[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/02\/28\/digital-commerce-success\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/02\/28\/digital-commerce-success\/","headline":"Integrating top point solutions doesn\u2019t guarantee digital commerce success","name":"Integrating top point solutions doesn\u2019t guarantee digital commerce success","description":"Most executives are concerned about the best way to leverage investments for digital commerce success \u2013 and there are some key ways to do so.","datePublished":"2017-02-28","dateModified":"2021-11-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/kevin-harris\/#Person","name":"Kevin Harris","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/kevin-harris\/","identifier":204,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/442f12a6b34b007c02fee3fb4e17cc305b457be52ace98ef788c7af3a4f6b0bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/442f12a6b34b007c02fee3fb4e17cc305b457be52ace98ef788c7af3a4f6b0bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/thumbnail-f747f89d5f67869fae53df329d611e0f.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/thumbnail-f747f89d5f67869fae53df329d611e0f.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/02\/28\/digital-commerce-success\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/commerce-general\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/e-commerce\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]}],"wordCount":922,"articleBody":"Cold and snowy Michigan winters always bring a great opportunity to spend a Saturday afternoon playing video games with my son. On one such occasion, he decided to convince me that we should invest in an Xbox and Wii, in addition to our PlayStation game system. \u201cImagine all of the fun me and my friends could have.\u00a0The Wii has some epic interactive games, and we already know that we love Xbox\u2019s first-person reality games. And what if we could connect them all together so I can interact with my friends on the PlayStation while playing these games?\u201d he confidently proposed.Of course, my inner 15-year-old was excited about this idea, but the sensibility of a 40-something dad eventually took over. These consoles definitely represent the best features available; however, there were three serious flaws. One, shelling out upwards of US$250 for each system alone is rather extravagant. Two, all three systems become outdated quickly as new consoles arrive on the market every couple of years. And possibly most important, games and data cannot be stored and used across devices.Although indulging in my resident gamer\u2019s dream is not as crucial as a business\u2019 decision to invest in digital commerce technology, my son\u2019s reasoning is very similar to those heard in today\u2019s boardrooms. Many executives prefer to purchase a range of point solutions and try to integrate them together. But this assumption often lead to a useless \u201cblack box under the TV\u201d that brings disappointment to stakeholders and leaves their customers feeling underwhelmed.Grown-up realities for a maturing digital commerce worldThe digital commerce technology market is littered with solutions that all claim to own a particular niche. Scott Brinker, co-founder and CTO of ion interactive, estimates that over 3,500 technology providers across 50 categories had a presence in the marketing technology landscape in 2016. This trend represents an 87% surge in just one year.Why the rise in software solutions? Well, I think there are several reasons, but it\u2019s mostly related to today\u2019s buying journey. Currently, there are over 2.6 billion smartphones in use, and that is projected to hit 6 billion by 2020. With smartphones, laptops, and tablets, customers can engage with their favorite brands whenever and wherever they like.CEB recently reported that 57% of the buying process is completed before their first interaction with sales. If service is poor, 60% of customers abandon the purchase and go elsewhere, as cited by the American Express Global Barometer. Both of these new realities are further exacerbated as customers choose their own path through the buying journey, which is rarely like anyone else\u2019s.      Digital commerce explained: Benefits and key challenges                Digital commerce encompasses all of the touchpoints and processes in the consumer journey.\u00a0This means that all of the tools, processes, and technologies used to create the online offer are critical to the overall definition.      The boardroom dilemma: Buying the suite vs. integrating point solutionsA recent IDC Infobrief, \u201cThe Next Steps in Digital Transformation,\u201d sponsored by SAP, identified the top digital investments that support a single view of the customer includes: collaboration, CRM, e-commerce, and enterprise resource planning (ERP). But all too often, the debate in the boardroom is not what kind of technology is needed. Most executives are concerned about the best way to leverage these top investments given the vast selection of functionality available and the fickleness of the digitally empowered customers.Do you buy and integrate point solutions or leverage a suite of pre-integrated software? Like the gaming consoles, multiple point solutions can be a strategy if your organization has the time and resources to evaluate this ever-expanding space. And let\u2019s not forget the importance of a strong technical team to help ensure that all integrations are consistently maintained.If you\u2019re like most businesses where free time is in short supply, another option is a portfolio approach. A software portfolio provides customers with several leading software solutions under one roof. Plus, natively developed integrations between the offering lowers total cost of ownership and helps ensure data is easily leveraged across them.How to choose a digital commerce suite that delivers affordability and continuityTo help ensure that companies choose the right suite for their needs, Gartner offers some sage advice in its report \u201cCritical Capabilities for Digital Commerce.\u201d IT leaders and those responsible for digital commerce vendor selection are encouraged to:Collaborate with business leaders to identify goals and specific requirements for a digital commerce platform based on desired outcomes and customer experienceManage costs by understanding how vendors deliver required functionality \u2013 whether through a native commerce platform, partner or third party, or custom developmentAcknowledge that native functionality usually saves time and money, especially when the feature is included in the base platform priceUnderstand and manage business requirements at a detailed levelCompare available platform functionality to corporate needs and priorities, integration efforts, and customization requirementsAvoid overbuying and creating a more involved solution than necessaryBy guiding the purchase decision of your next digital software investment with these criteria, companies can find a solution that delivers on their wishes while making the best long-term financial sense. Or in the eyes of my son, we\u2019d probably pass on integrating the Wii, Xbox, and PlayStation. In the meantime, we\u2019ll buy another game for the PlayStation and enjoy ourselves until spring finally arrives in Michigan.  Every digital moment matters.Are you making the most of them?1,000 business leaders dish on how to stand out from the crowd with a great CX. Get the details\u00a0HERE.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2017","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"02","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/\/02\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"28","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/\/02\/\/28\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Integrating top point solutions doesn\u2019t guarantee digital commerce success","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/02\/28\/digital-commerce-success\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]