When is Combeenation not suitable?

Is Combeenation the right solution for your company? This question should be answered openly and honestly before making a decision. As a manufacturer of product configurators and CPQ solutions, we have implemented numerous successful customer projects. At the same time, we know from experience that not every company benefits from our platform.

In this article, we deliberately show when Combeenation is not suitable, which framework conditions are often underestimated, and when other approaches may be more appropriate.
 

Cloud instead of offline – a conscious decision

Combeenation is a exclusive cloud solution and is operated exclusively in the Microsoft Azure Cloud. We do not offer offline or on-premise installation.

Combination therapy is not suitable if:

• A solution that can be used completely offline is required
• Configurators must be used without an internet connection (e.g., on an airplane or in remote regions)
• Internal IT guidelines only allow local installations

This decision was made deliberately: product logic, rules, and sensitive data remain entirely in the cloud. Only the result of a configuration is transferred to end devices - not the underlying logic or database.

This increases security, simplifies maintenance, and ensures that all users are always working with the latest version.

👉 If an offline or on-premise solution is absolutely necessary, Combeenation is not the right choice.

No one-time payment – why our licensing model is the right fit

Combination is not a traditional software product that you buy once and then consider “finished.”

Our solution is a cloud-based CPQ and configurator platform that is continuously operated, secured, and further developed. Accordingly, our pricing model is based on initial costs plus ongoing license fees.

The running costs are not an extra charge, but a prerequisite for ensuring that:

• the platform is operated in a stable, high-performance, and secure manner
• regular updates, new features, and technological enhancements are available
• legal, security-related, and infrastructural requirements are continuously met

👉 Combeenation is therefore not suitable if:

• A pure buyout model with a one-time payment is expected
• No ongoing license fees are accepted
• Software is understood as a one-time project rather than a long-term platform

Our licensing model is aimed at companies that view software as a permanently operated system—not as a one-time investment.

Products with few variants – when a configurator is too much

Combination was developed for highly varied, rule-based products – where complexity needs to be made manageable.

Combination therapy is not suitable if:

• Products have no or very few variants.
• There are only a few fixed options that do not influence each other.
• Prices are independent of selection, quantity, or combination.

In such cases, a CPQ system often generates more effort than benefits.
Simple product pages, filter solutions, or forms are usually more efficient here.

👉 A configurator or CPQ solution only reveals its added value when genuine variant logic is available.

Standard software without customization? – deliberately thinking differently

Combination is not a rigid solution into which products are “pressed.” Our platform provides a stable basis on which individual product logic, rules, and processes can be built.

Combination therapy is not suitable if:

• Every function and feature needs to be developed from scratch.
• There is no willingness to work within a structured standard basis.
• An immediately usable plug-and-play shop widget without a concept is sought.

👉 Our approach: as much standardization as possible, as much customization as makes sense - where it provides real benefits.

Not purely a marketing or visualization tool

A common misconception: “First, we want something visual for marketing purposes.”

Combeenation is not a 3D visualization solution, but rather a CPQ platform. The focus is on product logic, rules, pricing, and quotation processes - not purely on presentation. Visualization is important, but it is not the main purpose of the platform.

Combination is not suitable if:

• The main objective is visual 3D representation.
• No variants, prices, or offer logic are to be displayed.
• The configurator is used exclusively for marketing or campaign purposes.
• No connection to offer or sales processes is required.

👉 For pure marketing or visualization applications, specialized, lighter tools are usually the better choice.

When Combeenation is particularly strong

Combination reveals its full potential when there is a clear need for process automation. Without automation, the added value remains limited, as this is precisely where our greatest leverage lies: reducing manual steps, standardizing procedures, and providing end-to-end support for processes.

• Complex, highly varied products
• Numerous rules, dependencies, and options
• High cost of quotations and coordination
• Need for scaling and automation
• Integration into existing system landscapes
• System independence
• Maintainable and expandable at any time

If you want a personal contact person.
Seeks maximum standardization, but allows for 100% individuality. 
 

Conclusion

Combination is not a solution for every task - and that is precisely its strength. Our platform is deliberately aimed at companies that need to manage complex, highly varied products and see a CPQ configurator not as a nice additional tool, but as a central system for configuration, pricing logic, and quotation processes.

If you are looking for a purely offline solution, a one-time purchase software project, a simple product with few options, or a pure marketing visualization tool, Combeenation will not be the right choice for you. In these cases, specialized or lighter alternatives are often the better choice.

👉 In short: Combeenation is the right choice when a CPQ configurator is intended as a strategic tool - and deliberately not when the focus is on a quick, simple, or purely visual solution.

 

Wann Combeenation besonders stark ist

Combeenation entfaltet seine volle Stärke bei klarem Bedarf an Prozessautomatisierung. Ohne Automatisierung bleibt der Mehrwert begrenzt, da genau hier unser größter Hebel liegt: manuelle Schritte reduzieren, Abläufe standardisieren und Prozesse durchgängig unterstützen:

• komplexe, variantenreiche Produkte
• viele Regeln, Abhängigkeiten und Optionen
• hoher Angebots- und Abstimmungsaufwand
• Bedarf an Skalierung und Automatisierung
• Integration in bestehende Systemlandschaften
• Systemunabhängigkeit
• Jederzeit wartbar und erweiterbar

Wenn man einen persönlichen Ansprechpartner wünscht.
Maximale Standardisierung sucht, die aber 100% ige Indivudlaiätt zulässt. 

Fazit

Combeenation ist keine Lösung für jede Aufgabenstellung – und genau das ist eine Stärke. Unsere Plattform richtet sich bewusst an Unternehmen, die komplexe, variantenreiche Produkte beherrschen müssen und einen CPQ-Konfigurator nicht als nettes Zusatztool, sondern als zentrales System für Konfiguration, Preislogik und Angebotsprozesse verstehen.

Wer eine rein offlinefähige Lösung, ein einmalig gekauftes Softwareprojekt, ein simples Produkt mit wenigen Optionen oder ein reines Marketing-Visualisierungstool sucht, wird mit Combeenation nicht glücklich werden. In diesen Fällen sind spezialisierte oder leichtere Alternativen oft die bessere Wahl.

👉 Kurz gesagt: Combeenation ist dann die richtige Wahl, wenn ein CPQ-Konfigurator als strategisches Tool gedacht wird – und bewusst nicht, wenn eine schnelle, einfache oder rein visuelle Lösung im Vordergrund steht.


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