When desktop-based eCommerce first emerged in the 1990s, the first generation of digital commerce offered massive, all-inclusive suites as its standard. There were two options for shopping: in-store purchases and online purchases.
How times have changed! Customers today expect omnichannel shopping, lightning-fast website speed, Google-like search capabilities, and significant brand experiences. Never before have businesses been more multinational, multi-brand, and complicated. In a word, the slow-moving, steady age of desktop-only eCommerce is over.
Companies must act faster than ever to fulfill customer expectations, enter international markets, and introduce new products. The key to their development and success is innovation.
But if innovation is necessary for a business’s growth, why is it so challenging to implement? Why do companies use fixed-release cycles when they can continuously offer new ideas?
The answer is simple: monolithic systems designed for desktop-only eCommerce are insufficient for companies.
Why Are Monolithic Platforms Not Compatible Anymore?
Monolithic eCommerce systems offer a universally applicable solution. However, it is essentially a hard, indivisible chunk of standardized software that needs to be retested and redeployed each time a modification or update is scheduled.
Imagine incorporating modern touchpoints into your shopping experiences, like social commerce applications. You can ultimately deliver omnichannel commerce; In your firm, everyone is ecstatic, and C-Level management has approved your proposal. First, however, integrating it into your rigid commerce system is a challenge.
In other words, months in advance, your IT and DevOps teams need to prepare for the integration of the new feature. This meticulously planned roadmap exists because whenever a change is made to the monolithic platform, the whole program and its closely tied dependencies must be updated simultaneously – even when adding a little feature like a social commerce app.
Integrating the new function might severely damage your IT system if something goes wrong. Consider service interruptions, platform outages, weak points that are open to malicious attack, or, in the worst event, a total crash.
Given how difficult it is to accomplish anything on monolithic platforms, it is understandable why technical teams are averse to change and feel the need to have complete control over their roadmaps. Therefore, the cycle of innovation resistance never ends: you encounter resistance while attempting to expand the functionality of online stores.
This low-risk strategy eventually results in technical debt and subpar company performance, and all attempts at innovation fail.
Time to Move to a New Wave: Commercetools
As we have seen, we are undergoing a major shift from monolithic, but what is the solution?
Let’s use the example of implementing a social commerce app once again. Think of it as a single piece of software that can be plugged into your infrastructure without any dependencies and has no impact on the rest of your application. This is what a microservice-based strategy does: it breaks down functionality into granular bits, making them more agile and dependable while offering faster answers and allowing them to be delivered more often.
This proves that the shift from monolithic legacy eCommerce platforms to microservice-based headless solutions is one of the significant moves. Also, the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the importance of seamlessly shifting business operations online. A retailer with access to flexible and scalable commerce systems was definitely at an advantage. Why? They now have better, faster, and more flexible options.
This massive shift is the outcome of eCommerce’s impact on the technical landscape and eCommerce tendencies. Very few platforms take a headless approach, but we can observe that Headless and API-driven eCommerce is one of the recent trends in eCommerce that stands out. It promotes continuous innovation.
What does “headless” actually mean? A headless commerce platform manages all backend operations, business logic, and data. A headless CMS makes content available through an API for display on any device that lacks a front-end or presentation layer. The idea of cutting the “head” (the front end) off the “body” is where the name “headless” originates (the backend).
So, the question is how all of this data is made available through adaptable commercetools.
Commercetools makes it possible to link various frontend (heads) forms, including common webshops, applications, voice assistants, and smart gadgets. Because of the enhanced SEO, content marketing, and digital experience capabilities, more eCommerce organizations are implementing commercetools.
What is Commercetools?
Commercetools is the world’s top product portfolio for next-generation B2C, D2C, and B2B commerce. Commercetools created a headless, API-first, multi-tenant SaaS commerce platform that is cloud-native and uses adaptable microservices to free the market from the constraints of traditional suites.
Businesses can provide the best commerce experiences across every touchpoint on a wide scale by using current development building blocks in a genuine cloud platform supplied by commercetools.
The Big Fours Pillars of Commercetools
The commercetools platform is based on the company’s trademark MACH concepts. MACH stands for what the modern commerce platform stands for: Microservices support, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless! The name “MACH,” first used in 2018, has opened the way for several cutting-edge, agile, and open-source technological solutions currently on the market.
The following four pillars of the next-generation commerce platform are known as the” Big Four”:
- Microservices: Microservices are independent, tiny services installed inside the main program and connected via APIs. Microservices’ adaptable and modular design is one of their key characteristics. As a result, enterprises may easily create and alter programs at any moment to suit their particular demands.
- API- first Approach: Commercetools gives companies the freedom to autonomously carry out app implementation and API development thanks to its API-first methodology. An API serves as an abstract layer between the backend and the presentation layer/front-end technologies. It provides the most flexible and seamless information/command delivery between the front and back end.
- Cloud-native: A cloud-native application is not the same as a cloud-hosted application. These apps are exclusively created on the cloud to serve as a vital part of the cloud ecosystem. Everything linked to a cloud-native application, such as commercetools, takes place in the cloud (including development, testing, and integration).
- Headless: Considering all the advantages it provides, headless commerce is seen as the way of the future for online transactions. One of the most alluring and powerful aspects of headless technology is that it gives businesses endless options for connecting with consumers via any digital channel, including voice/digital assistants, web stores, social media platforms, mobile apps, and even AR/VR applications.
These make it possible for the platform to offer company advantages like exceptional and quick performance, flexibility, quicker time to market, and limitless customization, to mention a few.
Who Can Use Commercetools?
Commercetools is a sophisticated commerce system that can handle any form of transaction. It is intended for medium- and large-sized businesses with a revenue-driven attitude. Commercetools can manage every step of the ordering and booking procedures. This toolkit is open. It functions equally well with a content management system (CMS) as it does with a framework or other application that has a front end and allows user interaction.
Commercetools also provide personalized commercial experiences through the use of interconnected microservices.
Scaling is a distinct additional feature that commercetools provides. No matter how many or complicated articles a business has, no matter how much site traffic or orders there are, it has no size or technological restrictions because of commercetools’ platform independence and cloud infrastructure.
Why eCommerce Businesses Are Moving to Commercetools? 11 Solid Reasons
With headless commerce, the frontend and backend layers of the apps are separate and are only connected through an API. From a technology standpoint, headless commerce makes perfect sense in rapidly evolving user behavior. However, a distinct head on the same backend is necessary if the clients utilize various frontends or devices. Let us delve deeper into why commercetools are crucial for businesses today and the reason for their shift.
1. Time to Market & Flexibility
One of the most crucial factors for organizations that are changing quickly is time to market as part of eCommerce growth 2022. Everybody wants to outperform their rivals by two steps while providing the greatest customer service imaginable. So, one of the key aspects of developing an industry-sized e-commerce application that will keep you competitive is time to market.
With the aid of Commercetools, a brand-new e-commerce application may be developed in only two weeks. You ask how. We’re about to get technical, but a typical development cycle for business systems comprises creating the database structure, developing APIs, stress testing, unit testing, managing servers, conceptualizing the architecture, and various other backend-related chores. Why not reuse it when most e-commerce utilizes the same database structure and technology, and all of these things are already taken care of by commercetools?
Reusing components saves time, and being able to design the front end separately from the back end allows company owners the freedom to decide what occurs there and the opportunity to create a unique identity for their brand. With this flexibility, business owners may take advantage of business possibilities and benefit from effective eCommerce software maintenance, reducing market time.
2. Leveraging Data
When you require more than simply a shopping cart, working with commercetools is one of the main reasons to do so. While many eCommerce providers are simply interested in boosting revenue, commercetools offers a customizable solution that enables you to add value and understand your clients better.
This makes the process easier for customers and allows your company to collect valuable information on who its customers are and how they use its products.
3. Tailored Solution
Choosing commercetools represents a big change toward modular solutions that lets you choose the most useful components to meet your needs. In addition, integrating technology and data with business strategy helps establish local digital transformation teams. This makes it possible to design and expand platforms that simply and swiftly reach our customers by truly understanding the exact features they want.
4. Modify to Unique Personal Expectations
Using a headless solution, commercetools frees the user from dependence on a large-scale program that dictates how a front end should be structured. There is no set template system, and personnel can be educated to follow the software vendor’s particular standards. The front end is completely under the user’s control, and the brand identity may be developed without a pre-made layout. Furthermore, it prevents your website or app from looking exactly like anybody else’s since one can use their UX design concepts.
5. Independence
Suppose a test is required for a particular area of a commerce website. In that case, commercetools allow for the creation of errors without disrupting backend operations, unlike conventional commerce solutions, which require simultaneous changes to both the front and back end of the code. It was occasionally necessary to shut down the entire application for maintenance. But with commercetools, experiments with user involvement can be conducted without endangering the entire ecosystem. With the opportunity to experiment, development expenses may also be reduced.
6. Scaling
Usually, with commercetools, it is possible to scale the front and back end separately. Even if the front has high traffic, the back end won’t be impacted because they are only loosely linked. Along with stabilizing availability, this lowers operating costs.
7. Promptness
Since the development teams may collaborate simultaneously, the development process becomes significantly more effective. It is not essential to install and maintain full-stack software. Thus the freedom to experiment enables the quick construction of unique user interfaces. Due to its dissociated structure, altering the UI does not require modifying the backend’s fundamental functionality.
The average speed of your website with commercetools can also be increased to 70%. And eventually, your company may gain a lot from improved development efficiency and a shorter time to market.
8. Easy to Add New Touchpoints
In the case of headless commerce, no software upkeep is required if new touchpoints are to be introduced. It is so that several frontends may access one underlying system and one API.
9. Improved Web Store Uptime and Performance
Had several scalability problems with SAP’s frequent flyer e-shop over the years, which cost you money and upset customers?
Replatforming the frequent flyer rewards website from SAP to commercetools will increase availability and performance using a cloud-native design, extending cloud capacity to handle traffic spikes.
10. Push Innovation Forward
It’s so difficult to modify or upgrade using a monolithic platform like SAP that businesses often fall into siloed thinking and technological debt. Using MACH to transform eCommerce transforms the corporate attitude toward high-velocity, output-driven teams.
As you transition to commercetools, eCommerce and marketing teams may stretch their ideas about what’s possible, resulting in continuous product delivery and a fast-moving innovation roadmap.
11. Security & Sustainability
Imagine never having to worry about updates, maintenance, or high availability. Sounds great, right? It is feasible with commercetools since it is a fully-managed cloud platform with the highest security standards.
Also, a carefully thought-out and sophisticated commerce architecture provides the framework for long-term platform operation and continuous company growth development.
What Does Commercetools Do?
The sophisticated commerce platform called Commercetools is appropriate for many transactions. With a revenue-driven orientation, it is aimed at medium and large-sized organizations. By motivating commerce teams to develop creative and interesting digital commerce experiences, their API strategy helps businesses to increase brand recognition.
So, what exactly do commercetools do? First, let’s explore the countless options that commercetools offers.
1. Create Headless Platform API
As previously said, commercetools is a headless e-commerce platform allowing easy development in any language and framework. With Commercetools, you can create custom e-commerce applications quickly and using whatever tool you choose, with the quickest time to market of any business commerce platform.
Commercetools also allows customers to completely customize the front end without being constrained by the guidelines established by the software vendor. Furthermore, without compromising the reliability of the backend, they can swiftly experiment and A/B test new features. By separating frontend and backend functionalities, commercetools improve client experience while reducing costs.
2. Easy Catalog Management
Using commercetools, you can manage products, product kinds, and variants. As well as this, you will be able to manage intricate customizations in dedicated views to make your business more understandable to consumers.
3. Get a Unified Cart
The commercetools unified cart makes it simple to handle anything from pricing to delivery, currencies to discounts. In addition, it will allow you to make several stores with the same shopping behavior.
4. Order management
To build a completely integrated commerce experience, users must be involved at each point of the user journey. They must also be notified about product availability by channel and retail location. Commercetools make it possible for your consumers to transact with you both offline and online without running into any restrictions.
You may also check the progress of your order with just one finger tap. For example, Click-and-Collect orders for a specific physical store may be retrieved directly from the screen.
5. Machine learning
The capacity to analyze trends without receiving direct instructions is provided by machine learning (ML) technology, which makes use of your data. The commercetools platform uses this to provide product suggestions, personalized promotions, and on-demand offers. In addition, it may be used in the technology stack to simplify and accelerate installations.
6. Merchant center
With the help of Commercetools, users may manage any administrative tasks they encounter when running an online business. It also comes with a sophisticated Product Information Management (PM) that is natively integrated without needing installation or integration. In addition, users may fully edit, alter, and take full control of the product catalog thanks to the integrated merchant center and PM.
7. Developer tooling
The commercetools platform is versatile and expandable, allowing you to build any scenario you can think of. This adaptability entails using patented technologies to modify data models, business processes, and APIs tailored specifically for commerce.
Ready to Migrate? Choose Magneto Solutions as Your Commercetools Solutions Integration Partners
What is a commercetools solutions partner?
As a commercetools partner, Magneto solutions are equipped to help companies and businesses implement and use headless software. Commercetools have already established itself as the pioneer in the area of microservices.
Magneto IT Solutions build more than just top-notch digital commerce experiences as Certified Commercetools Solutions Integration Partner. Magneto Solutions establish enduring relationships with brands to support continuous growth, from research and strategy to marketing and technical support.
It is difficult to jump into new verticals, learn about a fresh thing from the start, and tackle data models. A sudden transformation from monolithic to MACH might also become challenging. And if not done properly, structural changes can cause much harm too.
But with Magneto Solutions, you get the greatest e-commerce growth strategy, the newest technology, and the architecture to develop high-performing e-commerce mobile applications and websites.
So, if you need to decide whether to upgrade to a new version of SAP or modernize your eCommerce infrastructure, get in touch with us. Businesses that bravely choose to switch to commercetools even in less than ideal conditions have already seen success with us!
