Saas Versus On-Premise: Integrating Existing Systems in your eCommerce Business

Introduction

When it comes to integrating your existing business systems into your eCommerce platform it’s critical that you transition as seamlessly as possible with all of the tools and systems you use to successfully operate your business.

Most businesses have cobbled together as many as 15 different back-end technologies that work together to power their site. Your eCommerce platform doesn’t operate independently from the rest of your company’s tools and systems, which may include any or all of the following:

• ERP (such as Brightpearl, Oracle, SAP, Epicor, and MS Dynamics)
• CRM (such as Salesforce)
• Order management systems (such as OrderDynamics)
• Shipping and fulfillment platforms (such as ShipperHQ)
• Email integrators (such as Listrak)
• Tax tools (such as Avalara)
• Analytics and optimization tools (such as Optimizely)

Here's a look at the difference between on-premise and Saas options.

On-Premise

With an on-premise eCommerce solution, you’ll need to first establish that you have the resources available to handle app integration for your site—either internally or as part of your development/design contract. If you want to handle it internally, this means having a dedicated systems integrator on staff who can utilize a licensed API to create a custom integration.

It’s important to note that platform vendors typically won’t provide support if it even remotely appears that your integration interfered with the core of the platform. This is why it’s preferable to use an experienced eCommerce development team to handle your integration.

Saas

While it used to be the case that on-premise eCommerce solutions were easier to integrate with other systems, today’s SaaS platforms have virtually closed that functionality gap. SaaS solutions now provide APIs that allow the necessary hooks for integration needs. Of course, just as with on-premise solutions, SaaS integration efforts require development time, so having the right team in place is critical.

Conclusion

When it comes to business system integration, this is an area where on-premise solutions used to have a slight edge, but today’s combination of open APIs and SaaS platforms that play well with others has made this a dead heat.

For more information on the topic as well as the total cost of ownership, time to market, etc., download the complimentary JBS/BigCommerce white paper SaaS Versus On-Premise: The eCommerce Platforming Showdown.