LyonsCG & FitForCommerce host webinar: Choosing the best fit eCommerce Platform
Chicago – FitForCommerce, a leading e-commerce consulting firm, together with Lyons Consulting Group, an e-commerce design and integration firm, offered retailers actionable advice on defining business and technical requirements and assessing e-commerce providers and their solutions. During the live webinar, Jamie Kail, Director of eCommerce Services at Lyons, shared lessons learned in selecting, implementing and supporting e-commerce solutions. Bernardine Wu, FitForCommerce’s Founder and CEO, presented an “E-commerce Diligence” methodology and specific ways to avoid costly mistakes in platform selection.
Polls conducted during the webinar yielded some interesting results:
50% of the respondents are looking to replace their e-commerce platform within the next 12 months, 4% in next 12-24 months, 4% in greater than 24 months and 43% are not looking to replace their platform in the near future.
Reasons for re-platforming included: lack of innovation/flexibility (48%), outgrown the technology (24%), dissatisfaction with support (14%), slow to upgrade (10%) and too expensive (5%).
Of those who are re-platforming, 36% are considering an on-demand solution, 21% a licensed, 14% an open-source, 7% are going with in-house development, and 21% are uncertain as to what approach to take.
“The high percentage of retailers re-platforming set against one-in-five of them being uncertain of their approach means that there is both opportunity and confusion in the marketplace,” said Bernardine Wu. “Our extensive work helping online and multichannel retailers make informed decisions has shown us that a rigorous and structured process of requirements diligence is necessary before even beginning the vendor selection process.”
Also discussed were comparative characteristics, myths and best practices for in-house developed e-commerce platforms vs. licensed vs. on-demand (SaaS/ASP) vs. open source.
“Of the retailers considering a new platform, a full 50% of them are looking at on-demand or open source options,” said Rich Lyons, President of Lyons Consulting Group. “This speaks to the market’s ongoing maturity and the growing demand for more flexible, innovative, and budget-friendly platform solutions.”
FITFORCOMMERCE
FitForCommerceTM provides on-demand tools and expertise to help e-commerce businesses analyze business and technical requirements, leverage best practices, gain visibility to market offerings and select “best fit” technology solutions. FitForCommerce’s unique eCommerce DiligenceTM process and toolkit ensures rigorous evaluation and knowledge-based decision-making. FitBaseTM, by FitForCommerce, is the e-commerce market’s first and only online knowledge base for best practices, trends, benchmarking, solution provider information and community advice. For additional information, please visit www.fitforcommerce.com.
LYONS CONSULTING GROUP
Lyons Consulting Group is a customer-focused IT services firm specializing in e-commerce design, development and integration. The firm also offers expertise in ERP/business intelligence and collaboration solutions. Founded in 2003, LCG is based in Chicago but serves global and mid-market firms across North America and partners with Demandware, Magento, FitForCommerce, PFSWeb, Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft. For more information, visit www.lyonscg.com.
