For many companies, an ecommerce platform starts as a project: build a webshop, launch it, and maintain it when something needs to be fixed. But once ecommerce becomes an important sales channel, that model is no longer enough.
The platform needs hosting, monitoring, releases, security updates, integrations, continuous development and someone who takes responsibility when something goes wrong. That is the idea behind Managed Ecommerce.
More Than Maintenance
Traditional maintenance is often reactive: something breaks, a ticket is opened, and someone fixes it. Managed Ecommerce is broader.
Xiphias takes ongoing responsibility for the operation and continuous development of the ecommerce platform.
Depending on the customer's setup, this can include:
- hosting and infrastructure
- backups and monitoring
- DevOps and CI/CD
- deployment and release management
- platform and security updates
- incident management and SLA
- operational support
- continuous development
- technical roadmap and periodic ecommerce reviews
Instead of coordinating several suppliers, the customer has one technology partner responsible for keeping the ecommerce platform running and moving forward.
Development Capacity Is Already Included
An ecommerce platform is never really finished. Business processes change, new integrations are required, customers expect new functionality and smaller improvements constantly appear.
For this reason, the monthly Managed Ecommerce fee includes a predefined number of development hours. These hours can be used for bug fixes, smaller features, optimizations and ongoing improvements.
If they are not fully used during a particular month, the remaining hours can be carried over to the following month.
This gives customers predictable monthly costs while preserving flexibility to use development capacity when it is actually needed.
Switching Should Not Mean Starting From Zero
Companies often stay with an existing ecommerce platform or vendor simply because switching looks too expensive. Even when there are good reasons to change — outdated technology, slow development, vendor dependency or limited flexibility — another large upfront ecommerce project can be difficult to justify.
Our approach is different.
For customers entering a multi-year Managed Ecommerce partnership, Xiphias can significantly reduce the initial cost of migration, modernization or rebuild. We can do this because we look at the economics of the entire long-term relationship, not only the initial implementation project.
The goal is to lower the barrier to changing an ecommerce setup that no longer supports the business.
Long-Term Partnership Without Technology Lock‑In
A long-term commercial relationship should not mean permanent technology dependency. Customers should remain in control of their ecommerce platform.
The source code and repository stay under the customer's control, and wherever appropriate we use established technologies that can also be maintained by other implementation partners.
The principle is simple: We want customers to stay because the partnership creates value — not because changing partners is technically impossible.
Start With an Ecommerce Switch Assessment
Changing an ecommerce partner should not automatically mean replacing everything. The first step is understanding the current setup.
An Ecommerce Switch Assessment can review:
- the existing platform
- source code and repository ownership
- vendor dependencies
- hosting and infrastructure
- integrations
- operational risks
- current pain points
- migration complexity
Sometimes the conclusion may be that a switch does not currently make business sense. If it does, the assessment provides the basis for defining the migration approach and the Managed Ecommerce model.
A Platform That Can Grow With the Business
Managed Ecommerce is also designed as a foundation for future development. Once the core ecommerce platform is stable, additional capabilities can be introduced when they create business value.
PIM and product data
Product information can be separated from ERP and ecommerce using Pimcore, creating a central source for descriptions, attributes, images, languages and channels.
Product content automation
Large catalogs can benefit from automated product descriptions, enrichment, categorization and translations.
B2B ecommerce
Manual orders received through email or phone can gradually move toward digital customer self-service.
International expansion
The platform can be prepared for additional languages, markets and storefronts.
Management reporting
BladeFX can provide ecommerce KPIs, operational reports and management dashboards without requiring a large BI project from day one.
These capabilities can be added gradually instead of trying to solve everything in one large transformation project.
Key Takeaways
Managed Ecommerce is not simply a maintenance contract.
It is a long-term operating model for ecommerce that combines:
- Infrastructure, DevOps and Operations
- SLA, monitoring and operational responsibility
- Monthly development capacity with unused hours carried forward
- Continuous improvement and technical roadmap
- Lower initial switching costs for long-term partnerships
- Customer ownership of source code and repository
- A foundation for PIM, automation, B2B, reporting and international growth
For companies that have outgrown their current webshop or ecommerce vendor, the question does not necessarily have to be:
“How much will another new webshop cost?”
A better question may be:
“What would it take to move to an ecommerce model that can be continuously operated, improved and expanded?”