IBM Watson Commerce Webinar Recap
IBM recognizes that today’s customer journey is very different from the one offered 10 or 20 years ago. The modern eCommerce platform needs to engage customers on a new level and this is exactly where IBM plans to take us with Watson Commerce.
In the past, eCommerce solutions have revolved around developers. However, IBM is modernizing this approach by centering WebSphere Commerce tools around the business users who will be responsible for marketing and selling the products. During the webinar IBM talked about updates to WebSphere Commerce v8, new cloud hosting options and insight on future roadmap.
Why we need more advanced eCommerce solutions
Businesses of today are facing unique problems:
With eCommerce being such a pervasive mode of shopping, there is no way to offer a truly personalized experience.
It is difficult to analyze the mountains of data and turn it into actions that will improve your sales.
We live in a fast-paced world and businesses are constantly being bombarded with new technology (like Alexa and wearables) that they need to account for as part of their eCommerce model.
As WebSphere Commerce continues to evolve, IBM is narrowing its focus with these challenges in mind to offer better tools that will promote customer engagement. Using Cognitive Commerce, IBM helps businesses draw insights from meaningful data.
Here are the updates that have been included in WebSphere Commerce V8:
Empowered business user tools to drive customer engagement
IBM is powering WebSphere Commerce with Watson cognitive technology to help you offer the best shopping experience possible.
The updated infrastructure will have several updates for both developers and marketers. These include:
Technical Updates
Decoupling of the store and search
Externalization of customization
Move from EJB to JPA
Liberty separates commerce services
Continuous delivery with containers
New developer tools that support Mac and Linux
Business Updates
Tools that make it easier and faster to set up product images
Ways to improve the creative workflow
An omni-cart experience
Capabilities for a simpler, more organized B2B experience
A B2B organization administration console
The reporting of the most relevant data so that you can take the appropriate actions necessary to increase conversions and boost sales
To take advantage of all of the powerful features offered by WebSphere Commerce, businesses will be able to choose between cloud options or an on-premise solution.
Cloud Strategy: Commerce the way you want it
If your business intends to take advantage of a cloud-based eCommerce solution, you will have two options with WebSphere Commerce in addition to standard on-premise option:
Single Tenant
IBM WebSphere Commerce Managed Hosted will take away some of the worries of scale and management, allowing you to focus on the demands of your business. This option is an ideal solution for those who may want to decrease infrastructure costs or have bespoke requirements.
Multi-Tenant
IBM Digital Commerce allows you to take advantage of the elastic scalability of WebSphere Commerce and gives you expanded access to the companion assets, such as Watson Content Hub and Watson Commerce Insights.
On-premise WebSphere Commerce solution
The IBM WebSphere Commerce on-premise solution allows you to take full advantage of Watson Commerce tools. As the flagship, this option is promised to contain all of the best industry-leading tools.
The future of WebSphere Commerce
IBM continues to modify WebSphere Commerce to make it the best possible eCommerce solution. As part of the ever-evolving improvement process, IBM envisions these changes for the future of WebSphere Commerce:
IBM plans to integrate these changes in the coming months so that Watson Commerce becomes the single-most viable solution for all eCommerce needs.
Watch the webinar from the beginning here
