Businesses are always seeking an edge to outpace the competition. The same holds true for e-commerce, given the rapid product development and tight deadlines required to maintain competitiveness.
As Solution Integrators (SIs) navigate the intricate web of creating successful e-commerce solutions, the choice of a technology stack becomes pivotal.
Join forces with Alokai, a robust Frontend as a Service (FEaaS) solution, the best alternative to traditional custom-built frontends. In this article, we delve into the reasons why Alokai should be the cornerstone of your composable commerce accelerator, addressing your needs for speed, resource optimization, and superior performance.
But first, let’s start with the basics…
What is Frontend as a Service (FEaaS)?
Frontend as a Service is a paradigm that transforms the way e-commerce solutions are developed and delivered. It empowers Solution Integrators by offering a pre-built and standardized frontend layer, significantly reducing development time, costs, and complexities.
Alokai brings forth a range of benefits that make it an exceptional choice for powering your accelerator. “It is like having your own secret sauce,” said Jeffrey Domingos, VP Partnerships and Alliances at Alokai. This not only saves time and money but also allows you to leverage the experience gained from building e-commerce sites on a trusted platform like Alokai.
3 common challenges in ecommerce projects
As an SI, you operate in a dynamic landscape where tight time frames, intricate third-party integrations, budget constraints, and evolving customer requirements are commonplace. Alokai emerges as a lifeline for SIs navigating these challenges.
Some common customer demands for ecommerce projects include:
1. “We need it ASAP”: if you are dealing with stringent deadlines, you can harness Alokai's solution to accelerate project delivery. By utilizing pre-built and standardized frontend components, Alokai significantly reduces development time, enabling you to meet aggressive time frames and seize market opportunities promptly.
“Vue Software’s solution comes complete not only with components but also with integrations which will help you accelerate your work of course with different e-commerce systems or CMSs. Then it's about selecting the ones that you are as an SI most interested in.”
Ioan Madau
Solutions Engineer, Alokai
2. “We don’t want to build everything from scratch”: The complexity of integrating various third-party Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) can be a headache. Alokai eliminates this concern by offering 30+ pre-built and supported third-party integrations. This streamlines the development process and minimizes the challenges associated with intricate integrations, enhancing project efficiency.
“As an SI, without an accelerator or a pattern, you end up building something custom each time, depending on your development staff, depending on who's working on it. And that becomes a problem later on down the road, because you have a bunch of bespoke work that's been done without necessarily following a traditional pattern.”
Jay Atkinson
VP Growth Engineering, Alokai
3. “We have a tight budget”: Unrealistic budgets are a common hurdle for SIs, leading to resource allocation challenges. With Alokai's standardized components and pre-built integrations, you can allocate their resources more strategically, ensuring that projects remain within budget constraints.
5 reasons why you should use Alokai as the base for your accelerator
The choice of a robust accelerator base can make all the difference between a successful project and a financial loss.
This is why Alokai offers a solid solution for merchants looking to up their ecommerce game, providing a tailored solution for every need.
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1. Accelerated Time-to-Market by 50%
As an SI, you want to be certain about delivering a new storefront for a client in a predictable amount of time. Alokai’s FEaaS approach expedites the development process by up to 50% by providing a well-established foundation. Rather than investing months into building a custom frontend from scratch, you can instantly leverage Alokai’s pre-built components (like product listing page, cart, menu systems and much more) and modules.
Recently, an SI partner built a working demo with a team of only five developers in two weeks. They achieved this by building on Alokai's ready-made components. They were able to quickly add functionality, change the styling, and complete the language switching within this very tight timeline.
Starting with a code base that has been tried and tested over many iterations accelerates the launch of a project, allowing you to swiftly capitalize on market trends and opportunities. The modular nature of Alokai also enables easy integration with backend systems and third-party services, further reducing time-to-market.
"Alokai offers a well-proven, well-built offering for companies taking on composable commerce strategy. Alokai has enabled Vaimo and our clients to accelerate the time-to-market for new frontend experiences."
Henrik Feld-Jakobsen
Chief Strategy Officer, Vaimo
2. Resource efficiency and cost savings
Developing a custom frontend demands a substantial allocation of resources, including skilled developers, designers, and QA teams. Alokai, as a standardized solution, mitigates the need for extensive resource allocation.
By adopting Alokai’s FEaaS, you can streamline your development efforts and allocate your teams more strategically. The reusability of Alokai’s components across multiple projects not only maximizes resource efficiency but also minimizes the risk of human errors that often arise in complex custom development. This translates into substantial cost savings and optimized resource utilization for your team.
3. Superior website performance
In e-commerce, user experience is paramount. Slow-loading websites and clunky interfaces can deter potential customers, leading to lower conversion rate, lost sales, and a tarnished brand image. According to a Deloitte study, improving website speed by just 0.1s causes an 8.4% increase in conversions with retail consumers and a growth of average order value of 9.2%, whereas customer engagement improves by 5.2%.
Alokai is built to optimize web performance. Its architecture is designed with performance in mind, utilizing server-side rendering (SSR), lazy loading, lazy hydrate, and progressive web app (PWAs). This not only enhances website speed by up to 85%, but also contributes to higher SEO rankings, ultimately driving organic traffic and increasing conversion rates by up to 86%.
4. Seamless composable commerce integration
Composable commerce is the future of e-commerce architecture, allowing businesses to adapt swiftly to changing market dynamics.
Alokai seamlessly fits into this paradigm with its modular and composable nature. Its extensive set of 30 out-of-the-box integrations facilitate the incorporation of various backend systems, content management systems, search solutions, payment gateways, and third-party services.
This agility empowers you to create tailored e-commerce solutions that align with the unique requirements of your clients. Alokai’s compatibility with the most popular e-commerce platforms further amplifies its value, making it a flexible choice for SIs seeking to build future-proof accelerators.
"You don't need somebody to be able to take a monological application and understand the components, as they would be broken apart and then switched off to microservices. This is something that Alokai can definitely help out with - either by providing the link to the documentation, or by having our Solutions Engineers explain everything.”
Ioan Madau
Solutions Engineer, Alokai
5. Continuous innovation and support
The e-commerce landscape is in a perpetual state of evolution, marked by emerging technologies, shifting consumer behaviours, and new business models. Alokai stands out by offering consistent updates, improvements, and a 99.9% uptime SLA. By adopting Alokai’s FEaaS, you tap into a community-driven ecosystem that fosters innovation and adaptation. Instead of grappling with the challenges of maintaining and updating a custom frontend, you can rely on Alokai’s dedicated team and community to ensure your accelerator stays relevant and competitive.
Conclusion
In the realm of e-commerce Solution Integrators, the decision to adopt Alokai as the foundational component of your accelerator is an investment in efficiency, agility, and excellence. Alokai’s FEaaS approach transcends the limitations of traditional custom-built frontends, offering a host of benefits that cater to the needs of modern businesses.
From expediting time-to-market and optimizing resource allocation to enhancing website performance and enabling composable commerce, Alokai is poised to redefine how SIs create and deliver e-commerce solutions.
Embrace Alokai as the cornerstone of your composable commerce accelerator and propel your business towards a future of success and innovation.
Join Alokai’s Partner Network today
