Baseline technologies for ecommerce

ecommerce solutions often need to interoperate with packaged applications. Following are a few considerations for the ecommerce architect in this area:

When dealing with packaged applications in e-commerce, organizations must consider a variety of factors to ensure that these applications align with their business goals and operational needs. Here are some key considerations:

1. Integration with Existing Systems
   • Seamless Integration: Ensure compatibility with existing ERP, CRM, and other backend systems to streamline operations.
   • Data Consistency: Avoid data silos by ensuring packaged applications can share data with other systems via APIs or middleware.
2. Scalability and Performance
   • Handling Traffic Spikes: The application must handle increased traffic during sales, promotions, or holiday seasons.
   • Future Growth: Choose applications that can scale as the business expands.
3. Customization and Flexibility
   • Tailored Features: Assess whether the application can be customized to fit specific e-commerce needs, such as unique product catalogs or payment gateways.
   • Configurability: Ensure non-developers can make adjustments without requiring extensive coding knowledge.
4. Security and Compliance
   • Data Protection: Verify compliance with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, or PCI DSS for secure payment processing.
   • Vulnerability Management: Regular updates and patches must be available to address security risks.
5. User Experience
   • Intuitive Interfaces: Ensure both customers and internal users (e.g., administrators, marketing teams) can easily interact with the system.
   • Mobile Optimization: The application must support responsive design or dedicated mobile app integration for m-commerce.
6. Vendor Reliability
   • Reputation and Support: Choose reputable vendors with a strong track record in e-commerce.
   • Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Clearly defined SLAs for uptime, support, and issue resolution are critical.
7. Cost Considerations
   • Upfront Costs vs. Subscription Models: Evaluate whether the application offers value for money, considering licensing, implementation, and ongoing costs.
   • Hidden Costs: Check for additional fees for support, updates, or integration.
8. Outsourcing to Application Service Providers (ASPs)
   • Service Reliability: Ensure the ASP can provide robust hosting, maintenance, and updates.
   • Control and Accessibility: Understand data ownership and control, particularly when outsourcing mission-critical applications.
9. Analytics and Reporting
   • Data-Driven Insights: Assess the application’s capability to provide real-time analytics and reporting.
   • Integration with BI Tools: Compatibility with tools like Tableau or Power BI for advanced analysis.
10. Multichannel and Omnichannel Support
    • Cross-Platform Compatibility: The application should support various platforms, including web, mobile, and social commerce.
    • Unified Customer Experience: Ensure consistent branding and functionality across all sales channels.
11. Localization and Internationalization
    • Language Support: Built-in support for multiple languages and currencies.
    • Regional Regulations: Compliance with local e-commerce laws and tax requirements.
12. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    • Backup Capabilities: Regular data backups and recovery options must be in place.
    • High Availability: Assess the application’s reliability and ability to minimize downtime.

By carefully evaluating these considerations, organizations can select packaged applications that support their e-commerce goals while minimizing risks and ensuring operational efficiency.

Nearly every corporation possesses productivity, enterprise, and vertical applications. Some of these applications may be outsourced to Application Service Providers^[1]. An application service provider (ASP) is defined as an enterprise that delivers application functionality and associated services across a network to multiple customers using a rental or usage-based transaction-pricing model. Gartner defines the ASP market as the delivery of standardized application software via a network, though not particularly or exclusively the Internet, through an outsourcing contract predicated on usage-based transaction pricing. The ASP market is composed of a mix of service providers (Web hosting and IT outsourcing), independent software vendors and network/telecommunications providers. It is important for the ecommerce architect to take a full inventory of these applications, for an ecommerce solution will often need to interface with these installed systems. For example, no matter how important an ecommerce application is, it will seldom get a company to change its underlying accounting system. Organizations are likely to be reluctant to develop their own ecommerce technology if they use a minimally customized or "vanilla" implementation of their enterprise applications. In contrast, organizations with large amounts of custom-built or customized enterprise applications will often be open to taking on ecommerce development tasks themselves. It is important to keep track of activities in this area so that you do not need to reinvent the wheel.

ecommerce solutions often require the development of interfaces to packaged applications. Additionally, ecommerce connections to back office applications often create challenging security scenarios. Previously, the only people who impacted the internal applications were employees. Now, via Web/ecommerce interface, external personnel may fire off back-office transactions. Allow for security reviews for each interface in the project plan.

• Performance: Keep in mind that ecommerce can generate high volumes of new transactions. The underlying packaged application may need re-tuning to handle the new load. A successful ecommerce solution needs to be much more than a pretty interface. The weakest performance link in an application determines the overall speed of the application to the user (the "weakest link" theory). Do not let a forgotten underlying packaged application ruin the performance of an ecommerce solution.
• Turnkey headaches: The beauty of turnkey solutions is that the buyer can:
  
  1. Plug in the equipment
  2. Get some training
  3. Have a solution

The headache for ecommerce is that most turnkey solutions do not offer an open interface. ^[2] They are self-contained, closed systems. When taking application inventory, make special note of turnkey solutions because they may become ecommerce project bottlenecks. Data conversion implementations are a critical concern in ERP implementations. Industry-specific requirements are important considerations in selecting an ERP implementation. For example, most ERP solutions offer industry-specific functionality that replaces or integrates with a long list of point solutions. The integration scenario for ERP, therefore, tends to be far more complex than for point back office applications (like HR). Similarly, supply chain management applications are becoming vertically specialized. For example, one of i2's specialties is electronics industry distribution. Whenever an ecommerce or enterprise application solution involves both horizontal and vertical business processes, the impact of interface and data conversion rises to critical levels.

• CRM and content management in ecommerce: Two areas that historically have been segmented in packaged applications, CRM and document management/workflow, are going through major transitions due to ecommerce. The changes in CRM are so extensive, we have dedicated an entire module to them in this course. Many document management/workflow vendors and their products are in the middle of a major mutation into a Web-oriented set of technologies commonly referred to as content management. We will cover content management in this course.

[1]Open Interface:Specifications to the interface are open to the public. This allows anyone to add on desired usability.

[2] Application Service Provider (ASP): A hosted applications solution that the buying organization does not need to install any new server hardware; it is a form of applications outsourcing.