What is an On-Premises eCommerce Platform and What Are the Benefits?

Clarity eCommerce - The SaaS eCommerce Platform to Scale and Grow Your Business
Work With Us
saas ecommerce features and benefitsbreadcrumb separatorwhat is on-premise ecommerce platform and what are the benefits
ON-PREMISEs eCOMMERCE, CLOUD AND SAAS PLATFORMS

The Meaning of On-Premises Platforms for eCommerce

ECommerce is the act of online shopping, or exchanging and/or receiving money for purchasing goods or services online. It not only refers to goods and services provided from businesses to customers (B2C), but it can also refer to commerce between businesses (B2B).

An on-premises eCommerce platform—sometimes called on-premise or on-prem—is a platform for eCommerce, where the server for the platform is located in the same location as the company. This company looking to develop an online store will need to build it through a central server, which will be located in the headquarters and will be the main storage facility for all the associated data.

The opposite of that is a cloud-based eCommerce platform, where the company is “renting” a platform from a remote hosting provider who takes care of everything associated with the platform on behalf of the company (development, data storage, maintenance, need for updates, security, IT etc). A SaaS eCommerce platform is always cloud-based.

WHICH ARE THE STEPS TOWARDS BUILDING AN ON-PREMISES PLATFORM?

Building Your Own On-Prem Platform

What does it mean to build a platform? What do you need to know?

First of all, you need a team that is current with their knowledge of IT and eCommerce matters. Then you need a basic idea of how you would like the platform to look, which options you want to offer to your customers, what requirements you would like to cover.

After that, it is all down to time and capital to build, plus the capital and time needed for maintenance and updates. The better the team, the more time and more funds available, the better the final product will in terms of appearance, performance, and customer satisfaction.

IS ON-PREMISEs ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS OLD NEWS?

Top Benefits of On-Premises eCommerce Platforms

Despite the rise of preference towards cloud-based and SaaS eCommerce platforms, the option of an on-premises e-shop is still preferred among the veterans and those who “know.” There are a few robust benefits towards preferring the traditional option when compared to a store-bought solution.

Endless Ability to Customize the End Product

Since the custom eCommerce platform is developed in-house, the owner can add, remove, change any specification they want, and customize the end product to better reflect the company’s goal and serve the customer in their chosen way.

In contrast, if a cloud-based or SaaS option is chosen, then there are pre-embedded options to choose from and some room for customization, but the freedom of “do whatever you want” is not available anymore and some of the original requirements might be compromised.

Security

Regardless of the chosen option for an eCommerce platform, security is of paramount importance. We have all heard stories where well-respected companies admitted a data security breach and lost a big chunk of their reputation, followed by many millions in compensation.

If a platform is developed and run on-premises, then the company is fully responsible for the security and handling of the associated data and therefore the protection of its customers. As scary as it might sound, many companies prefer to be the ones who handle all the responsibility, rather than depend on third parties.

Performance

There are several elements related to performance, but it is generally thought that on-premises platforms can offer a higher performance compared to cloud-based platforms for eCommerce. This is especially true for powerful servers and sophisticated IT approaches encountered in big companies, versus “off-the-shelve” cloud-based products preferred by small businesses with a limited amount of offered products or services on a B2C level.

Also, having an in-house IT team indicates the ability for on-demand performance checks and improvements, which might not be available for cloud-based platforms.

Control – Ownership – Privacy

Similar to the benefit of security, being in control is another benefit of on-premises platforms compared to cloud-based ones. Since there are no third parties involved, the business owner is in full control of everything, from how the platform looks, to data handling, updates and maintenance, backups, ownership of the product, and final decisions.

If a cloud-based option is chosen, then all these decisions are made by the cloud company, not the business using the cloud. On a similar note, if no third parties are involved, then privacy is maintained, which it can quite important for large or start-up enterprises.

IF ON-PREMISEs ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS ARE SO GOOD, WHY DO CLOUDS EXIST?

Issues Associated with On-Premises eCommerce Platforms

Cost: With on-premises, a company is responsible for building the platform rather than buy a pre-made option. It is also responsible for covering maintenance and updates costs, plus cover the salary of a dedicated team. However, the total cost-effectiveness might depend on the balance of one-off cost for server, need for an IT team, cost associated to maintenance etc, compared to recurring cost from a cloud-based platform overtime.

Scalability: The option of having an on-premises platform, where everything is built and hosted on a server, indicated the possibility of storage being inadequate for increased traffic needs or expansion of the company. It is much easier to scale up when the platform is based on a cloud and data storage is not an issue, but in the case of in-house platforms scalability can be a nightmare.

Access Flexibility: For cloud-based options, small business and enterprise eCommerce platforms can be accessed remotely, 24/7, from anyone (authorized) with an internet connection. However, for in-house platforms accessibility is trickier, especially if the option of having support from a third-party company to facilitate accessibility is not preferred due to security reasons.

Recent Search

HIPAA Compliance AngularJS Web Development ERP Sage Integrations Microsoft Dynamics Xamarin Framework Comparison Essential Website Features

Top Searches

B2B Supply Chain Management WooCommerce Integrations Catalog Product Tags Top B2B eCommerce Challenges Epic Integrations Optimizing Mobile Apps