"See anything interesting in there?" I asked.
"Magento," he said without hesitating.
That was yet another retailer interested in open source eCommerce, camped out at the lunch table next to me in the exhibit hall at the Shop.org Summit earlier this week. I hesitated to interrupt him - engrossed as he was - but am so glad I did.
Magento was definitely the buzz at the Shop.org Summit in Las Vegas this week. Practically everyone we spoke with (who was looking to re-platform soon) was considering open source. Of course some folks are scared of the idea of an open source e-commerce platform and for good reason - there's a ton of misinformation out there which makes it challenging to figure out if it's a viable option for your online business.
That said, there's a considerable groundswell behind Magento for good reason. It's flexible. Robust. And best of all, it's less expensive than a lot of other platforms offering the same features.
"Easy for you to say, Heather, Lyons Consulting Group is a Magento partner now."
It's true. We're an official Magento Enterprise Partner now. We formed an alliance with them because we believe that open source and on demand platforms are the future of e-commerce. In fact, at a recent webinar we hosted, half of the participants said they were considering open source or on demand for their next re-platform project.
If you're still hesitating on open source - for whatever reason - consider sitting in on a webinar we're hosting October 21. It's called Open Source eCommerce: Hype vs. Reality featuring Roy Rubin, the CEO of Varien and our own Jamie Kail, Director of eCommerce Services.
This presentation is designed to be brutally honest about what Magento can and can't do for you. We're going to dispel some of the myths around open source and also provide you with plenty of facts so that you can determine if it's right for your business. Here's the outline:
- What are the advantages/disadvantages of an open source platform?
- Is open source right for your business?
- What are the real costs of this solution?
- What are the key features and limitations of Magento?
Here's the registration link. We hope you'll join us - I promise it'll be time well spent.
Exactly, Ron. The ongoing support and maintenance are important considerations around implementing open source. Some of the folks we're talking to really like the idea of open source because if their current e-commerce solution provider fails them, they own the code and can move along - they're not locked into a long-term contract that allows their vendor to get comfortable (read: lax) when it comes to service and innovation. Thanks for your comment; our goal is to help people understand the real costs and benefits of implementing Magento and this sort of dialog really helps.
Posted by: Heather | September 25, 2009 at 08:12 PM
Open source upfront cost seems cheap: usually free. The real price is in maintaining it, running it, managing it on a daily basis. It still comes out to be cheaper than a commercial product but if you are a realistic merchant do not expect it to be dirt cheap, there are hidden costs to an open source solution.
Another item to remember is that not all open source projects are created equal! make sure that the company behind the open source project has a viable model. Otherwise, it may cease to exist in a few years, and then what?
Posted by: Ron Peled | September 25, 2009 at 04:13 PM