one should be doing.
Copying data between systems, keeping track of deadlines in your head, manually assembling reports at the end of the month. Pick one such process — we'll map it, fix what's not working, and launch a better version.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What you you ask most often.
Why don't you compare specific products?
Because it would mean making claims about third-party software that changes with every release cycle — and half of such comparisons on websites are outdated. The categories change slowly, and the decision you're facing is at this level anyway. We'll be happy to go over the specific system you're considering on a call.
Will Pixelbrain replace our current system?
Not necessarily. Most deployments start by connecting to what you already have — accounting, e-shop, warehouse — and replacing only the part that isn't working. A complete replacement only makes sense when the existing system is itself the source of problems.
What if our processes differ from your modules?
We expect that. The modules are a foundation, not a box — we make custom modifications exactly where you differ. That's why we start by mapping one process, not with a feature demo.
How will we know it's worth it for us?
Take one process and calculate how many hours per month people spend on it. If it's single-digit hours, wait. If it's in the tens and the resulting errors cost money, it will pay for itself quickly — and that's exactly what we'll calculate together at the beginning.
We're a small company. Isn't this too big for us?
We deploy one process at a time, not the whole system at once. If the first one doesn't pay off, we don't do a second one — and you haven't paid for a year-long project to find that out.
WHAT'S NEXT