When it comes to whether you should use an open-source solution or a fully customizable ecommerce build, there are advantages and disadvantages to each. The main goal should be meeting your needs when it comes to functionality, cost, speed to market, and security.
In this article, we’ll look primarily at Adobe (formerly Magento) Open Source and Adobe Commerce solutions, as well as the pros and cons of each and how they may affect your decision-making.
Pixafy is ideally suited to provide integrative ERPcommerce support for either environment, so it really comes down to your specific needs both now and in the future to determine which option will work best for you.
Adobe Open Source
Adobe Open Source is a free version of Adobe Commerce, designed for startups and small businesses that typically won’t have the funding to afford the more comprehensive version in early days. The free environment is supported by a strong community of developers who are constantly testing and redesigning different aspects to make it better and more user-friendly.
Pros:
The fact that Adobe Open Source is free is probably one of the biggest attractions. There’s no large up-front cost to deal with when trying to get off the ground.
The Open Source community is robust and full of people eager to help each other with varying levels of developer skills troubleshoot their environment.
Cons:
Adobe Open Source requires more custom functionality to be built by the user than the Commerce solution. This can slow down speed-to-market considerably if your team isn’t development capable.
Scalability can also suffer from lack of development expertise; quick growth will be almost impossible as each component will have to be built individually.
Security can be created for Open Source environments, but doesn’t come built in; like everything else, it will have to be developed, added and tested, then monitored and maintained as well.
Pixafy can integrate with an ecommerce site built on Adobe Open Source, and provide the necessary touch points to make your final build more accessible and functional from both a customer and administrative perspective.
Adobe Commerce
Adobe Commerce takes the environment provided by Open Source to an entirely different level, providing an enterprise platform with little or no developer expertise required to achieve full functionality. It includes powerful business tools as well as features and functionalities that are pre-built for out-of-the-box use.
Pros:
Adobe Commerce delivers a high level of functionality without the need for developer know-how, with drag and drop options and plenty of easy add-ons and upgrades.
Security is built into Adobe Commerce, providing peace of mind that can be invaluable when dealing with online sales and customer information.
Getting to market is much faster with Adobe Commerce, thanks to easy scalability and the ability to build out fast and reach peak functionality in a short time window.
B2B functionality and features are available through Adobe Commerce that don’t exist for Open Source users.
Cons:
Since Adobe Commerce is a paid premium option, there can be significant costs associated with this version. This can make things difficult for smaller organizations and startups trying to get off the ground.
However, the time and effort costs associated with Open Source may even things out, especially if you have no in-house coders or developers and have to pay for the Open Source environment to be built out to meet your specifications.
Pixafy integrates fully with Adobe Commerce, providing a complete suite of touch points and integrating the front and back end of your ecommerce setup to provide a single source of truth for all associated data, interactions and transactions.
Bottom Line:
Both Adobe options do deliver a solid foundation for your ecommerce store, from a responsive web experience across a broad range of devices to basic site administration functionality. You’ll be able to benefit from features like checkout, shipping, and payment options in either case.
However, with Open Source you’re looking at limitations when it comes to how customers interact with your system and your products, while Commerce delivers a full-fledged interactive environment for both retail and B2B setups as well as hybrid sites.
It is critical to think not only about what your needs are when it comes to functionality now and your speed-to-market requirements, but what you’ll need in the future.
A site built using Open Source will look different than one using Adobe Commerce, and a switchover later will necessarily require a distinct change in look and functionality, which can be a challenge for your brand.
Pixafy erpCommerce Provides Integration No Matter What You Choose
No matter what choices you make – Adobe Open Source vs. Adobe Commerce vs. Shopify, or NetSuite vs. Sage X3 – you need an integration that brings your ecommerce solution and back office together to work seamlessly. Pixafy ERPcommerce powered by Boomi does just that.
For more information, contact our team today.
