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Which eCommmerce Platform to Choose in 2010 For Your Small Business

Time:2010-03-10 18:18:25 Source:Ezinearticles Author:Jon Hos

eCommerce Platform are usually split into four different types. In Brief they are:

1. Hosted solutions: where the entire platform is hosted in vendors datacenter (or is vendors responsibility), and you rent the e-Commerce solution.
2. Licensed Software: software purchased and installed on your servers, can be open or closed source, and you typically own 100% of the code to use for your business for perpetuity
3. Open Source Solutions: defined as those that are released under an Open source license entirely, i.e. GPL is one type of an open source license.
4. Hosted or Licensed: Vendors offering both options,

As part of our JonHos.com 'The Definitive eCommerce Platform Guide 2010 for Small or Medium Business" we found very strong vendor solutions for an affordable budget.

A new generation of products and solutions mean that retailers have an excellent opportunity to leverage the sales and marketing capabilities of their chosen platforms to increase their return on investment.

From all platforms that use a hosted model we found:

1. 40% of providers have a product starting from under $50 per month, thus making it extremely easy to start an eCommerce business.
2. $100 - $200 per month is the amount required to run a top end e-Commerce store with massive amounts of functionality, space and bandwidth.

From all the Licensed platforms we found:

1. 66% of providers have a product starting from under $1000,
2. Another 24% have products in the range $1000 - $5000.
3. A growing trend is for vendors with licensed solutions to provide a hosted equivalent of their solution.

Open source eCommerce solutions are becoming strong contenders with commercially backed business models.

From a functionality and feature standpoint we found that:

1. Over half of the platforms reviewed had very strong Marketing and Sales features.
2. Product and Order Management was included in every eCommerce platform we reviewed
3. From a System Integration perspective, over 70% of platforms have some sort of product data feed integration built in, around 50% of platforms have some kind of shopping portal or product syndication available, while mobile commerce integration is only present in 40% of platforms.

4. In Customer Service functionality, 97% of platforms had in-build site search and navigation capabilities, a disappointing 60% of platforms had integrated online helpdesk, while Service and Warranty is another feature that rated poorly on most platforms (40%).

Finally we were not surprised to see business want to get online for less than $10,000. In fact more than 50% already do it. We believe that most platforms can be setup for $10k in a basic e-Commerce configuration. More advanced developments, integration requirements or high end design will increase this figure. In short:

1. Over 56% of e-Commerce customers have an budget of $10k or less,
2. Close to 50% of customers have a budget of $10k - $50k
3. Only a small number, i.e. 1 in 20 have a budget in the $50k - $100k range.

If you are in the market for a new eCommerce platform solution, be sure to educate yourself with all your choices before making a decision, as re-platforming occurs in over 55% of projects within 18 months.

Educate your business with your eCommerce options.

Jon Hos.

http://www.JonHos.com is a niche consulting firm specializing in eCommerce tender evaluations for small and medium businesses.

We provide independent, unique and in-depth analysis of the eCommerce platform market.

Our reports are used by thousands of small business owners and business executives worldwide to help them improve their e-Commerce selection process and operations. Our research covers over 400 eCommerce platforms, ranging from hosted, license, open source or custom.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Hos

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