Why Cloud Solutions Are Great For E-Commerce
This is a guest post by Sam Cyrus whose author bio will be at the end of the article.
E-commerce has completely revolutionized the trading industry in the last couple of decades. Businesses rely heavily on various e-commerce platforms in order to become successful in selling their services and products online.
The real question business owners face these days isn’t whether to invest in an e-commerce platform in the first place, but whether to invest in an “on premise” local platform or a cloud-based solution.
Additionally, established businesses which already use an on-premise platforms are now faced with the question whether moving their business to a cloud is really worth the time and effort.
They are Fast and Efficient
Cloud-based e-commerce actually offers numerous advantages considering just how fast it can be deployed and the time it requires to start providing your company with revenue.
Businesses and companies don’t need to worry whether the underlying IT structure has the ability to support any new initiatives.
All the IT work is handled by the host or the vendor, leaving you with enough time and resources to respond to any new market opportunities that might come your way by quickly setting up additional websites for new business models.
They Cost Less than Traditional E-commerce Solutions
One of the most obvious talking points regarding cloud-based solutions is the cost efficiency. Traditional e-commerce platforms are set up locally, on the company’s own hardware systems. They are managed by the company’s dedicated IT staff.
The infrastructure, such as servers and storage, often require a rather high upfront investment. This investment doesn’t only include the purchase and setup of the platform, but also the cost needed to maintain those servers, data storage options, power, cooling, backups, software updates and most importantly, security.
On the other hand, cloud-based e-commerce software gets provided as a dedicated service. This is where the term “software as service” gets its name. What this means is that vendors host and manage all of the software and accompanying data on their own cloud server.
The vendor or a host is responsible for update distribution, bug fixes and keeping the data secure. This results in a much lower initial cost without requiring any additional professional assistance in order to use the platform.
Lastly, most cloud-based e-commerce solutions are based on a pay-as-you-go model, which means that you, as a client, simply pay for any services you use on a monthly basis.
Cloud Hosting Allows for Better Back-end Support
Instead of blindly focusing on the customer-facing, front-end of your store, cloud-based e-commerce offers an excellent backend support. Core business functions such as customer service, inventory and order management, search engine optimization tools and even tax integrated accounting services are all incorporated into one cloud-based solution.
This is particularly useful for both small and medium-sized businesses, who can now set up a highly personalized online store which not only engages the visitors efficiently, but it also doesn’t require any additional investments.
Business Scalability is Part of the Solution
One of the major benefits of cloud-based hosting is the scalability factor. Most e-commerce stores and online retailers host special events, new products launches and often offer discounts during the holiday seasons, which results in large spikes in visitor traffic.
Traditional e-commerce solutions would require a number of additional resources in order to meet this increased demand. Cloud hosting solutions are considered to be elastic, which means they allow companies to scale their business quickly and easily support any spikes in user demand.
Information is Easily Accessible
Using cloud hosting as a solution for your e-commerce business allows users to access all their important information data easily no matter what browser they use. But users are not the only ones who require access to specific information.
You also have to think about the company staff, various suppliers, distributors, and business partners. Allowing all of them a quick and easy access to the information they require results in an efficient business process and saves a lot of time you would normally spend on meetings, appointments and doing the dreaded paperwork.
Fewer Risks with Dedicated Recovery Options
Unfortunately, most companies these days do not have a proper disaster recovery plan when it comes to their applications and data. Whether it’s an unexpected power outage or a large system failure, these disasters can quickly close down the workplace until resolved.
This can have a profound impact on the servers hosting the sensitive information. With cloud-based solutions, you don’t have to worry about the servers experiencing physical damage or complete system failure. Not to mention that all repair costs, which can be quite severe, are handled by the company hosting your store.
Final Words
Cloud-based e-commerce offers flexible, as well as scalable solutions for both small and medium-sized businesses. It can greatly reduce the cost needed to run and maintain your businesses and automate most of the business practices needed to serve your customers.
Embracing the cloud allows companies to reroute the resources they would normally spend on hardware, software and financing a dedicated IT team into a better customer experience. Doing so ensures higher conversion rates, as well as lower cart abandonment rates, resulting in more paying customers and larger profit margins.
