Webflow, Shopify, Salesforce: how cloud solutions are changing the software landscape

Webflow, Shopify, Salesforce: how cloud solutions are changing the software landscape

Introduction

With the adoption of cloud solutions, there has been a huge change/shift in the way businesses are conducted online. It has given businesses, even small startups to leverage the power of the internet to make themselves known. The software landscape underwent a huge change with the arrival of cloud solutions. Cloud solutions comprise of software applications and infrastructure that can be hosted on the Internet rather than on servers or individual computers. 

Over the years, they have evolved to be game changers, shifting the way businesses operate; reshaping and revolutionalising the software landscape. 

Cloud solutions and their advantages

There are so many different kinds of cloud-based platforms and services, based on the services they perform. You can categorise cloud computing platforms roughly into Private, Public, Hybrid, and Multi-cloud. The different types of cloud computing services are SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, and FaaS. SaaS is Software as a service, PaaS is Platform as a Service, IaaS is Infrastructure as a service and FaaS is Function-as-a-Service. 

Each comes with its functions and usability in software development, launch, and maintenance. These cloud computing solutions and services replace the on-premises infrastructure because of the numerous benefits and advantages they offer to business owners. The three major advantages that any business owner would tell you are: 

• Scalability: You can easily scale the cloud solutions based on need. This is perfect for e-commerce owners when they have a surge in demand as a result of seasonal spikes. 
• Cost-effectiveness: Since businesses only need to pay for the resources they use, cloud solutions are always the most cost-effective option around.
• Ease of use: Since there is no physical infrastructure involved, cloud solutions are easier to maintain, and there are no complicated installation procedures. 

In this article, we will discuss three of the major players in the market – Webflow, Shopify, and Salesforce and how their distinctive roles and functions are already shaping the software landscape. 

Webflow: the layman’s web design and development platform

We have already discussed an earlier article on Webflow, and how this flexible CMS works based on SaaS to build websites, with no prior knowledge of coding to build and handle websites to a certain extent. Nevertheless, here is a quick highlight of what you can expect with Webflow.

Webflow promotes no-code development. This means that business owners with no prior knowledge of coding can develop and host responsive websites and even e-commerce stores. There is no need for them to know about HTML and CSS and you can host a website even if there is no dedicated development team. Once you have a developer to get things going, if you are a complete novice or don’t have the time to dedicate to it, then you can easily have a website that’s up and running as soon as possible. The developer would be accompanied by the designers and content creators who work together in perfect collaboration. Imagine how this can transform the way businesses manage their online presence. If this doesn’t entirely change the software landscape, what would? 

Webflow’s cloud-based approach enables collaboration among team members. No matter where in the world the developers, designers, and content creators are located, you can work along with them with the help of collaboration tools. Remote work happens without a hitch, with real-time updates. This scope of remote collaboration promotes productivity and creativity in web development.

This is also a great boost for hosting because there are no more physical servers so no worries about server maintenance. Businesses can choose cloud hosting infrastructure that enables quick load times and impressive security measures. 

Shopify: The synergy of exponential growth

Shopify is a leading commerce company that needs no introduction. The cutting technology that this platform possesses has powered hundreds of thousands of e-commerce sites. The growth of Shopify over the years has been phenomenal, and it has become the go-to platform for businesses looking to launch their business and start selling online. 

So how does Shopify leverage the power of cloud solutions to change the software landscape? Through Web3 technology perhaps? It is expected that Shopify will enable customers to experience the Web3 technology, even if they are not experts in blockchain or cryptocurrencies. This is an important step in the changes that will be reflected in the e-commerce industry, and Shopify is at the helm of change. And what’s more? Shopify has teamed up with Thridweb, a US-based platform to help developers to create the Web3 commerce experience. 

Known as Commercekit, this enables businesses to gain valuable insights into their customers’ buying habits and deliver more personalized shopping experiences. This could be in the form of discounts, exclusive products with tokens, real-life shopping experiences, and time-based sales. Businesses can now interact in new ways with their customers, and the changes that Shopify and CommerceKit are going to impart are an interesting wait. This is all in its experimental stage now, but everything looks highly promising. However, the good news is that there is a huge demand for integrating Web3 with commerce among brands.

Salesforce: The revolutionary CRM

Salesforce is a leading cloud-based software company that revolutionises the CRM or Customer Relationship Management landscape. Having the right CRM for your business is like having a strong, sturdy, and reliable backbone for your customer relationship. Salesforce CRM enables you to have a 360-degree view of the customer and meet their specific needs. Through this, you can have meaningful and successful customer interactions, sales leads, and marketing campaigns apart from regular customer support. So how does this platform transform the software landscape? Different business segments offer specific products and services based on various CRMs. The key business segments are:

• Sales Cloud
• Service Cloud
• Marketing Cloud
• Commerce Cloud
• Community Cloud
• Analytics Cloud
• Integration and Platform Services

Together these help in customer relationship management, automating tasks, understanding customers, lead tracking, sales forecasting, integration with third-party platforms, workflow automation, email automation, and so on. Salesforce delivers a centralized approach for accessing and updating customer information in real time, streamlining operations, and fostering collaboration. 

Conclusion

There are so many different kinds of cloud solutions in the software landscape, and these three are definitely among the best. These make it easier, more affordable, and more scalable for businesses to manage their businesses and cater to their customer’s interests. Other cloud solutions worth mentioning here are Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud, and IBM Cloud, each with distinctive features and capabilities that transform the way businesses do their business to stay competitive. 

Shifting to these cloud solutions would be a cost-effective move while increasing productivity. Businesses can scale up or down in response to demand, and thus prevent overprovisioning while reducing idle resources. Other distinctive advantages are of course improved disaster recovery and business continuity plans, providing personalised customer experiences, and improving agility and innovation, while improving collaboration and communication. 

Interesting Links:

What are the benefits of Cloud-Based Software?

More information about Cloud Solutions

Pictures: Canva

The author: Sascha Thattil works at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.