Very few new software solutions coming to market at present rely solely on installations onto each user’s desktop or mobile device.

Although there are plenty of products out there that enable this to happen via automated scripting routines, pushing installations out to every networked client, their use is becoming less common.

Instead, many enterprises are using cloud-based software as a solution to the problems encountered during local install processes. These include the cost benefits — cloud solutions tend to be pay-as-you-use, not up-front license purchase — but also the overheads of software maintenance, version patching, security and data security all being handled by the cloud provider. That leaves the users to get on with their jobs, and the foundational maintenance and oversight become the responsibility of the cloud supplier.

Some solutions in specific verticals have only relatively recently made the transition to be cloud-based. These tended to be in areas where data governance was of paramount importance, and/or where user reticence about the cloud made local installation more attractive. One thinks immediately of financial packages, or software designed to handle very sensitive information such as in healthcare settings.

But even these edge-case verticals are moving their apps and services to the cloud. That’s in part thanks to greater public acceptance of the cloud model, but also the fact that the big cloud providers have proven their efficacy and security standards. That’s certainly the case for e-commerce platform providers, where the new-generation of platforms are cloud-first, or even cloud-only. So, what are the cloud’s advantages when it comes to e-commerce deployment?

1. Scalability and speed.
Locally-installed e-commerce facilities lack the type of elasticity that the modern retailer requires. With massive peaks and troughs in demand appearing minutes apart, the current vogue among consumers is for limited product “drops”, flash sales, fast discounts and seasonal promotions.

Cloud providers can furnish even smaller retailers with the capacity to cope with sudden peaks in demand, without the retailer having to pay for high-tier services the whole year-round.

And with that scalability comes speed. As soon as e-commerce facilities slow down (perhaps at peak demand times), the tendency is for massive spikes in cart abandonment. In truth, competing products are only a click or two away, and the always-on mentality means people are impatient for results— watching progress bars crawl isn’t the best experience to give customers!

2. Stable and secure
In a world of global business, most companies need to consider the geographic placement of consumers and suppliers as mostly irrelevant. A customer in Vietnam has exactly the same importance as one in New York City, and the e-commerce platform underpinning a store must accommodate that.

While there’s no difference to the cart algorithms where a consumer is, there are enormous ramifications for data security and governance. Customers from Europe, California, Australia and Singapore hold data that must be held and treated in specific ways. And there are many dozens of similar cases, from territory to territory — and these governance procedures can change daily.

The headaches of data security and compliance are therefore another problem that can be gratefully passed to the cloud supplier, and the retailer can get on with the specific business of purchase, fulfilment, delivery and customer service. That sort of capability has transformed multiple markets, allowing disruptive new players to challenge the like of Rakuten, Tencent, Amazon and Alibaba.

3. Adaptability
Keeping an agile footing in business is a primary goal. And cloud providers, whose business model is not one of “one size fits all” provide the sort of platform that will allow a massive change in adoption models of their solutions.

E-commerce facilities based in the cloud let companies experiment quickly with new markets, apply new pricing structures and models (purchase vs. subscription, for example) and generally be the type of agile business that can seek out and exploit a market niche in minutes — not months.

Here at Tech Wire Asia, we’re looking at three suppliers of the very latest in cloud-based e-commerce platforms that we think are more than worth a few minutes of your time. Each is a leader in its field, with a highly individual offering that can help modern, digitally-fluent businesses develop quickly and profitably.

SHOPIFY PLUS

As retail companies reach the limits of legacy e-commerce platforms, many turn to Shopify Plus to expand, adapt and evolve their business and keep up with the ever-changing demands of consumers.

Engineered for scalability and reliability, the cloud-based solution is driving massive disruption in the traditional enterprise landscape by giving customers the power and capabilities they need to grow and succeed without the headaches, costs and lengthy timelines of traditional enterprise options. By eliminating unnecessary complexity, Shopify Plus gives brands more time and space for the more meaningful aspects of their business.

With Shopify Plus, you can easily launch new sales channels, across marketplaces, retail, social and mobile – connecting directly with your customers, wherever they are and wherever they’ll be.

Capable of handling unlimited demand, you can expand globally and experiment with new markets. You can free your team from repetitive, time-consuming tasks, with automated workflows that simplify manual processes and accelerate conversions by scheduling sales campaigns and product releases.

You can also create customisable storefront and checkout experiences that delight your customers and keep them coming back.

From the fastest-growing brands to Fortune 500s, thousands of companies trust Shopify Plus to grow bigger, faster. You can learn whether Shopify Plus is the right platform for your business here or read the full article here to explore the specific challenges facing D2C retail and how Shopify Plus can help.

BIGCOMMERCE

Like Shopify, Big Commerce offers a slightly more limited product for smaller users, from startups and upwards — in this case, that’s Big Commerce Essentials.

With the smaller player also in mind, there’s a BigCommerce for WordPress plugin, so retailers can seamlessly blend site content with retail points, and the whole is backed by 24/7 support. After all, the company hopes that as your retail empire grows, you’ll graduate to the enterprise version of the platform.

There are options to run BigCommerce just as a backend that handles data and payments under the hood, and as a solution that also oversees wholesale operations, all from the same interface. The company also leverages its industry partnerships with companies like Facebook and Square to promote the type of personalised, omnichannel customer experiences that today’s consumers tend to rely on.

That same management interface also controls point-of-sale in brick stores, too, so whether companies want to sell online, in person or in a combination, all inventory and product details are synced and updated from one place. That ensures good brand practices are an integral part of the business: one message, many conduits.

You can read more about BigCommerce for the larger company right here.

ORACLE

To many perhaps, Oracle is an unlikely contender on this list, but on closer inspection the company’s strengths as a (historical) database specialist chimes very well in the e-commerce and retail space.

After all, what are customer lists, SKU records and even information packets about preferences and choices but database entries? It’s the pulling-together of the various types of information (the technically-minded folk might read “joining tables”) that is Oracle’s natural territory.

The company offers an extensive menu of cloud-based software and services, and hardware like PoS tablets, which create a menu of choices. There’s complete supply chain management facilities, and marketing communications, as well as store planning and personalisation options. And as you’d most definitely expect, the business intelligence platforms on offer from Oracle are some of the best in the world.

Choose from the extensive choices and read more on the Oracle website.

*Some of the companies featured on this article are commercial partners of Tech Wire Asia