When I started my first job as an equity research analyst years ago, our training director gave me a piece of advice. He said, “It’s better to be wrong with The Street than to be wrong on your own.” He was telling me not to bet against the pack, even if I had a good reason to.

Why not? Too risky.

This is an idea I think many bankers feel deeply. In a highly regulated industry, it can be terrifying to break away from established technologies, those employed by your peers, even if doing so promises benefits. This is why, despite plenty of conversation around best of breed technology approaches — by which a bank gets its technology from an array of handpicked providers — many community banks still opt for best of suite, meaning they get their technology largely from a handful of well-known vendors.

Industry observers and consultants will often talk about best of breed as the future and best of suite as the past. Best of suite gets a bad rap as outdated and not sustainable. I’ve talked about this myself, and I do think it’s probably true at a high level. But there is nuance in this discussion that often gets left out — past and future is too simplistic; it’s more about who you are as a bank and what works for your institution. For example, for an institution with limited resources, managing the complexity and risk associated with a multipronged vendor strategy may simply be too much. And that’s okay.

The bigger question should be, “What technology stack do I need to support my business strategy?” Every bank is about 90% the same and 10% unique. That 10% is where the future lies. Figure that out, and how to support it from a technology perspective, and you’ve got a real shot at thriving long term. If you’re an institution that can accelerate that 10% through best of suite, then that’s your answer.

However, in taking such an approach, your choice of vendors becomes very, very important. You’ll need to look for providers that are strategic, able (and willing) to co-create with their clients, and build to an agile yet rich roadmap. Additionally, you’ll need to have a clear vision of your own strategy and be able to articulate the bank’s technology needs. Tight integration between your business strategy and your technology strategy is key.

Now, I don’t think the advice I received was totally right. There are certainly instances where breaking from the pack is warranted in different contexts or we’d never have any innovation at all. But, sometimes, it does make sense. My goal is to let any bank struggling with this, any institution feeling that an inability to evaluate and manage a portfolio of vendors is holding its business back, that you’re not necessarily behind the curve.

What makes an institution ahead or behind is very much specific to that institution and whether it’s done the strategic work necessary to support a long-term future. From that perspective, technology is the easy part. Once you know what you need, you can go and get it — no matter who it’s from.