Reviews Compare – Cloud Agility Score

Compare E-Commerce models.

Our scoring process is applied and objectively evaluated according to strengths and weaknesses.

Compare vendors based on the five dimensions of the Composable Agility Score. Freely choose the solutions you want to compare to get an easy overview of their capabilities. You can adjust your selection at any time or click on any solution to read a more detailed explanation of their CA Score.

5.0

6.1

5.8

8.6

Intershop’s commerce platform is suited to B2B, B2C and B2X business models alike with its omnichannel commerce solutions. Intershop serves more than 300 large and medium-sized companies worldwide, with Deutsche Telekom, Staples, HP, and BMW among their customers. The majority of Intershop’s customers are based in Europe, but they also serve companies in the USA and Asia Pacific region (mainly Australia).

Salesforce offers companies feature-packed solutions with a focus on powerful AI. While they offer a comprehensive e-commerce solution with their Commerce Cloud, they still have some catching up to do when it comes to some of the interfaces. For example, microservices are being introduced, but are not yet ubiquitous.

When Shopify first launched, it was the first e-commerce solution designed for small and medium-sized businesses. Since then, it has become one of the largest e-commerce platforms overall and has expanded to offer an enterprise solution known as Shopify Plus. Shopify Plus serves companies with high sales volumes and a need for more customization and multi-channel sales. Although the company is a market leader and certainly an e-commerce giant, it does have some weaknesses — in particular, the absence of microservices and the relative lack of customization options.

Spryker offers a fully modular digital commerce platform for B2B and B2C, as well as Enterprise Marketplace capabilities. Spryker was founded in 2014 in Berlin, Germany, and raised over $130 million in a Series C funding, led by Silicon Valley-based TCV in December 2020. According to Gartner®, Spryker is the fastest growing vendor in the 2021 Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce.

5.0

5.7Composability

7Head-
less

5Cloud
Native

4.4API

3Modu-
larity

6.1

5.8Composability

6.5Head-
less

7Cloud
Native

7.3API

3.9Modu-
larity

5.8

5.9Composability

7.8Head-
less

6.8Cloud
Native

5.9API

2.6Modu-
larity

8.6

9.1Composability

8.7Head-
less

8.7Cloud
Native

8.9API

7.7Modu-
larity

Modularity

3.9

2.6

7.7

Because it was originally built on a monolithic architecture, Intershop scores relatively low for modularity/microservices. Intershop has made some efforts in recent years to increase its microservices offering, particularly by breaking down the monolithic platform into discrete services. However, this course of action has not yet been fully realized.

The Salesforce Solution is not based on a modular system/microservices. It’s a monolith that is making an effort to modernize its offerings—which doesn’t change the origins and nature of its core architecture.

Shopify is based on a monolithic SaaS system. Both Shopify and for Shopify Plus therefore do not offer a modular system/microservices. As a result, the platform received a microservice subscore of 2.6. Monitoring is also limited, with reports and dashboards focusing mainly on marketing and sales KPIs. Overall, Shopify’s monolithic approach results in limited flexibility and customizability.

Spryker’s architecture is based on a modular system/microservices, even though the products they offer focus on capabilities which are essentially bundles of microservices. Based on Gartner’s Packaged Business Capability (PBC) paradigm, this approach results in a less granular segmentation than microservices would offer, but reduces complexity and makes the deployment simpler. Services can be deployed independently and customized if needed.

API

4.4

7.3

5.9

8.9

Although Intershop offers a variety of APIs on the frontend, there are few for the backend. Intershop cannot be considered API first. In some respects, it could be said that they only offer fairly standard APIs on top of legacy monolithic business capabilities. No orchestration layer exists on the platform. That being said, the documentation for the APIs that are offered is reasonably thorough.

With Salesforce, pre-configured API connections to 3rd party apps (e.g. ERP systems, inventory systems, accounting systems etc.) are not available. Due to their acquisition of the API platform Mulesoft and their very own tech infrastructure, Salesforce offers several APIs. Most are REST standard.

Meanwhile, there are a variety of APIs for different purposes, including: Storefront, Admin and Partner. Although primarily focused on the frontend, the APIs are well documented and conform to modern standards (all APIs are available in GraphQL, only the Admin API supports REST). However, configurability or extensibility is very limited, resulting in a sub-score of 5.9.

Spryker is an API first solution with an exceptionally high coverage of functions via APIs. The Spryker “GLUE API” adheres to all modern quality and security standards, and supports versioning as well as different output types. High-code customizations and low-code configuration are available.

Cloud Native

6.8

8.7

Since 2016, Intershop has maintained a strategic partnership with Microsoft. In 2018, it began to pursue a cloud-first approach, and Intershop is now an integral player in the Microsoft Azure Cloud Solution portfolio. In late 2021, Intershop launched Intershop N, a cloud-based asset which marked the completion of the company’s technical cloud transformation initiative. Intershop’s digital commerce platform is available as a single-tenant hosted or multi-tenant SaaS / PaaS offering. Although Intershop has made many efforts towards a cloud-based approach in recent years, Intershop’s products are still not seamless and require implementation effort. Intershop is not versionless.

Salesforce offers a cloud-native solution. It mainly uses AWS and offers a very solid infrastructure. Updates can be done seamlessly for end-users, although there can be issues with elasticity, e.g. scalability.

Shopify is a pure cloud SaaS with multi-tenant operation. It is based on two different services, one on the Google Cloud Platform, the other on Amazon Web Services. However, customers do not benefit from the full range of capabilities offered by cloud-native solutions. While Shopify uses it for its SaaS stack, it is not available for custom projects.

Spryker started as a purely on-premise solution, but shifted entirely to a cloud-native approach. The Spryker Cloud Commerce OS is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solution mainly deployed on AWS, but Azure and Google Cloud Platform are possible as well. Updates are automated for continuous deployment.

Composability

5.7

5.8

5.9

9.1

Intershop offers an all-in-one suite containing all the basic components required for an end-to-end commerce solution. However, this does not allow full composability as it does not offer the possibility to mix and match components entirely at will. Users can, of course, choose the functionalities they would like to work with. However, they cannot remove unused functionalities from their system. Intershop’s strongest composable aspect is the out-of-the-box set up for new instances or sites.

For functionality beyond standard integrations, additional coding is required. All customizations must be done in collaboration with existing features e.g. those delivered by salesforce.

Shopify’s biggest advantage in terms of compatibility is that it can connect with other third-party solutions, such as payment service providers (PSPs) or product information management (PIM). However, external PSPs may incur additional fees and are only possible with low-code solutions. The frontend can be customized to some extent, but to add backend functionality, store operators must use integrations from the Shopify app store.

The Spryker Cloud Commerce OS is a modular system following the best of breed approach with a decent-sized and rapidly growing ecosystem of partners. On a business level, Spryker’s App Composition Platform is particularly powerful, enabling one-click integration of technology partners. On a technical level, Spryker provides a considerable number of Software Development Kits (SDK) as building blocks to simplify the development of new integrations, as well as high-, low- and no-code customizations.

Headless

6.5

7.8

8.7

Intershop scores highest for headless, largely due to the fact that they meet modern industry standards in their headless approach. Intershop provides out-of-the-box solutions that are decoupled from their platform, including an Angular-based Progressive Web Application (PWA). They also offer strong multichannel or omnichannel solutions.

Salesforce is not headless; backend and frontend are not decoupled. Therefore, it allows you to work with a page designer solution, which is designed to give merchants more control over templates and content. It comes with a powerful AI-powered personalization feature and, thanks to the acquisition of the PWA service Mobify, it also delivers an out-of-the-box PWA platform. Salesforce does expose APIs and offers a headless CMS, but that didn’t change the underlying architecture of the core platform. It is still not microservice-based.

Shopify Plus, the enterprise solution, offers a decoupled headless solution that enables multi-channel and omnichannel sales. In the process, there are predefined front-ends and a large number of third-party integrations. However, the end-to-end customer experience cannot be fully customized. Overall, Shopify receives a score of 7.8 for the headless features.

Spryker is a truly headless solution and optimized to be used in multi- and omnichannel setups. It provides a strong out-of-the-box frontend that lacks some personalization capabilities in Spryker’s own CMS, but the flexibility in terms of customizations and third party integrations is very high.

Bottomline

5.0

6.1

5.8

8.6

Intershop is a well-known provider, particularly in the European market. As well as offering many out-of-the-box e-commerce functionalities, Intershop offers strong headless integrations and omnichannel capabilities. However, since Intershop was originally built as a monolithic platform, it should be clear that some modern architecture and principals, such as microservices, are lacking. Additionally, Intershop is not API first.

Salesforce offers a robust solution with some unique functionality like powerful AI. Due to the many acquisitions, it feels a bit patched together — they mean that ecommerce is not Salesforce’s main area of focus. Salesforce is known as a global company and benefits from other Salesforce acquisitions and products. As one of the largest known monoliths, Salesforce is trying to modernize step by step especially with regards to microservices.

With a SaaS approach and some APIs, it’s easy for customers to build their business through Shopify. While the platform offers more customization and multi-channel options, it is still based on a monolithic architecture. In particular, the limitations caused by the limited API layer (especially on the backend) and the lack of microservices mean that customers with more complex requirements may not be able to build the solutions they need.

Spryker is a leader in the Cloud Agility Score with a special focus on composability via its App Composition Platform and the use of Packaged Business Capabilities. The latter feature makes microservices Spryker’s lowest subscore—at an overall very high level. The Spryker Cloud Commerce OS is headless throughout, offers nearly comprehensive high-quality API coverage, and is deployed natively on leading cloud hosting providers.

See detailed scoring

FAQ

What is Intershop?

Intershop is a robust and innovative e-commerce platform, tailored to the needs of complex business processes and major organisations. As a leading supplier of innovative e-commerce solutions, Intershop offers powerful software and an extensive service pack to support multichannel sales.

What does Intershop do/offer?

Intershop allows businesses to sell online, mobile, in store, via call center, or any other digital sales channel. Its Web Content Management system allows business users to visually create product- and/or content-driven landing pages.

Who uses Intershop?

Intershop’s target markets cover both the B2C and B2B markets and include retail, wholesale, manufacturers, distributors, telecommunications, high-tech, automotive, pharmaceutical and others.

Is Intershop headless?

Intershop is an API-based commerce platform with a decoupled front end. Intershop provides APIs, and a progressive web app based on Angular.

Is Intershop free?

Intershop is not an open source solution and therefore not available for free. Intershop offers different subscription plans, from affordable to more expensive with increasing amount of features and services.

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a cloud computing software as a service (SaaS) company that specializes in customer relationship management (CRM). The software has become the number one for customer success and helps businesses track customer activity, market to customers and many more services.

What does Salesforce do/offer?

Salesforce lets you efficiently unify different principal functions of your business so you can achieve customer success. You can sell, provide service, market, collaborate, know your customers, and build apps on a single platform.

How does Salesforce architecture work?

Salesforce has a multilayer architecture; it contains a series of layers situated on top of each other. In the multilayer Salesforce architecture, the users are at the topmost layer.

Does Salesforce store data in a cloud?

Salesforce is a cloud platform and hence all the data stored in Salesforce is stored in cloud. Like Google, AWS and Microsoft, Salesforce has multiple data centers across the globe where this data is actually stored. All of these data is stored at multiple locations for easy accessibility and backup purpose which means that each record that is created in Salesforce is stored at muliple data centers across the globe.

Is Salesforce free?

Salesforce does not offer a free version of their software, so users have to choose between the different pricing plans.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a subscription-based software that allows anyone to set up an online store and sell their products. Shopify store owners can also sell at physical locations with Shopify POS.

What exactly does Shopify do/offer?

Shopify is a wholesome commerce platform that lets you start, grow, and manage an online business. Shopify store owners can also sell in physical locations using Shopify POS, our point-of-sale app and accompanying hardware. If you’re a Shopify merchant with both an online and physical presence, your inventory and stock get synced so you can manage your store(s) from one account, on any device.

Does Shopify allow hosting?

With Shopify, web hosting is included. All Shopify plans include web hosting as a part of the package.

Does Shopify let you use your own domain?

In order to use Shopify, you’ll need to purchase or own a domain name and set up web hosting. You can either register your domain name through Shopify or purchase it from another provider. Hosting can be provided by Shopify or another provider.

Is Shopify free?

Shopify is not free to use. But you can get started with Shopify on their 14-day free trial. During the trial, you can build your store and make it available to the public. After That you can choose between four different subscription plans.

What is Spryker?

Spryker is a commerce platform with a full suite of e-commerce tools which enables companies to create sophisticated, transactional business models in B2B, Enterprise Marketplaces, Unified Commerce and B2C.

What does Spryker do/offer?

The Spryker Cloud Commerce OS is a composable platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solution with headless & API-based architecture. Enterprises from all industries can use Spryker to innovate and differentiate their digital commerce business.

Is Spryker headless?

Spryker ‘s architecture is headless, the business logic and backend are decoupled from the customer-facing frontend. Spryker enables headless commerce solutions and is optimized to be used in multi- and omnichannel setups.

What is Spryker Marketplace?

Spryker’s commerce platform provides B2B, B2C, D2C, and Marketplace capabilities in one stack. That means that Spryker customers can build their own marketplaces in the Spryker Cloud Commerce OS.

Is Spryker free?

Spryker is no open source solution and does not offer the option of a free trial.

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