By Vinny O’Brien, E-Commerce Trainer and Consultant
The Wave reports from Forrester have gained a lot of comment this year. More than most years. And interestingly, it is an audience that normally does not pay attention.
We have a number of key analyst reports, IDC, Gartner and Forrester (US-based) that provide a guide for some people to go and do their secondary research (this point is important).
These platform guides, although claim to be designed around buyers, do not feel like they are this year. The criteria is off and counterintuitive in my opinion. Let me give an example from the B2C report:
- The metrics ask questions, and I think the platforms might feel aggrieved at some.
- Front end – out of 5, no one got higher than 3, even the headless operators.
- Architecture – only Commerce tools and Elastic Path score a 5 – next closest is 3.
- Third party channels – highest is a 3 – all platforms have an open API too – ?
How in this day and age can a platform scoring 1 on security make the list at all?
How can Shopify hold a 1 on catalog management and 5 on merchandising?
A metric that maybe talks to part of the overall problem, customer success and support all at 3 or lower, except Kibo. This is how smaller players carve out a niche. Overdeliver on service, at a higher cost to themselves.
In fact, on the consumer side, the Forrester report said it was a retention benchmark tool for those who do not want to re-platform. No one ever wants it, but maybe some actually need it.
Similar anomalies exist on the B2B report.
To my point. Who do these reports really serve? I suggested they can help on secondary research. You have got to start with your own primary research.
What are we doing? Why are we doing it?
Get your diagnosis of your requirement right first.
Validate this. Cost it. Build your risk analysis.
What the reports do tell us is that there is confusion. And that, what works in North America is not easily applied in Europe or other regions.
TCO is your own financial runner rail, not a measure of success. They all negotiate. They will do deals with you. But you need the right players at the table. In most cases on B2C it will be Shopify and who else.
In B2B, it is similar but there are a lot of factors. To a point made by James Gurd, there are cookie cutter aspects that make the possibility of B2B change mgmt seemingly easier. But in this side of the industry, it is largely the back office where the battle for improvement takes place.
These guides have provided signposts over the years, but I cannot help but think there needs to be a buyer-first guide that is designed to bring the right people to the RFP table. It should have other considerations too – the role of the SI, the consultant, your team and more.
Closing – to design a report like this is not easy. The variables, weighting, dynamism and platform expectation are exceptionally high. I do not envy the authors. But, it should not take the gnawing off of an arm to make a re-platform a reality.
