| Lesson 9 | Outsourcing |
| Objective | Assess the usefulness of going to outside e-commerce providers. |
Outsourcing Ecommerce Providers and Solutions
Legacy Comparison of an IBM Solution with a Microsoft Solution
Today one would be more likely to compare Goole Cloud and AWS solutions when outsourcing the website hosting or planning an infrastructure.
The standard price for the "Cadillac edition" of IBM Net.Commerce rounds out to around $20,000, not including hardware or T-1 connectivity (or the monitor).
A hardware implementation supporting Microsoft's SiteServer 3.0 E-Commerce Edition is significantly less, though it still reaches over $10,000.
For small businesses, or those offering a small range of goods or services, the online instant storefront solution may be the most appropriate e-commerce site creation/administration option.
Outsourced online storefront solutions separate into two subcategories:
The standard price for the "Cadillac edition" of IBM Net.Commerce rounds out to around $20,000, not including hardware or T-1 connectivity (or the monitor).
A hardware implementation supporting Microsoft's SiteServer 3.0 E-Commerce Edition is significantly less, though it still reaches over $10,000.
For small businesses, or those offering a small range of goods or services, the online instant storefront solution may be the most appropriate e-commerce site creation/administration option.
Outsourced online storefront solutions separate into two subcategories:
- independent and
- portal or community storefronts.
Cohosting and colocating
When outsourcing[1], you can either cohost or colocate. Cohosting means that you are borrowing hard drive space on a machine.
Colocating means that you provide your own machine but use the ISP's Internet connection.
Yahoo! and other site servers allow the small business owner, for example, to create an e-commerce site that Yahoo! administers for a fixed monthly cost. The cost depends (in the case of Yahoo!) on the number of orders administered monthly. The creation of the site is an interactive process taking little time, effort, or expertise on the owner's part.
Colocation is more complex, because it requires you to administer your own server. You borrow only Internet access from an ISP.
You can either cohost or colocate. Cohosting means that you are borrowing hard drive space on a machine.
Colocating means that you provide your own machine but use the ISP's Internet connection.
Yahoo! and other site servers allow the small business owner, for example, to create an e-commerce site that Yahoo! administers for a fixed monthly cost. The cost depends (in the case of Yahoo!) on the number of orders administered monthly. The creation of the site is an interactive process taking little time, effort, or expertise on the owner's part.
Colocation is more complex, because it requires you to administer your own server. You borrow only Internet access from an ISP.
You can either cohost or colocate. Cohosting means that you are borrowing hard drive space on a machine.
Colocating means that you provide your own machine but use the ISP's Internet connection.
As with any business, e-commerce stands or falls based on customer service, timely order processing, and effective tracking and encouraging of future business. E-commerce businesses also face unique legal and international trade challenges.
Security Advice
As you research these options, you should consider the type of servers sites use (NT, UNIX, and so on) and their security measures.
Finally, you should ask whether a site allows you to connect to it under your own DNS name. For example, rather than having customers go to http://www.icat.com/~english-imports, you can pay extra so that the following URL works: http://www.english-imports.com.
The SlideShow below shows how capacity changes when moving from low-level to high-level outsourcing solutions.
The SlideShow below shows how capacity changes when moving from low-level to high-level outsourcing solutions.
Outsourcing Solutions Comparison
In general, evaluation of storefront solutions involves several basic e-commerce business issues.
These include accessibility of the storefront to the consumer, the in-house solution versus outsourcing, and online versus offline storefronts.
Additional issues include integrating the site with back-end systems (invoicing, inventory, and shipping), credit card authorization and encryption solutions, and other security mechanisms. Finally, you must consider whether or not you can customize the way the site interacts with the consumer.
These include accessibility of the storefront to the consumer, the in-house solution versus outsourcing, and online versus offline storefronts.
Additional issues include integrating the site with back-end systems (invoicing, inventory, and shipping), credit card authorization and encryption solutions, and other security mechanisms. Finally, you must consider whether or not you can customize the way the site interacts with the consumer.
OutSourcing Ecommerce - Exercise
Click the exercise link below to complete the course project for this module.
OutSourcing Ecommerce - Exercise
OutSourcing Ecommerce - Exercise
[1]Outsourcing: Many entrepreneurs choose to borrow space from an already-existing Internet service provider (ISP).