Forrester: - Making Leaders Successful Every Day

The second wave of Internet eCommerce hit in 2004: much smaller and more subdued than the dot-com whirlwind of 1998 to 2000, but more realistic and more pervasive. This time, many companies have eCommerce budgets that are measured in the low hundreds of thousands (or less) and have little desire to build new IT infrastructure. As a result, there has been a surge in interest in hosted or outsourced eCommerce solutions. Vendors have responded with offerings that provide full outsourcing of both front-end online storefronts and back-end fulfillment systems, partial outsourcing of just back-end fulfillment, or partial outsourcing of just front-end fulfillment. To help firms navigate these offerings, Forrester has outlined the pros and cons of each option and the primary vendors in each category.