Selecting the Right eCommerce Platform is Critical in a Competitive Market, says Info-Tech Research Group in New Industry Guide

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May 01, 2023, 15:07 ET

Modern eCommerce solutions enable businesses to carve out a place for themselves in the ever-expanding and hyper-competitive digital landscape.

TORONTO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - eCommerce solutions are becoming increasingly essential tools as they shoulder tasks integral to organizational operations and become an indispensable part of a holistic customer experience strategy. However, selecting the right platform that aligns with an organization's unique needs can be a daunting undertaking. Despite the importance of implementing the right eCommerce platform, many organizations struggle to define an approach to picking the most appropriate vendor and rolling out the solution in an efficient and effective manner. To support IT and organizational leaders facing this challenge, global IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group has released its newest resource, eCommerce Platform Selection Guide.

Developing an inclusive and thorough request for proposal (RFP) process is a critical part of eCommerce platform selection and implementation. Following the seven steps as outlined above will support organizations in their efforts to effectively manage their RFP process. (CNW Group/Info-Tech Research Group)

The eCommerce market is rapidly evolving, making it difficult to stay ahead of the curve and challenging to discern which platform is the right fit amid flashy promises and guarantees. As such, IT often finds itself in the unenviable position of taking the fall for platforms that fail to deliver on the promise of the eCommerce strategy.

To succeed with the implementation of an eCommerce solution, the firm advises creating a roadmap that outlines milestones for configuration, security, points of implementation, data migration, training, and ongoing application maintenance. To support IT and organizational leaders in this endeavor, Info-Tech Research Group has assembled use cases to help guide selection and ensure strong points of integration between eCommerce and other software, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and point of sale (POS).

"Organizations are looking to accelerate their digital transformation to keep pace with the increased amenability of consumers to online shopping, the expanded adoption of smartphone use, and, ultimately, a hyper-competitive landscape that sees more and more companies putting a concerted emphasis on digital retailing," says Austin Wagar, research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group. "For an aligned approach, IT needs to be a trusted partner in the selection and implementation of an eCommerce platform, but the business also needs to own the requirements and be involved from the get-go."

Due to the significant impact of an organization's eCommerce platform on the customer's online shopping experience and consumerism, the selection of an eCommerce platform must be driven by an organization's overall customer experience management strategy.

The firm advises an intentional multistep process that involves defining target capabilities, prioritizing requirements across functional categories, determining the architecture model for the eCommerce environment, and developing a comprehensive request for proposal (RFP) that can be scored in a weighted manner.

Info-Tech also reminds IT and organizational leaders that eCommerce solutions should not live in isolation, but rather must be part of a wider ecosystem to be effective.

To access the complete research for guidance on selecting the right eCommerce platform, IT and organizational leaders can download the eCommerce Platform Selection Guide.

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For more information about Info-Tech Research Group or to view the latest research, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading information technology research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For more than 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

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SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group