E-commerce Platforms 10 th March 2010 Lifecycle of a successful e-commerce platform Ralph Lorkins Solution Architects Manager Claranet UK A technically astute partner offering Networks, Hosting and Managed Applications Services An experienced company with 36,000 business customers 550 employees spread across 7 countries A Managed Services Provider Who are we? Some of our retail customers Connect Distribution Services Overview The Solution Architect role What we do The vantage point The questions What does your business do? Whats the goal of the platform? Trusted Advisor The lifecycle Four key stages: Conception Design Development Production And an aside The design Functional Specification Who are the customers? Integration Additional user types Connectivity Back office/existing systems Technical Specification Is it a differentiator? Not for long! Development Technical Options: Off the shelf software In house development 3 rd party development Greenfield Platform based - SI Hybrid Considerations: Speed Flexibility Security Control/Management Cost (and ROI) Aside: Compliance Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Fraud prevention Evolving standard Strategic impact for the entire lifecycle Production Were done! Were not done Applications deployment challenges Of all the businesses who undertake software development projects...only 34% prove successful ! Source: Standish Group Report Production - transition Evolution Priority shift Stability becomes more important than agility...but agility must not be lost Hosting Management Risk factor in hosting 47% downtime are due to Application and Database failures If you combine the remaining 53% and spread it amongst multiple suppliers the risk factor is even higher Gartner Research Application development and Application management Or: the hunters and the farmers Process Operational Support Plan ITIL-based runbook People 24/7 support, holiday cover Technology Vendor agnosticism Continuing lifecycle - next steps Scaling the platform Continuing development Conclusion - E-commerce Strategy Success Clearly define the goal What is it you want to accomplish? Details! Match that goal to a technology strategy How well is your technology serving your digital strategy? What technology risks are you exposed to? Do you want technology to be core to your business? How will you measure success? Find a partner that fits your technology strategy Look for a cultural fit as well as a technological Ensure that your chosen solution meets all of your success criteria Any questions?