22 Nov

SaaS or On-Premises eCommerce Platforms: Pros and Cons

Last Updated on November 22, 2021 by Ruchir Shastri

Software as a Service which is better known as SaaS and on-premise eCommerce options are a great topic to think over before launching an online business – many depend on the skills and resources you possess as well as on your budget.

When talking about SaaS the first thing that should come to our minds is that this is all about virtual services. This sounds a little bit weird, but it is the way this works: if we want to better describe it, we need to say that this is a cloud-based service in which people do not have to download anything on the physical computer or server, but are able to access the application in the remote cloud.

On the other hand, when we talk about the on-promise eCommerce option, it’s locally installed on your PC or server and requires proper management by your IT staff.

Software as a Service or SaaS Pros

There are a bunch of advantages to using SaaS, however, we just want to highlight 5 of them which we consider are the most important.

1. Saving Money

Saving money will always be well accepted for both well-established businesses and startups. This is one of the main characteristics of SaaS because people do not have to invest money in physical places and infrastructure: the main costs will be for the SaaS service itself, internet access, and cloud hosting to store your data. In other words, you’ll pay as you go and for the resources you use.

2. Scalability

SaaS is scalable as per your needs. In case you require more databases or resources right away, this can be done easily. The user just needs to choose the next SaaS plan or option and resources (usually) will be allocated on the fly.

3. Security

This is important because this is your business and your client’s sensitive data. Sometimes it’s better to entrust this task to the team of certified experts unless you have enough experience and resources to do this in-house. Very often your eCommerce SaaS platform is able to handle any issues with server infrastructure (firewalls, instruction prevention systems, antivirus software, etc.) and makes your online venture less vulnerable and more reliable.

4. High-Availability

It is unlikely that the server goes down. But even if this happens a reliable SaaS eCommerce solution will failover in a way your clients will not even realize what happened.

5. Accessible from anywhere

This is amazing that you can manage and be on top of your stuff from anywhere because everything you need is stored in the cloud. So, you can be here or there without thinking that it will be necessary to leave someone in charge of your infrastructure.

Software as a Service or SaaS Cons

After reviewing the most significant benefits, we should also look at the cons someone may face with SaaS.

1. Security

It is possible that you will get a little bit confused because we mentioned previously in the pros that it is “secure”, however, the user must understand that not all cloud providers comply with the highest standards to store the information, so if you have doubts, it is better not to proceed.

2. Lack of Control

The user stays an owner of the whole eCommerce infrastructure while paying for the service. When you cease paying for it, you’ll have to move everything to somewhere else, to stay afloat and accessible.

3. Performance

This is a critical matter because, unfortunately, not all SaaS services and cloud providers have abundant resources, so users realize that the service is not enough until they start seeing failures.

4. Integration

Technology is changing every single day: updates, new configurations, etc. This means that if the company is up-to-date and users have obsolete versions, things will not work out. Or vice versa, if the cloud provider is not updated and the user is, that will be chaos.

5. Awkward process

Users are free to decide what to do or not to do with their data, however, at the end of the day, the SaaS provider is the one that proceeds with any request. If users decide to move and the SaaS provider is not enough prepared to let the users go and do not handle the situation correctly on settings or data transfer, users may lose important data and time.

On-Premises eCommerce Pros

On premise

On-premises eCommerce platforms and more suitable for mid and large online businesses, with a diverse range of products and those who require abundant resources. Let’s take a look at the primary cons.

1. Operate locally

Even though this is a great advantage because you have full control over your server performance, this is not a great option for those who don’t have enough resources for managing related servers.

2. Control

By having the server locally, users can be absolutely sure of full data control. In the case something happens they can act immediately in the most convenient way, besides, they can decide how to dedicate the server to specific data.

3. Security

Users can have their own people to take care of sensitive data. Besides, users ensure compliance that sticks to what their needs are, and users will always be sure the data will be there intact.

4. Fully customizable

Since this is their own hardware, users can decide the way of configuration and they can manage all the applications they acquire and integrate them into their own configuration.

5. Fast and efficient processes

When deciding to make any change, this can be done at their own convenience with no waiting until any third party is available to handle the situation.

On-Premises eCommerce platforms cons

1. Price

This implies renting servers or even data center space. Still, there are more bills to pay such as electricity bills, water bills, Internet bills, software licenses, maintenance fees, etc.

2. Maintenance cost

Even though the data center is well configured and professionally managed, it still needs to have self-accommodation for proper functioning.

3. Not easily scalable

When businesses grow this is a real headache because business owners have to invest more and more to replace hardware and purchase new software.

4. High-level support

As we’ve already mentioned it could be rather costly to have high-level pros in-house. And IT outsourcing is not always a viable option for high-level support.

5. Flexibility

If you decide to add something or reconfigure your current on-premises eCommerce platform, it may require much more effort and IT resources than any other SaaS.

About SoftSys Hosting

SoftSys Hosting has been working hard to comply not only with customer requests but also with the highest standards that make any business grow. So, whenever you decide to go for a cloud or eCommerce hosting provider (nopCommerce, WooCommerce, or Magento) and you are still not sure what to choose, we’re here to assist.

17 Nov

All The Ways to Accept Online Payments in 2022

Last Updated on November 18, 2021 by Ruchir Shastri

The digital era is evolving – the same goes for services offered online as well. Today everything is in tough competition between companies: the way in which they offer their services, the type of payments they accept to promote their services/products, the way in which those services/products are accepted by people has become a challenge because the type of payments that companies accept has an impact on customer behavior. However, this evolution has shown us the diversity of online payment methods that exist so far. Let’s dive into the most popular and trending ways to accept payments in 2022.

Online payments

Credit Card Tokenization

Credit card tokenization that already exists is becoming more and more popular today. This works the way that instead of providing all card information to whoever the services or products are purchased from, you’re offering a token number that will replace the full card details so that people do not have to deal with the protection issues of any sensitive information. The use of credit cards for online purchases is very common, so, tokenization is an equivalent way the only difference is that this works by using a token number which is a number that will replace the card details, making it more secure. So this online payment method will not go out of the trend soon: it also allows you to set up automatic charges on credit cards depending on the recurrence of time that your clients choose.

Payment Gateways and Recurring Charges

This is an extremely popular method. There are a bunch of options for payment gateways, however, one of the most popular which is used worldwide is PayPal since this is a payment gateway that allows saving credits card information securely. As the years go by, this payment method has earned the trust of people in almost any country around the Globe. So, you may be asking, why credit card tokenization and payment gateways, and recurring charges are in a separate description? This is because the option of making payments directly with a credit card will be still the way it is right now, the only difference is that the service provider will send a token instead of the full CC details. On the other hand, a payment gateway stores the information of your credit card as is, though sends and receives payments on the virtual wallet by default.

Cryptocurrency Wallets

Cryptocurrency wallets

Undoubtedly this is where we are migrating to: this is one of the payment methods which is becoming more popular these days. Of course, it is not something that all the companies or most of the companies accept, but as everyone uses it, it will make more and more companies accept crypto.

Despite the diverse ways to make payments online now or in the future, one of the goals that companies do not have to lose is to focus on what will be the best and more secure for their customers. As one thing is that some online payments are becoming more popular, and the other – whether they’re convenient for company clients.

Undoubtedly this is where we are migrating to: this is one of the payment methods which is becoming more popular these days. Of course, it is not something that all the companies or most of the companies accept, but as everyone uses it, it will make more and more companies accept crypto.

Despite the diverse ways to make payments online now or in the future, one of the goals that companies do not have to lose is to focus on what will be the best and more secure for their customers. As one thing is that some online payments are becoming more popular, and the other – whether they’re convenient for company clients.

Softsys Hosting is responsible for offering a secure hosting environment for your business and clients. This means that even though there are many online payment options, Softsys Hosting uses all those that comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), so customers can be sure that their financial data is safe and protected. You can address any concerns you may have to our responsive support experts who are online 24/7 at [email protected] or +1-862 214 2255.