Choosing the Right Enterprise eCommerce Platform for Your Business

For modern businesses, the bare minimum is no longer enough. Merely stocking up on the right products won't get your business very far; customers now wish to be entertained and engaged with and expect orders to be fulfilled in the fastest and most wallet-friendly way possible.

As times change, shoppers are increasingly using multiple channels and devices throughout their buying journeys. They utilize all available sides of the business, shopping in physical stores, online, and, more recently, on mobile. Retailers who want to keep up must provide great shopping experiences across various environments and devices.

It's a tall order, but it's essential to deliver if you want to stay relevant in today's market. A large part of achieving this relevance lies in the technologies used by a business. Thriving in today's market requires an eCommerce platform that allows these expectations to be met. The priority lies with having the tools to sell the right products, provide extraordinary shopping experiences, and fulfill orders efficiently - if your existing solution can't meet those needs, you need to find one that can.

So how can you determine the most suitable platform for your business?

Determine your eCommerce needs

• Front-end needs: Your site must look and function well. What will customers be able to see and do on the site? E.g., navigation, search, information customers can see, how it should be displayed, and available customization options.
• Back office/integrations: Your eCommerce site must integrate smoothly with back-office operations. Consider what capabilities are needed to ensure that products are ordered, selected, packed, and fulfilled successfully.
• Customer management: Confirm what capabilities are needed to build and manage relationships with customers. For example, if the business utilizes email to communicate with clients, a solution with email marketing features integrated within it or using an already present email marketing scheme is essential.
• Catalog management: Specify the desired catalog management features. How many SKUs do you have? How many variants?
• Architecture and security: What security standards are essential for the business's eCommerce platform. How should this platform be built? How scalable is this? What certifications and encryptions should it have?
• Performance/scalability: Can the platform handle the traffic and data? How does each forum handle heavy volumes of traffic?
• Mobile: What are the requirements for mobile? Aside from being responsive, what other features should be available to consumers? As an example, some eCommerce sites have embedded "click-to-call" or "click-to-map" buttons on their pages. How will the mobile site handle code bloat and long page load times?

Decide between SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS service models

Software as a service (SaaS)

This allows you to access data from any device. Each vendor will host and maintain your databases and code for a monthly or annual subscription fee.

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

A cloud provider offers a collection of hardware and software infrastructure, including databases, storage, and networking abilities. This infrastructure is set up by the provider, who will manage and maintain it.

Platform as a service (PaaS)

A provider establishes an environment that the business can use to install their software applications and databases while offering critical services, such as hosting.

In conclusion, choosing the right platform is vital for market survival, and this decision must not be taken lightly. It’s crucial to consider the implications of each platform before the shift is made, with both long-term and immediate consequences encompassed in the strategy.