Ten years ago, we in finance seriously talked about "integration" when two systems exchanged data once a night. Today, that very mindset is the problem.

I'm convinced: the biggest shift in finance tech over the past decade isn't AI, isn't mobile, isn't the next prettier user interface. It's ecosystem thinking. According to Gartner, platform ecosystems grow twice as fast as standalone products. Anyone still treating this as a side issue is underestimating what's happening in the CFO space right now.

Because at its core, it comes down to a simple question: do you want to keep buying software — or finally build a functioning financial system?

Many CFOs in the DACH region still operate in a landscape that has grown organically over time but has become operationally expensive. The ERP runs cleanly. The travel expense solution is somehow connected. The corporate cards come from a different provider. Booking data arrives in DATEV, Abacus, or Bexio with a delay. The accountant receives end-of-month packages that were first manually cleaned up internally. On paper, everything is digital. In practice, too much still moves via export, upload, and improvisation.

That's exactly where the real damage occurs. Not in licensing costs, but between systems. In the effort spent on follow-up queries. In media breaks. In the lack of transparency when expenses are recorded but not intelligently linked. Over the past few months, I've had several conversations with CFOs from Switzerland and southern Germany who told me, in so many words, the same thing: we don't have a tool problem. We have an interoperability problem.

And that's the point. A finance tech ecosystem is not simply a collection of partner logos on a website. A real ecosystem connects processes, responsibilities, and data in a way that is tangible in day-to-day operations.

When a travel booking is triggered, for example, the information shouldn't surface in expense processing days later. It should be there immediately. When a corporate card payment is made, it shouldn't just be posted — it should be automatically checked against policies, VAT logic, and cost centers. When accountants, bookkeeping, and business units all access the same structured information, not only does the workload decrease — the quality of financial management improves.

That's precisely why I see such a clear market shift in the expense intelligence space. In the past, the question was: who has the better expense tool? Today, the far more relevant question is: which network of travel, payment, ERP, accounting, and compliance does the solution fit into? Or better yet: which solution actually makes that network powerful in the first place?

In the DACH region, this is a genuine competitive advantage. Global monoliths are strong on scale but often weaker when it comes to regional realities. Anyone working in Switzerland knows that local requirements are not a footnote. Anyone working in Germany with GoBD, input tax logic, and DATEV workflows doesn't need a global standard answer. Anyone dealing with BMD, different approval logics, and fiduciary structures in Austria even less so.

That's why I believe regional ecosystems will shape the market more lastingly than many expect. Not because they're smaller, but because they're built closer to actual processes. A cleanly orchestrated combination of expense intelligence, cards, travel booking, ERP, and accounting often solves more problems for DACH mid-market companies than a supposed all-in-one system that ends up being run with workarounds anyway.

For CFOs, this fundamentally changes the decision-making logic.

First: tool selection becomes an architecture question. A product may be strong in isolation and yet be strategically the wrong choice if it doesn't bring a robust ecosystem with it.

Second: integration no longer belongs solely in IT. Finance must understand how data flows through the organization, where breaks occur, and which partners can genuinely close those gaps.

Third: the value of a vendor will increasingly be measured not just by features, but by connectivity. Those who don't work in an open, API-first, partner-ready way will find themselves progressively excluded from selection processes over the next 12 months.

I consider this a healthy development. Because it shifts the conversation away from product promises and toward operational impact. CFOs don't need a tenth demo with colorful dashboards. They need systems that work together, understand spending contexts, and make financial data usable in real time.

My advice is therefore clear: when making your next finance tech decision, don't start by asking what a solution can do on its own. Ask in which ecosystem it delivers its value. Ask which partners are already integrated. Ask how quickly data travels from receipt to general ledger. And ask whether you're simply going digital — or truly managing more intelligently.

Ecosystem thinking is not a trend topic. It is the new foundation for effective financial management. Anyone still treating it as a technical detail in 2026 will spend too much money on friction — and have too little control over what is being spent in their organization every day.

Subscribe to the Edi Newsletter in German

The German Newsletter keeps you up to date about Edi: simply register using your e-mail address and never miss an article. Of course, you can unsubscribe at any time.