The decision to upgrade or replace an outdated e-commerce platform to gain multichannel capabilities creates the context for a number of other critical decisions.
One of the most significant is the basic deployment model for the commerce platform.
The three broad deployment model categories available today are:
- On-demand
- Hosted
- On-premises
A basic principle – but one that bears repeating – is that a retailer’s business needs should dictate its technology choices, not vice versa.
Nor should a vendor’s limitations constrain a retailer’s choice. It’s a truism that applies in all parts of the retail enterprise, but nowhere more so than in the rapidly changing, technology intensive multichannel commerce arena. IT decision-makers can easily get caught up in the either/or deployment model vendors are creating with marketing hype.
While it is true that each has its own benefits, ultimately the retailer’s business model and its goals should be the determining factors in choosing the optimal deployment model, not the conflicting philosophies of vendors.
Retailers should only work with a multichannel commerce technology vendor that has the ability to offer their solution through any deployment model – on-demand, hosted, or on premise.
To help determine the optimal deployment model, these key questions will help guide your decision-making:
- How quickly do I want to go to market?
- How much revenue do I expect from this market?
- Will this solution be running business-critical processes?
- How much innovation will I need?
- What IT resources can I call on?
The answers to these questions will point the way to the retailer’s optimal deployment model.
