In our previous blog “Choosing the Right eCommerce Technology Platform” we wrote about the various evaluation criteria that one needs to take into consideration before selecting one eCommerce platform versus another. These criteria range from product content and catalog management to pricing and promotion, and from omnichannel commerce to order orchestration and management.
With a host of eCommerce platforms available in the market for all different sizes and types of businesses, the key is to select the platform that will best suit the business and take care of all their current and future needs. In this blog, we are going to do one such comparison between 4 eCommerce platforms for enterprises – Magento, SAP Hybris, IBM WebSphere and Oracle ATG Commerce.
For Enterprises, the needs are different than the small businesses. The small businesses are almost always more interested in increasing the sales revenue with least possible cost, whereas for enterprises, scalability of the platform, data security, etc. are significant factors while selecting their eCommerce platform.
Going by the various reports by Forrester, Gartner and other agencies, there are only a handful eCommerce platforms that can be suitable for enterprises. Below are the details about 4 of such platforms.
1. Magento –
Magento is an open source e-commerce web application that was launched in early 2008 and currently owned by eBay. Being Open Source, Magento offers merchants complete ability to customize the UI, data and features and functionality of their online store. The Admin interface of Magento provides content management, powerful marketing and merchandising tools to give merchants the ability to create online stores that are fully fit their unique business needs. Magento is available in 2 versions – Community Edition and Enterprise Edition.
Some main features of Magento:
Cons of Magento Enterprise Edition:
Examples – Ford Motor Co., Nike Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Abbott Labs., etc.
2. SAP Hybris –
Hybris started as an eCommerce platform in 1997. It allows its consumers to sell in both B2B and B2C markets effectively. Later in the year 2013, it got acquired by SAP. It is an enterprise-level eCommerce software suite which has more than 2,500 stores using hybris platform, with a total of more than 20 million product SKUs and over 500,000 orders each day.
The Hybris Commerce Suite has multiple tools for the web and mobile projects targeting B2C and B2B market including powerful search and merchandising, master data management (MDM) / PIM, order management, and web content management.
Some main features of SAP Hybris:
Cons of Hybris:
Examples – Volkswagen, The Body Shop, Ericsson, Electrolux, etc.
3. IBM WebSphere –
IBM WebSphere Commerce released its first version in 1996 during the Olympic games for ticket sales. Since then, it has evolved into a complete eCommerce solution for enterprises. Currently, it is an omnichannel eCommerce platform that enables B2C and B2B sales to customers across channels — web, mobile, social, call center or store. It supports all the functionalities needed by an enterprise, be it selling and fulfillment with precision marketing, merchandising tools, site search, customer experience management, catalog and content management, social commerce and advanced starter stores.
Some main features of IBM WebSphere:
Cons of IBM Websphere:
Examples – T-Mobile, Zara, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Boots, etc.
4. Oracle ATG Commerce –
Oracle’s ATG Web Commerce is one of the industry’s top-ranked e-Commerce solution. ATG started into eCommerce around 2000 and later was acquired by Oracle in 2010 for $1 Billion. Currently, it has few of the world’s best brands as their clients. It delivers a consistent, personalized cross-channel customer experience across multiple channels including the web, contact center, mobile devices, social media, physical stores, and more.
Some main features of Oracle ATG Commerce:
Cons of Oracle ATG:
Examples – Tesco, Walmart, Macy’s, Best Buy, etc.
High-Level Comparison of the 4 Platforms:
Gartner’s Comparison Chart for eCommerce Platforms (2017):
Source – Gartner
There is a plethora of eCommerce platforms available in the market. It is therefore of vital importance to select the platform which suits best for the business size and type and which takes care of the business needs.
1 comment. Leave new
A very precise and informative article regarding e-commerce