We all know introducing 3rd party applications into a product suite introduces fragmentation. However when looking at the API of a 3rd party application for full integration into your system, you will find the API is limited to what its capable of, and secondly you will not be able to utilize the application to its full potential. Is it not advised to rather build features to complement that 3rd party system using the API than re invent a whole application on top of that API suite?
An example would be taking a newsletter tool such as campaign monitor, or similar that is already comprehensive in its features and reporting and only integrate its API into a bespoke system for users to create newsletters?
