A Fair Review of the Top .NET eCommerce Platforms - Episerver

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EPISERVER INC.	Overall Rating:
http://www.episerver.com/	Platform: ASP.NET
Licence Model: Proprietary	Current Version: v.10.7.3
Base Price: Episerver’s pricing depends on the capabilities and scale of the customer and can expect to invest $100k plus per year depending on the size and scope. Unlike other vendors, this annual subscription cost is inclusive of everything required to run a full scale commerce platform. Click here for more pricing details.
Founded In: 1994	CEO: Mark Duffell (2-years)
NA Headquarters: Nashua, New Hampshire	NA Partner Network: 54
Hosting Type: On-Premise and SaaS	Closest Comparison: Sitecore
Free Trial Version? No (request a demo only)	Certified Training? Yes

Introduction

Episerver connects digital commerce and digital marketing to help organizations create unique digital experiences for their customers, with measurable business results. The Episerver Digital Experience Cloud™ combines content, commerce and multi-channel marketing in a single platform to work full-circle for businesses online – from intelligent optimisation and lead-generation through to conversion and repeat business – with unprecedented ease-of-use.

Founded in 1994, Episerver has offices in the USA, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, The Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Spain, UAE and the UK.

Episerver serves middle market and lower enterprise customers very well. Particularly customers that want to transact in multiple markets with a personalized experience for different visitor types. Their most successful customers are large scale online retailers, consumer brands and B2B manufacturers operating global eCommerce and digital marketing sites from a single platform. 

Performance Rating

Features & Functionality:
Pricing & ROI:
Integration & Deployment:
Service & Support:

Strengths

• 1 to 1 Personalization: Epi’s combined personalization tools allow merchandisers and eCommerce teams to create an individual experience for each site visitor.
• Rule based personalization managed by marketers to target banners or promotions to a specific visitor groups defined by anonymous or known customer data.
• Machine learning personalization that analyzes individual user behavior and recommends products to each individual to increase average order value and revenue.
• Device targeting allows eCommerce managers to target content, layout, and functionality based on device viewed which allows the best of both worlds (adaptive vs. responsive)
• A built in Enterprise Search product (Episerver Find) that includes merchandising controls. You don’t need to implement a third party search solution with Episerver unlike other vendors.
• A/B Testing is native to their content and commerce platform including testing eCommerce category and product pages for conversion rates.
• Cloud: All of this is deployed as a PaaS based on simple business metrics which balances flexibility and speed.

Weaknesses

• Because the platform is highly flexible and applied to a diverse set of customer needs, customers sometimes struggle to understand the amount of configuration or customization that may be required to meet their specific requirements.
• The platform may seem to not have as many “out-of-box” capabilities that meet the client’s exact needs.
• Epi is not an industry point solution (B2B only, B2C only, and Digital Marketing only). They serve those markets well however Episerver Solution partners have typically been the crucial constituent to take their platform and make it work for niche industries at the right price.
• With over 800 partners globally, finding the right partner can be challenging yet critical to a successful Episerver Commerce implementation.

Key Differentiator

Episerver is one of the only WCM vendors that has actually unified Content & Commerce into a single platform including managing promotions and products alongside banners, images and content.

Recent Industry Recognition

• Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce 2017 for its B2C, B2B and B2B2C digital commerce capabilities.
• The Forrester Wave for B2B Commerce Suites, Q1 2017 and B2C Commerce Suites Q1 2017.
• Named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant 2017 for WCM for third consecutive year

Vendor Comments

“We’ve consolidated several eCommerce platform solutions into a single monthly subscription including the fact our eCommerce platform is powered by an industry leading web content management system which makes it easier to use, scale globally, and personalize the experience for site visitors without needing IT intervention for day to day operations.”

Spotlight Interview

Select Another Vendor

• commercetools
• Episerver
• iAPPS
• Kentico
• nopCommerce
• Sitecore
• Ucommerce
• Virto Commerce
• Znode

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WCM Advisory & Support Services

For more information on maximizing your existing WCM system, or for assistance in selecting a new WCM solution, visit our Advisory & Support Services page. Let us help you to prevent problems and maximize a return on investment by guiding you through all the project phases, from analysis and requirements, through to implementation, deployment, and ongoing maintenance.