A cloud infrastructure for eCommerce , marketplaces and online stores to develop, integrate and optimize with absolute freedom all their functionalities is what CommerceTools offers.
Freedom, speed, flexibility, unique customer experience – these are the promises of this innovative e-commerce solution.
With its headquarters in Germany, support centers in 12 other countries and hundreds of partners around the world, CommerceTool s offers an application programming interface ( API ) specialized in e-commerce , so that the actors of this dynamic digital ecosystem integrate in the cloud all the necessary tools to boost their business.
In Mexico and Chile NU Technology is an enabler of all the benefits offered by CommerceTools, learn in this installment the basics to understand how this powerful platform can transform your online business .
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What is CommerceTools and what is it for?
We already mentioned in the introduction that CommerceTools is a cloud platform, it is not a software that you install on your computer.
CommerceTools enables an API or Back-end /Headless application programming interface infrastructure , if you are not a geek by nature, all this definition will sound strange to you, but you are in the right place because we are going to clarify these terms.
In the cloud there are different levels of service ranging from:
- The software (Software as a Service or SaaS).
- Going through the platform (PaaS or platform as a Service)
- To infrastructure (Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS).
Any ERP system, or an online office suite such as Microsoft 365 is a SaaS solution.
Some SaaS applications have API integrations so that businesses can plug in their own applications, but these integrations can be limited.
Well, CommerceTools enables a cloud infrastructure (IaaS /PaaS) for your online business to develop, configure and integrate all your applications ensuring interoperability, simplicity and optimal performance.
This is how CommerceTools’ official site sums it up:
“Our API First approach ensures unmatched levels of flexibility by connecting to all third-party interfaces and applications, eliminating vendor lock-in and creating your own infrastructure and application ecosystem.”
CommerceTools bases its business model on MACH principles, let’s see what it is all about for a better understanding.
CommerceTools MACH Principles
An architecture or framework based on MACH principles is founded on the philosophy that companies need autonomy, visibility, flexibility and a high level of control to deliver an elevated customer experience.
Instead of providing a straitjacket, known in the industry as ‘ vendor lock-in ‘, the technologies and approaches around MACH enable a modular and open environment for your company to configure its own tools and functionality, gaining collaborative innovation and agility.
MACH is the acronym for: Microservices, API First, Cloud and Headless . Let’s see:
Microservices : A modular development approach, in which each functionality is created, maintained and managed individually; which ensures convenience, service availability, rapid deployment and upgrade.
Here are 7 benefits of microservices that you should know.
API First : Application programming interfaces are the enabling bridge for integration or interoperability between the best modern platforms, gaining simplicity, visibility and speed.
Cloud : CommerceTools is developed and available ‘in the cloud for the cloud’ so that all its developments can be scaled according to the changing needs of a dynamic market.
Headless: traditional web development has two layers: Backend and Frontend, the first one generates the architecture and developments necessary for the design and layout of part of the second one.
Head-less refers to a decoupling of the frontend so that your team has greater freedom to make any coupling it deems appropriate, without being trapped within a provider channel or a legacy stack of monolithic applications that do not fit the dynamics or model of your online business.
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What are the benefits of CommerceTools for your eCommerce or online store?
Having a little more clarity on the work philosophy and principles with which CommerceTools operates, let’s see what are the benefits that this platform brings to your eCommerce digital business.
Originality and autonomy
If anything limits a business is the ‘straitjacket’ or lock-in of the provider that leads you to hire a single offer of solutions and makes your ecommerce look the same as others.
The CommerceTools Headless principle makes customers autonomous, free from legacy application stocks and monolithic software.
This allows your IT and development team to configure their own environment, implement the interface they feel they need to gain visibility, service level and brand identity that they can shape with or without templates.
Here’s what you need to start an e-commerce business.
Availability and fast implementations
Something inherited from the principle of microservices on which CommerceTools is based is the possibility of intervening any module or application without having to affect the entire platform.
This is how SinergyTop partner of CommerceTool in India explains it:
“In traditional commercial solutions, the frontend and backend code must be modified simultaneously. In most cases, it is necessary to shut down the entire system for maintenance or upgrades.”
With CommerceTools , new user interactions can be tested without the risk of compromising the entire platform.
Agile testing and deployment also saves management and new development costs.
Scalability
Scalability is the ability of a system to adapt quickly and without significant investment of budget or effort to an increase or variation in service demand.
It is a property inherited from cloud services , through which it is possible to deploy new capabilities in bulk without large investments in infrastructure or implementation.
The CommerceTools Headless principle and its frontend – backend decoupling makes it possible for the latter not to be affected if frontend applications receive heavy traffic.
This feature also reduces the operational cost and stabilizes service availability.
These are the best practices to implement an e-commerce business .
Agility and flexibility
The microservices approach of this architecture makes it possible for several development teams to work simultaneously, reducing new releases and implementations and making processes more efficient.
In a market as dynamic as e-commerce , shorter development and implementation times improve availability, user experience and foster innovation with the consequent impact on business results.
Modern Commerce with CommerceTools – Conclusion
Renowned brands such as Audi, Volkswagen, Kmart, John Lewis, Lego and AT&T have relied on CommerceTools for simplicity and agility in a modern approach to integrated digital commerce to keep pace with the changing needs of their customers.
CommerceTools has been accredited with important recognitions from prestigious research and analysis firms such as Gartner , Forrester and IDC Corp.
This agile model is not exclusive to large corporations in the first economies, it is available to eCommerce and digital enterprises anywhere in the world, along with the support in implementation and integration of partners such as NU Technology .
At NU Tech we are experts in implementation and development of eCommerce platforms and we firmly believe that the world must be connected through IT solutions, support and orchestrated methodologies.