The UniteU Advantage:
Retailers often struggle with the decision to build a proprietary ecommerce system or work with a proven solution provider like UniteU. We’ve listened to IT executives, webmasters, CEOs and CFOs. They have helped us shape the evolution of our ecommerce technology platform. The end result is superior technology coupled with dedicated 24/7/365 customer service, resulting in a technology solution that has a proven ROI. UniteU services and technology have catapulted merchants into Internet Retailer Magazine Hot 100, Top 500 and Top 1000 rankings. Below are some important points to consider when choosing an ecommerce solution for your business.
I want to buy software and keep it in-house:
Run the numbers, in comparison to the UniteU model, keeping it in-house requires the merchant to develop, or purchase, and maintain the software that embodies their web site. This effort may include investigating and selecting the best software for web serving, product catalogs, payment processing, gateway services, fraud screening, marketing features, and more. This is in addition to any custom software that the merchant requires.
Data centers are hosting-only operations, only providing the hardware and basic operational software (operating systems, email servers, etc.) for “rent”. Merchants may use third party web developers to do the initial web site implementation, but there is always the question of who will do the maintenance (database administration 24/7/365 support, infrastructure patching and security compliance), and at what cost, and with what responsiveness? Since UniteU provides the complete application and support infrastructure, our customers are free to focus their resources on maintaining a successful e-store. We give Merchants the tools they need, to make the necessary changes to their site, at the time and frequency they wish, eliminating any dependence on an outside web developer or technical staff to maintain e-commerce applications.
It looks like deploying an open source ecommerce Solution is the way to go:
It can be tempting to think that you can build and maintain an ecommerce solution with your existing or outsourced resources. The problem with this method is keeping pace with the ever changing IT industry (hardware, software, best practices, SEO, SEM, etc.). UniteU customers know their business better than anyone else, and what they care about is keeping their business growing and profitable. Retailers excel at marketing, merchandising and selling, let us handle the software development and maintenance. Very few companies can match our infrastructure and security investments. We release major software upgrades at least once a year, with numerous minor releases throughout the year. Feature upgrades are driven by our customers needs and are focused on improving their continued growth and success.
To configure an Open Source solution that would be somewhat comparable to UniteU, one would need:
Load balanced severs,
1 staging license (about $18k per year),
2 production servers with bandwidth,
1 smaller server for staging ($80 per month),
2 x $400 per month + load balancing services,
Staffing/personnel costs to run and secure the solution (estimated at $75k - $150k per year)
You then need to add in all the PCI Compliance related costs:
Alert Logging,
Front end Web appliance (DSS 2.1 requirement like our G200),
Internal and External security scanning,
3rd party audit costs
Apples to Apples:
UniteU Hosted Solutions would eliminate the need for extra or outsourced technical staff, compared to an Open Source solution where resources would need to be allocated to manage the above requirements. Few sub-contractors will have incentive to be committed to your success. We provide a yearly User Conference, weekly training, marketing tools, monthly Strategic Partner Program, and more to make sure your e-business continues to grow. If you compare apples-to-apples services, we will still look relatively inexpensive, but offer a true partnership. UniteU prides itself in having the best interest of our customer in mind. One very large retailer put it this way “UniteU is the best kept secret out there.” This enterprise level merchant moved from IBM Web Sphere to UniteU, and cut their annual cost in half!
UniteU SaaS (Software as a Service) Model:
A significant part of our true value-add is in not only relieving our customers of the costs, but also the stress and headaches of developing and maintaining enterprise-class e-commerce applications and supporting infrastructure. We free our customers to focus on their business. UniteU bears the costs and risks of establishing the secure infrastructure, developing application features, and finding and managing the technical talent needed to maintain such an operation.
We are constantly aware of the latest trends and innovations within the e-commerce marketplace, thus we are able to bring state-of-the art knowledge and operational capabilities to our customers for a fraction of the cost that they would incur in trying to develop and maintain such capabilities themselves. As mentioned earlier, few companies can match our infrastructure and security investments. We are certified as a PCI Level 1 Service Provider. You may see us listed on the VISA CISP Service Providers.