E-Commerce Nimble Triad: Magento – Hybris – Demandware. Which One Do Your Eyes Lay on?
Previously, we discussed customer-centric solutions enriched with unrestricted omnichannel elements of retail evolution. We succeeded to identify that a B2B peculiarity favored establishing the “buyer-vendor” connection firmly depriving businesses the necessity to attract clients at a steady pace.
However, that connection becomes less stable because of digital technologies which opened wide opportunities for B2B buyers for choosing suppliers of goods and services around the world.
People who purchase in the B2B sector are simultaneously first-hand participants of B2C trading as well projecting their personal experience to B2B models. As the field determined a course of actions on running at a fast pace to become a winner, we can’t neglect the most popular platforms available for creating e-Commerce systems.
Let the numbers speak for us before comparing three platforms and choose the best one. Last years the e-Commerce industry gained an immediate competitive advantage among traditional trading. China conquered a place of the king in B2C e-Commerce market having in a country pocket $766.5 billion in online sales for 2016 (Ecommerce Wiki). The US is not far behind and demonstrated $396.7 billion sales in 2016 setting a course for $684 billion in 2020 (Statista). At the same time, B2C e-Commerce sales worldwide draw the line of 2017 with $2,143 billion (Statista).
The e-Commerce sector has grown a lot and pushed the tempo. Experts are going to forecast a double-digit growth up to $4 trillion in 2020.
What if the most popular e-Commerce software kits were assembled in one?
We at Aimprosoft define the business as a creative, inventive and dynamic process with no end in sight. The business is a movement. In this article, we’d like to scrutinize three software products for retail as one of the fastest forwarding industries in the third millennium.
To join all best ideas in one unique team grabbing the invincibility of Iron Man, the speed of response from Spider-Man, the endurance of Hulk, the protective shield of Captain America, and the ability to stand the test from Thor — you say it is a dream of comics’ fans, don’t you?
You will ask what is common in business and comics? We answer: that is unlimited imaginative opportunities to devise new plots and involve new characters in a business stream, fight with enemies, and become better every day.
A businessman like a superhero runs eagerly to meet challenges. To win one need a reliable team and equipment. Helping scores of e-Commerce projects our developers faced the fact that nine of ten clients have to make a choice between three main platforms which are fully completed to sustain business and which of each has its own advantages.
Thus, we’d like to compare the worth B2B and B2C servants as the most demanded software for middle and large businesses. Magento, Hybris, and Demandware are always in the race. Whether it is an even one we are going to find out.
Table of comparison Magento, Hybris, and Demandware systems
| Feature | Magento | Hybris | Demandware |
|---|---|---|---|
| Programming language | PHP | Java | Java |
| Reasonable price | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Open source | yes | no | no |
| B2B focus | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| B2C focus | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Mobile version | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Mobile Apps | yes | yes | yes (needs 3rd party) |
| SaaS | no | no | yes |
| Web Services /API | yes | yes | yes |
| Easy settings and customization | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Technology readiness | 7 | 8 | 5 |
| Community support | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| Frontend speed | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Backend speed | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| Easy start for developers | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| Easy to learn and launch | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| Performance | 3 | 9 | 8 |
| Scalability | 1 | 9 | 8 |
| Skilled resources | 9 | 6 | 5 |
| Sustainable growth | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Free community version | yes | no | no |
| Enterprise edition subscription | yes | yes | yes |
| Extensions/addons | yes | yes | yes |
| Rich out-of-the-box funcrionality | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| OMS (order management system) | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Integration with payment systems | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Sales/promotion/pricing engine | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Customer segmentation | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Flexibility and extendability | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Free themes | yes | no | no |
| Library of extensions | 10 | 5 | 7 |
| Easy to start for content managers | 9 | 8 | 5 |
| Third-party compatibility | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Version updates | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| Technical support | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Import/export of category data | 0 | 9 | 8 |
| CMS for content pages | 9 | 9 | 5 |
| Customizable | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| Effective cache | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Production deployment model | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| Friendly user interface | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Changes without dev | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| SEO friendly | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| Easy integration solutions | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Image Management | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Multisites management on a single instance | yes | yes | yes |
| Added functionality costs | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| Omnichannel commerce | yes | yes | yes |
| Total points | 265 | 287 | 265 |
| Conclusion | Good solution and easy for the start, but widely used primarily in small-medium sized B2C businesses. | Hybris is best suited for on-premise large-scale highly customized multichannel operations and B2B. | SaaS e-Commerce platform is very simple to support. |
Overview and reflections
An out-of-the-box diversity of Hybris in language, currency, website, and omnichannel commerce management stands it out for retailers striving to have an international presence. Magento looks less satisfied with its scalability because of its server-side technology. Accordingly to the table, a truly sophisticated product presentation, which can lead the company through time, is offered by Demandware and Hybris unconditionally.
It’s evident, Demandware is a quite complicated system focused purely on serving for large e-Commerce. Magento Enterprise doesn’t suit for B2B perfectly; it serves rather for B2C with rich functionality. In this regard, a feature deficiency of Demandware, as well as Magento, left e-Commerce entirely with Hybris version 6+ to reckon on. Notable features of the latest tend to work for merchants who are going deeper with consumer behavior, insights, and metrics of purchasing.
The strength of Magento in easy starting is expressed as “get up and set up” thanks to its open-source documentation. Hybris can be opened after getting an access scoring a bigger developer following. Demandware causes troubles with that expecting prepayment of 15 000 euro for Partner status, 2 500 euro for each certified user and 5 000 euro for two-week training, only after that you get access to API and documentation.
It should be noted that a CMS for content pages equals Magento and Hybris with their remarkable WYSIWYG editors. At that time Demandware initiators must have been neglected an ability for a manager to create new content pages having left users with a pool of predefined assets which could be placed on the web page. Side applications rise hopes to simplify the process but it leads nowhere. There is no almighty WYSIWYG editor in Demandware for content pages.
Speaking about technical support, separated Java and PHP developers or unconsolidated dedicated teams are widespread to cater for the needs of development services. The market offers an impressed pool of specialists. Concerning enterprises, it is self-evident that there is no compromise. That said, in the case of Hybris, it is better to have a squad of narrow-skilled developers in-house or be supported with a partner who is an old hand at this.
Despite its superiority in the technical support, Magento backs down from competitors with a lack of custom connector to transfer the data. While Hybris has a native connector to hook one of the largest highly demanded systems of enterprise resource planning applications. Demandware can’t boast of it, unfortunately.
A firm joining of e-Commerce software and co-systems of the company is utterly important. Considering Demandware, it is quite flexible, can be integrated easily with other systems and at the same time is able to keep reliability. But at this contest Magento and Hybris score. A service-oriented architecture of the latest let us add or change easily single functions or modules saving time for release and development of e-store. Hybris has a well-engineered architecture based on the cutting-edge Java stack with the richest functionality in its class, accelerators for B2B and B2C commerce for boosting the project’s time-to-market appreciably, and with adjusted software setup and payment processes depending on clients needs. Magento manifests itself sustaining almost the same power except for its extendability limited by initial technology.
Mobility drives management. All three players are supported with mobile versions. As for apps, Hybris and Magento have an ordinary mobile presence. In this case, Demandware is inferior to competitors in a mobile efficiency, but then a SaaS model compensates the former clause.
Read also: How to Build a SaaS AppTake up final thoughts
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.” Theo Roosevelt gave us a hint a century ago so that anyone can apply it while choosing something. Business challenges attack ceaselessly in everyday life.
As we can see, each of mentioned platforms is bang-up. Each has its advantages and disadvantages being applied for its virtues in particular niches. As not to speak without proof, we made a deep analysis of three we are working with and may confess Hybris is more desirable than others in the current state.
To learn more, read our article on the ecommerce application development process.
