What are Enterprise Software Solutions? Empowering Businesses for Success
Article
Menu
Back
“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
It might seem strange to reference a catchphrase from the brash and bratty film character, Ricky Bobby, to talk about one of the most pertinent issues in the ecommerce sector.
But his famous catchphrase from the 2006 comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby sure rings true in today’s rapid-paced ecommerce world.
Frankly, if your business is not at the front of the pack, it’s in grave danger of falling so far behind the competition that there’s no way back.
And a near-certain way of being left in the dust is to underestimate the need to prioritize platform modernization.
Quite simply, consumers demand seamless and innovative online user experiences – and that means ecommerce businesses must embrace the latest technologies and architectures.
Relying on legacy systems and outdated infrastructure is perilous in today’s digital-dominant landscape.
Instead, updating and upgrading underlying technologies and architectures is critical to ensuring your platforms remain relevant and perform at their best – efficient, scalable, reliable, and secure.
But what does it actually involve?
In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about platform modernization, to help your business streak ahead of the competition.
Platform modernization is the process of updating and upgrading the technology infrastructure and systems of a business or organization to better meet current and future needs.
This typically involves migrating from older, legacy systems to modern and efficient platforms, such as cloud-based services, containerized applications, or microservices architecture.
Modernization efforts typically encompass various aspects of IT infrastructure, including hardware, software, databases, networks, and applications.
The process is aimed at improving performance, scalability, security, and agility while reducing maintenance costs and increasing flexibility.
The ecommerce industry has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, propelled by evolving consumer behaviors and technological advancements.
Today, the digital marketplace is not just about transacting but creating seamless customer experiences from start to finish, across various platforms.
With the rise of mobile commerce, social commerce, and other emerging trends, consumers expect instant access to products and services and personalized recommendations, coupled with effortless transactions.
Mobile commerce, in particular, has completely changed the way people shop. Smartphones have become indispensable tools for browsing and purchasing goods and services – whenever and wherever customers like.
This stat from online data-gathering platform, Statista, demonstrates the power of mobile commerce…
In the first quarter of 2024, smartphones accounted for more than 75% of retail site visits in the US and generated roughly two-thirds of online shopping orders.
Then, there’s social commerce. It has quickly gained momentum, too.
Social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook draw millions of eyeballs each day and have become increasingly influential sources for product discovery and recommendations.
More impactfully, now consumers have a growing capacity to seamlessly browse and purchase products and services directly from their preferred social platform.
According to Statista, social commerce revenues are tipped to skyrocket in the coming years. Projections suggest the revenue stream will exceed US$1 trillion by 2028 – up from roughly $570 billion in 2023.
In this ever-changing landscape, it’s clear that adaptability and innovation are crucial for ecommerce brands to remain competitive, let alone stay ahead of the competition.
Those that fail to embrace new technologies and trends, quickly, risk being left behind.
Therefore, platform modernization is essential to ensure that these businesses can meet the evolving demands of digital-centric consumers.
There are serious wins to adopting platform modernization. Here are some of the key benefits:
This point has already been touched on – ecommerce businesses that embrace platform modernization gain an all-important competitive edge by staying ahead of market trends and customer expectations.
Agility and adaptability enable such organizations to respond quickly to market changes and outperform competitors.
Modernized ecommerce platforms enable businesses to deliver enhanced customer experiences by providing seamless navigation, personalized recommendations, and omnichannel engagement.
Features such as AI-driven personalization, advanced search capabilities, and responsive design ensure that customers can effortlessly find products, transact, and interact with the brand across various touchpoints – ultimately heightening satisfaction and loyalty.
Modernized platforms leverage cloud computing and microservices architectures, allowing ecommerce companies to scale resources up or down in response to fluctuating demand.
This scalability ensures that organizations can handle peak traffic volumes during sales events or seasonal spikes without succumbing to downtime (link to downtime blog once uploaded) or performance issues.
Additionally, microservices architectures enable modular development, making it easier to add new features, integrate third-party services, and adapt to evolving market trends.
Platform modernization streamlines ecommerce operations, reduces manual input, and enhances resource utilization.
Automation tools, integrated workflows, and centralized data management systems optimize processes such as inventory management, order fulfillment, and customer support.
By eliminating inefficiencies and bottlenecks, businesses can lower operational costs, increase productivity, and reallocate resources towards strategic initiatives that improve the organization.
Modernized platforms typically incorporate robust security measures and compliance standards to protect sensitive customer data and prevent cyber threats.
Features such as encryption, authentication, and access controls significantly enhance data security throughout the ecommerce journey.
Compliance with regulations such as GDPR and PCI-DSS builds trust with customers and reduces the risk of costly fines or untold reputational damage due to data breaches – evidence of which we’ve seen many times across the globe.
Platform modernization fosters innovation by enabling businesses to experiment with emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, AR/VR, and voice commerce.
These technologies can be leveraged to create immersive shopping experiences, improve product discovery, and generate engagement.
By differentiating themselves through innovative offerings and personalized experiences, forward-thinking organizations can stand out and attract new customers while retaining existing ones.
Modernizing platforms can lead to cost savings through improved resource utilization, reduced maintenance overhead, and scalability benefits.
Cloud-based solutions offer pay-as-you-go pricing models, eliminating the need for upfront hardware investments.
As these factors clearly demonstrate, embracing platform modernization has significant upside.
Platform modernization delivers ecommerce businesses with a wealth of invaluable innovation opportunities and features that include:
By modernizing the ecommerce platform, organizations can leverage advanced data analytics and machine learning algorithms to offer highly personalized shopping experiences.
This includes personalized product recommendations, tailored content, and customized promotions based on each customer’s browsing and purchasing history.
Modernizing the platform allows for seamless integration across multiple sales channels, including online stores, mobile apps, social media platforms, and brick-and-mortar stores.
This ensures a consistent and cohesive experience for consumers regardless of the channel they favor, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Implementing AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can dramatically elevate customer service by providing instant support and resolving inquiries in real-time.
These intelligent systems have the power to handle routine queries, offer product recommendations, and even assist with the purchase process – improving overall efficiency and customer satisfaction.
With a modernized ecommerce platform, organizations have the ability to implement dynamic pricing strategies based on factors such as demand, competitor pricing, and customer behavior.
This allows for real-time price adjustments to optimize sales, maximize revenue, and remain competitive.
Simplifying the checkout process through platform modernization can significantly reduce cart abandonment levels and improve conversion rates.
Introducing features such as one-click checkout, guest checkout options, and multiple payment gateways enhances convenience and encourages impulse purchases.
Integration of AR and virtual try-on technology into the ecommerce platform allows customers to visualize products in their real-world environment prior to making a purchase.
This immersive experience improves product engagement, reduces return rates, and boosts customer confidence in their buying decisions.
Leveraging blockchain technology for supply chain management within the ecommerce platform ensures transparency, traceability, and security throughout the entire product lifecycle.
This allows customers to verify the authenticity and origin of products, thereby building trust and reducing the risk of counterfeit goods in the marketplace.
In short, there are all manner of innovation opportunities that come with adopting platform modernization.
Although platform modernization presents considerable opportunities and advantages, many ecommerce businesses grapple with significant challenges that can come with adopting this process.
Here are some of the most common hurdles:
Many ecommerce businesses operate on outdated legacy systems that are deeply ingrained into their operations.
Migrating away from these systems can be complex, costly, and risky.
Modernizing platforms often involves integrating new technologies and applications with existing systems.
Ensuring seamless integration without disrupting day-to-day operations can be challenging, particularly when dealing with disparate systems and data sources.
Platform modernization requires significant investments in terms of time, money, and expertise.
Businesses may face resource constraints, including budget limitations, shortage of skilled personnel, and competing priorities that impede their ability to embark on modernization initiatives.
Any changes to the ecommerce platform, whether it’s upgrading systems, migrating to the cloud, or adopting new architectures, carry inherent risks of disruption.
Downtime, data loss, and performance issues during the transition can impact the customer experience, revenue, and brand reputation.
Organizational culture and resistance to change can pose significant barriers to platform modernization.
Employees may be reluctant to adopt new technologies or processes, leading to internal friction and resistance to change.
Platform modernization initiatives must be aligned with the broader business objectives and goals.
Without clear alignment, businesses risk investing in technologies or solutions that do not deliver tangible value or address critical business needs.
In summary, addressing these challenges requires careful planning, stakeholder buy-in, and a strategic approach to platform modernization.
While there are challenges with adopting the process of platform modernization, ecommerce businesses expose themselves to severe risk by maintaining legacy systems. Headlining those risks are:
Legacy systems are often more susceptible to security breaches due to outdated software, unsupported components, and known vulnerabilities.
Hackers may exploit these weaknesses to gain unauthorized access to sensitive customer data, leading to costly data breaches, financial losses, and brand and reputational damage.
Outdated systems generally lack the flexibility and scalability required to accommodate the growing demands of ecommerce businesses – fueled by the demands of their customers.
As the volume of transactions and user traffic increases, legacy systems often struggle to handle the load efficiently, resulting in performance issues, downtime, and degraded user experiences.
With evolving regulations and compliance standards in the ecommerce industry, maintaining deference with data protection laws – such as GDPR and CCPA – and payment card industry standards (PCI DSS) can be challenging with legacy systems.
Non-compliance invariably leads to legal penalties, fines, and loss of customer trust.
Legacy systems typically lack modern APIs and integration capabilities, making it difficult to consolidate with third-party services, new technologies, and external platforms.
Failure to adequately integrate can hamper innovation, limit business agility, and increase development time and costs for implementing new features or functionalities.
Over time, the cost of maintaining and supporting legacy systems can become disproportionately excessive compared to the value they deliver.
Legacy applications may require specialized skills, outdated hardware, and expensive licensing fees, contributing to increased operational expenses and reduced profitability.
As touched on at the start of this article, outdated systems generally struggle to offer the features and capabilities necessary to deliver seamless and engaging customer experiences expected in today’s competitive ecommerce landscape.
This can lead to frustrated customers, lost sales opportunities, and diminished brand loyalty.
Maintaining legacy systems can inhibit innovation and hinder the adoption of new technologies, trends, and market opportunities.
Organizations relying on outdated platforms are at serious risk of struggling to keep pace with competitors who leverage modern solutions.
Overall, the risks associated with maintaining legacy systems underscore the importance of investing in platform modernization and digital transformation initiatives to stay competitive, secure, and adaptable in a rapidly evolving digital world.
This section focuses on the following elements:
Creating a future-proof ecommerce architecture requires several key elements. Here is a trio of these components and an outline of their benefits:
1. Cloud Computing
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS provides scalable computing resources such as virtual machines, storage, and networking over the internet.
This cloud computing service model allows ecommerce businesses to scale infrastructure up or down based on demand without the need for upfront investment in physical hardware.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS offers a platform with pre-built tools and services for developing, deploying, and managing applications.
It enables rapid development and deployment of ecommerce applications without the need to manage underlying infrastructure.
Benefits
2. Microservices Architecture
Decoupled Services
This offering breaks down the ecommerce application into small, independent services that can be developed, deployed, and scaled separately.
Each service is responsible for a specific function, i.e., product catalog, checkout, or payment processing.
Benefits
3. APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)
Internal APIs
Internal APIs expose functionalities and data within the ecommerce platform to enable communication between different microservices.
These interfaces allow services to interact with each other in a standardized and efficient manner.
External APIs
External APIs reveal functionalities of the ecommerce platform to external systems, such as third-party applications and services.
They enable integration with the likes of external partners, payment gateways, shipping providers, and marketing tools.
Benefits
To summarize, a modern ecommerce architecture built on cloud computing, microservices, and APIs offers much-needed scalability, agility, and flexibility – enabling businesses to adapt to evolving market demands and deliver outstanding customer experiences.
By leveraging these essential components, organizations can streamline operations, enhance performance, and stay ahead of the competition.
The Top Benefits of Headless Commerce
Headless commerce offers significant advantages by decoupling the frontend presentation layer from the backend commerce functionality.
This separation allows entities to achieve unparalleled flexibility and customization in delivering digital experiences to their customers.
With headless commerce, businesses have the freedom to design and implement frontend experiences using any technology stack or framework, without being constrained by the limitations of a traditional monolithic ecommerce platform.
Furthermore, headless commerce enables organizations to adapt quickly to changing market trends and consumer preferences.
Updates and changes to the frontend can be implemented independently of the backend, allowing for rapid iteration and experimentation.
This agility empowers businesses to deliver innovative digital experiences and elevate customer engagement and loyalty, giving them a decisive edge on their competition.
Best Practices for Integrating Emerging Technologies into the Ecommerce Experience
Here is a rundown of the best practices to follow when incorporating emerging technologies into the ecommerce picture frame:
AI-Powered Personalization
Enhanced Search and Navigation
Predictive Analytics for Inventory Management
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Experiences
Voice Commerce Integration
Continuous Monitoring and Optimization
By following these best practices, businesses can best leverage emerging technologies to create personalized, immersive, and engaging experiences that drive customer satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue growth.
Leveraging Offshore Talent for Platform Modernization
Offshore development has emerged as an attractive option for ecommerce businesses looking to accelerate their platform modernization initiatives.
By partnering with a software development company that offers access to high-grade offshore talent – like RBM Software does – businesses can leverage specialized skills and expertise at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house.
One of the key advantages of offshore development is cost savings, as labor expenses in offshore destinations are typically lower than in the US.
Additionally, offshore teams can provide round-the-clock support, rapidly accelerating development cycles and time-to-market.
Furthermore, offshore development offers scalability, allowing businesses to scale their teams up or down as needed to meet changing project requirements.
There are two common engagement models for offshore development: Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT).
In the BOT model, the offshore partner builds and operates the development center on behalf of the client, transferring ownership at a later stage.
In the BOOT model, the offshore partner not only builds and operates the center but also retains ownership and operational control after the transfer.
Both the BOT and BOOT structures demonstrate that there are substantial gains with leveraging offshore talent for platform modernization.
As the ecommerce landscape shifts at a rapid rate, platform modernization presents assorted ecommerce businesses with immense opportunities to gain a vital edge on competitors, and leverage a burgeoning revenue stream.
By embracing modern technologies and practices, future-thinking organizations can enhance agility, scalability, and customer experience, ultimately amplifying growth and competitiveness.
Offshore development offers a cost-effective and efficient way to accelerate platform modernization initiatives, providing critical access to specialized skills and expertise while ensuring scalability and flexibility.
It’s time to transform your business…
Keen to embrace platform modernization to keep your business ahead of the competition?
Get in touch with RBM Software today.
We’ve garnered an enviable reputation for creating advanced custom software solutions designed to dramatically boost businesses’ efficiency and drive tangible growth.
Based in San Francisco, USA – and with offices in Pune, India and Dubai, UAE – we have a distinct focus on the creation and advancement of transactional ecommerce websites, using modern technology stacks.
Want to see what we could do for your organization? Find out now.
