However, NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson took a big swing a best-of-breed. “That’s the next big software lie,” Nelson said. “Integrating Salesforce and Intacct is as messy as integrating Great Plains and SalesLogix.”  Someone articulated the evolution theory—software categories start out with best-of-breed, but functionality gets brought together as they mature. Microsoft Office, with Word, Excel and PowerPoint, is in many respects one application with different features. Financial software has also tended to grow like “The Blob”, absorbing other capabilities as it moves. And clearly, given the wide range of specializations, no one ERP vendor can write them all. My opinion is best of breed is a moving target. As specialties become more mainstream those functions will be subsumed into the accounting package or Microsoft Office, or whatever offers a platform for a specific set of needs. And maybe it works for the iPad, but not for NetSuite and Intacct.