A believer in investing in both front and back end technologies to give online buyers a complete experience, Vish Magapu, Chief Technology Officer, HomeShop18.com, discussed various ideas that the e-commerce player was trying out with Heena Jhingan
New technologies are changing the face of the e-commerce business in India. As e-commerce businesses exploit IT and the Internet to make a mark in the expanding market, at the end of the day, the fight is with the shopping cart. Apart from scaling the Web site by adding a larger product catalog, which is an IT infrastructure demand, there are other aspects that are having an impact on success in the Indian e-commerce sector.
For a successful e-commerce business, it is important to have a robust and comprehensive back-end system, which addresses auto management, fulfillment system, logistics management etc. An e-commerce business can do well if it takes advantage of these applications. The ability to rapidly develop and implement new e-business applications and speedy product innovation will clearly define the leader and give an edge over the competition.
Industry experts believe that several start-ups, especially e-commerce sites, are pushing the adoption of Linux servers in the country. What is your take on this?
Linux servers operate on open source technology, which is cost-effective and scalable and, for this reason, apt for an e-commerce business. For building a successful virtual business, it is important to keep in mind reliability, capacity and scalability of the server, which enables easy adaptation during business expansion. With other proprietary servers, one has to predefine the needs and capacity, which can become a challenge in the long run as it does not allow scalability on demand.
Additionally, it benefits the end user by offering a faster and enhanced experience as it not only makes the process that much easier but it also makes the purchase process much faster.
For example, during the festive season, when demand is high and consumer traffic is at a peak, a Linux-based architecture can easily be expanded to enhance the performance of the Web site and, due to all of these features, Linux is a preferred choice of online business entrepreneurs.
We operate on a Linux server architecture as it allows greater flexibility for our business, offers a great online shopping experience to our consumers and makes it more effective. We are using these technologies to their utmost advantage. We understand that an excellent experience is critical for virtual buying.
Tell us about the next big IT project that you are working on?
We believe that the key to deliver an unparalleled customer experience is through state-of-the-art back-end technologies. We have invested capital and manpower in this field to build next generation backend systems.
To give the best possible virtual shopping experience to our customers, we are going to focus on powerful warehouse management, order management systems and fulfillment systems using the best IT solutions in the industry.
What are some of the technological innovations that you believe are set to revolutionize the e-commerce scenario in India?
Personalized recommendations for customers buying online will revolutionize Indian e-commerce. Based on the consumer’s purchase history, the e-commerce site offers recommendations or other options that will best suit his or her needs.
Most Indian e-commerce players are trying to achieve this expertise by using various IT tools.
The second critical innovation that will revolutionize the e-commerce ecosystem in the country is cost optimization through warehouse and logistics management.