To support businesses in Wales, Superfast Business Wales have created a new digital toolkit designed to help businesses improve efficiency, streamline operations, boost security, and often reduce costs.

Listing over 100 cloud-based solutions, the digital toolkit directory will help you find software and services you can rely on. All products listed are presented for information and research only, and any recommendations are not designed to be comprehensive or act as a specific endorsement from Superfast Business Wales.

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE DIGITAL TOOLKIT HERE

In the next part of this series, we look how businesses can embrace cloud-based software to integrate E-commerce into their business.

Online purchasing used to be a convenience and a luxury, now for many businesses – it’s a necessity.

E-commerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions.

The history of e-commerce is closely intertwined with the history of the internet itself. Online shopping became possible when the internet was adopted by the public about 30 years ago. It all started with companies like Amazon and eBay selling products online, and thousands of businesses have followed since.

To be successful in the current age of ecommerce, sellers need to monitor online comments and listen to what shoppers say about their products on a multitude of review sites. Integrated marketing software is essential to manage this effectively.

Your online store needs to be flexible, adaptable, and scalable enough to meet the needs of your customers and future-proof your business for long-term success.

Offering an e-commerce experience is about providing the best customer experience possible, so it’s important to find the right software. With so much competition out there, it’s essential you build an ecommerce journey map to ensure you pick the solution that matches your customers’ expectations.

Examine the options and decide if you should sell directly to your customers via your own website, or whether hosting a shop on a retailer, such as eBay or Amazon, might give you a wider reach with less management overheads.

Customers’ purchasing behaviours are changing, and businesses that will thrive in this digital age must be ready, flexible, always on and have the right software partners running the engine room.