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Outsourcing Software E-commerce
Why should you outsource the e-commerce needs
for your software products? Most software developers
are quite capable of creating their own shopping
carts, obtaining their own bank merchant accounts,
and handling their own online e-commerce, yet
many choose to outsource their software e-commerce
needs.... and for good reason!
E-commerce providers that offer credit card processing
services for software developers invest in infrastructure,
and provide far more than just a payment gateway
-- they are a partner to the software companies.
Remember that the e-commerce provider only makes
money when their customers and clients make money.
Software e-commerce companies specialize in providing
secure payment options, and they often provide
software and license delivery mechanisms as well.
Some of the features, functions, and benefits
a software e-commerce company can provide to software
developers are...
1. Fraud Screening
Online payment fraud is huge problem, and creating
a reliable fraud screening system is not only
very time consuming, but also requires constant
updating and maintenance. Software e-commerce
providers invest in top notch fraud screening.
2. Taxes
Businesses are required to collect and report
taxes on sales, and this is an issue particularly
in the European Union due to the recently-implemented
VAT collection laws for digital goods. The rates
and reporting requirements vary based on the location
of the seller and the buyer, and this is not something
that is easy for a small business to manage on
an ongoing basis. Software e-commerce companies
often manage the entire sales tax & VAT collection
and reporting needs.
3. Payment Options
Using a 3rd-party service to handle online e-commerce
allows a software developer to offer a wider variety
of payment options for their customers, which
they otherwise would not have access to. Digital
software is unique in that it appeals to a global
audience, and the software e-commerce companies
have invested in an extensive variety of global
payment options.
4. Security / Liability
Retaining and storing customer information and
credit card details requires extensive security.
Banks have very strict rules regarding how such
information must be stored and secured. Software
developers using a 3rd-party provider for software
e-commerce need not be concerned with security
or liability issues related to the storage and
security of card card data.
5. Currency Options
E-commerce companies that specialize in software
are global, and as such they are accustomed to
dealing with businesses in the International marketplace.
As a result, many are capable of handling multi-currency
options. Allowing customers to pay in their local
currency can significantly increase the close
rate for sales.
6. Instant Delivery
Many software e-commerce companies provide mechanisms
that allow software developers to provide instant
delivery of the purchased products. Software e-commerce
companies can provide secure access to a complete
downloadable version of the software for a limited
time, or they can provide automatic delivery of
unique registration keys to customers who complete
the purchase process.
7. Time
Lets face it -- time is not unlimited. Using development
time to create a secure Internet e-commerce system,
especially when so many already-tested and proven
systems exist, may not be the best use of valuable
and limited development time within a software
company.
8. Aggressive Rates
Due to the higher volume of business that the
3rd-party ecommerce providers conduct, they are
given incredibly aggressive processing rates by
banks. This allows them to pass along significantly
discounted rates to the software companies they
service.
9. Physical Delivery
Many software ecommerce providers provide CD/DVD
delivery options to their clients, shipping "on
demand" discs to the customers. This means software
companies need not deal with costly product inventory
and shipping materials.
10. Language Options
While a customer may be willing to browse a website
that is not written in their native language,
they may be hesitant to actually purchase if the
order page isn't in a language they are familiar
and comfortable with. Many software ecommerce
companies translate order pages and provide purchase
pages in a variety of languages.
Software ecommerce companies do more than just
provide a payment gateway -- they provide software
companies with a wide variety of valuable services
that relate to order processing.
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Developer
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Outsourcing Software E-commerce