In this article, we examine the differences between the adapt and adopt approaches, and which could be best for your business.
With customer behavior changing, the rise of digital transformation, and advances in technology, it’s more important than ever for companies to keep pace. That means maintaining a watchful eye on the market and deciding whether to customize existing software or try something entirely new. With so many aspects of a business reliant on technology, decision-makers must choose a path that allows them to stay on top of the latest innovations and remain competitive, without maxing out their budgets.
The traditional response to this conundrum is the “adapt” model, where firms modify a system or technology to fit their requirements, needs, or processes. For example, in the world of finance, it may involve adjusting a core banking system.
At SBS, we believe this is no longer fit for purpose. Instead, a fresh approach is required: “adopt” – introducing a new, best practice technology, system, or approach. In terms of core banking, it means replacing the old system and implementing new processes and workflows accordingly.
In some cases, adopt involves modifying processes and workflows rather than introducing entirely new ones – here, adoption leads to adaptation. In other examples, adaptation can drive adoption – Covid led to a rise in remote working, meaning greater use of video conferencing tools.
What’s the issue with adapting?
So, what exactly is wrong with the adapt approach, and why do some organizations still use it ?
Historically, adapting made sense from a business perspective. It was easier to modify existing software through hard-coded edits than internal processes.
But times have changed.
The global pandemic accelerated digital transformation. For banks, that meant taking a mobile-first view, focusing more on the customer experience, and harnessing the power of technology, data, and analytics. Fast-forward to 2024, and worldwide spending on digital transformation is expected to hit $2.49 trillion – $3.9 trillion by 2027.
Furthermore, with fintechs, neobanks, and challengers disrupting the sector, creating new and innovative products and services that offer frictionless and hyper-personalized user journeys is now a question of survival. Alongside that, time-to-market and a fail-fast approach have become key priorities – not just for banks, but across the board.
As such, businesses rely on technology and software for almost every facet of their operations. But keeping up with the competition and changing customer demands requires regular updates to suit internal processes, making adapting an inefficient and expensive approach. On top of that, modified software and systems are often harder to maintain, scale, and customize further, because they have code specific to a particular project, complicating the overall codebase.
Businesses that maintain faith in the adapt-as-you-go approach claim it offers flexible solutions to novel problems through hard-coded modifications and localization. For example, financial institutions can fine-tune systems and software to address needs and match processes without being limited by predefined features. However, this doesn’t take into account the long-term risks mentioned above.
Moreover, adapting discourages decision-makers from leveraging new, more cutting-edge software better suited to ever-evolving market needs. Simply put, it’s a short-term solution that freezes innovation while increasing costs and reducing efficiency.

Adapting software through hard-coded edits once made sense, but today it hinders innovation, increases costs, and slows down efficiency in a fast-evolving digital landscape. © Getty Image
Adopting: The way forward
At SBS, we believe adopting – changing processes to suit forward-thinking technology and software while saving time and money – is a meaningful alternative to adapting. It may sound counterintuitive, but modifying procedures rather than software is a more efficient and sustainable methodology in the digital era.
With the adopt approach, businesses choose tried-and-tested, best-practice software, implemented and maintained by specialized experts. By going down that route, firms are confident they’re in safe hands, and they save precious resources that can be reallocated to other areas. Ultimately, it keeps long-term infrastructure costs under control and puts innovation in the hands of trusted partners like SBS.
Adopt in action
Let’s look at an example of adopt, and why – when done well – it’s favored by the market.
Adoption of real-time communications tool Slack has skyrocketed. In 2024, there will be an estimated 38.8 million daily active users and 65 million monthly active users, per Statista (a jump from 8.7 and 14.6 million respectively in 2019).
Even large organizations like incumbents with legacy tools have transitioned to Slack, because it’s user-friendly, scalable, integrates well with software like customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and updating to the latest version is easy (or automatic, if the browser version is used). For instance, almost 80% of Fortune 100 companies rely on Slack Connect.
For workplaces using Slack, internal communications have changed dramatically, with team members shifting from email to direct messages and departmental group chats. For example, Revolut uses Slack to “onboard new teammates efficiently and cultivate a vibrant company culture”. They also leverage the custom workflow feature and integrate with Salesforce. Meanwhile, Slack “transformed how IBM does business”.
These organizations didn’t reject Slack because it didn’t fit into their existing internal processes. Rather, they chose to change them and incorporate a best practice software that improves day-to-day operations. Emailing is by no means a thing of the past, but needs and requirements are evolving.
Adoption goes way beyond internal communications tools: It can be applied to any technology or function within a business, at any scale. For instance, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has an “adopt not adapt” mindset via a cloud-first approach.
Charlie Stewart, Corporate Director of Resources at Harrow Council says: “PwC showed us it was time to adopt not adapt, and that really informed the whole project. If you customize a system rather than adopting the standard version, you’ve increased the complexity of the implementation, complicated support, and cut yourself off from all the updates, innovation, and benefits that come from using software-as-a-service (SaaS).”
By adopting, businesses “standardize their ways of working while gaining maximum security, efficiency, and stability in their digital transformation in a cloud-first landscape”.
SBS and the adopt solution
We feel passionately about the adopt approach. As such, we’ve worked with thousands of global banks and financial institutions, helping them take advantage of technological innovations to create efficient, competitive, and agile organizations.
The most successful implementations are when our clients resist hard coding changes into the core of our software. Instead, they transform their internal processes, unlocking the true power of technology.
Indeed, digital transformation isn’t really about updating a technology stack – rather, leveraging new possibilities to completely rethink an organization, its design, and business model.
With the adopt methodology, firms streamline implementation, quickly improve efficiency, and leverage a system that’s stable, upgradable, and maintainable. That being said, it requires openness to organizational change, instead of going down the old-school route of customizing existing solutions.
But once the C-suite and employees are on board, the adopt approach often gives our clients the “first-mover advantage” and equips them with a long-term solution, meaning they can concentrate investment on areas like enhancing the customer experience.

The adopt approach empowers banks to transform processes, unlocking innovation and efficiency, while providing a stable, upgradable solution that fosters long-term growth © Getty Image
Adopt: methodology for a new age of business
Nowadays, the focus of business has changed, with digital transformation, time-to-market, and technology advancements like generative AI presenting key opportunities. Amid this, firms need to concentrate on innovating their products and services, if they’re to compete successfully.
With that in mind, organizations need to simplify their processes, enabling them to focus on protecting against current and future disruptions, while striving to be innovators. That requires expert help.
Businesses wanting to profit from the digital age rather than struggle in it should rely on tried-and-tested solutions rather than complicating systems by modifying them. By trusting an experienced provider like SBS, everything is managed, from implementation to updates.
The world of business has shifted. Adapting existing solutions on an ad-hoc basis to meet legacy processes is no longer viable. Companies wanting to thrive in the new landscape need to turn to adoption instead.
Find out more about how SBS can help by visiting the SBS Financing Platform page.