Chances are, your tech stack is bloated. According to MarTech, teams using too many tools often lead to fragmented data and higher overheads. At Arcadian Digital, we’ve tested several industry-leading platforms to see if they truly deliver on their promises.
Below is our assessment of where you might be overpaying for features you don’t use, and the streamlined alternatives that can help protect your margins.
Product & QA: Moving Beyond “Fancy Dashboards”
Many modern QA tools act as premium visual layers built on top of open-source frameworks. If you are paying for a visual interface your team doesn’t strictly require, you may be misallocating your budget.
The Challenge with “Codeless” QA: Tools like Testsigma market themselves on accessibility. However, in our testing, natural language processing often requires more troubleshooting and workarounds than writing standard code. For many, the enterprise price tag doesn’t align with the functional reality.
The Alternative: If you already use Datadog for observability, its synthetic testing modules offer better integration better value and are significantly more cost-effective.
Redundant Layers: Many commercial platforms are essentially expensive “skins” for Playwright or Selenium. If you have no code experience, you’re left wondering how your test actually executes or was created. Asking yourself: “Is this actually doing what I want it to do?”
The Arcadian Choice: We would recommend Playwright leveraged with an LLM for natural language testing if you are confident with coding. Datadog if you’d prefer a no-code solution.
Analytics: Avoiding the “Enterprise Tax”
Product teams need actionable data, but they shouldn’t need a full-time specialist just to maintain the platform.
The Amplitude Complexity: While Amplitude is undeniably powerful, it has a steep learning curve. Our findings show many teams only utilise about 10% of the features they are paying for. Furthermore, their A/B testing modules can be costly compared to leaner, more modern alternatives.
The Alternative: For behavioural insights and A/B testing that actually moves the needle, we prefer PostHog or Statsig. They offer a transparent, developer-friendly approach without the “enterprise tax”.
Workflow Automation: Solving the Scalability Gap
Efficiency in automation is defined by two things: connectivity and cost-per-execution.
The Zapier Ceiling: Zapier remains an excellent choice for simple, low-volume tasks. However, for complex workflows, the “per task” pricing model can become a significant drain on revenue growth as you scale.
The Alternative: For high-volume operations, we have moved complex automations to Make (formerly Integromat) or n8n. Their execution-based pricing and superior logic handling offer much better value for scaling internal workflows.
AI & Communication: Practicality Over Hype
Practical AI adoption is about solving specific problems, not just adding a new dashboard.
AI Governance & Communications: Most governance frameworks are only cost-effective for enterprises managing hundreds of siloed automations; for everyone else, they are just expensive central registries. Similarly, many “AI-powered” call centres are legacy telephony with basic features added as an afterthought.
The Alternative: For internal support, training a private Claude Team instance is often more practical and cost-effective. For managing and sharing a high number of prompts, PromptDrive is a good option. For high-quality voice interactions and routing, Bland.ai is currently our benchmark for speed and cost-per-minute.
The Bottom Line
If your tech stack is full of legacy “enterprise” names, you may be overpaying for underperformance and features that you don’t actually need. To lower your overheads, you need tools that integrate seamlessly without hidden costs.
Is your tech stack working for you, or are you drowning in underutilised subscriptions?
Arcadian Digital can conduct a hands-on audit of your current systems to identify exactly where you can reduce costs and improve efficiency. Contact us for a matter-of-fact consultation.
