What technology to host and run customer database ?

[Talay]

Requirements:

Chain of shops
Loyalty cards
Customer data - telephone, address, previous orders, preferences etc.
Link to calendar
Custom reports
SMS & email marketing
Potential logic driven marketing and auto responses dependent on previous buy habits etc. akin to vouchers printed at Sainsburys tills.

There will be a new EPOS system (not specced yet) and will need integration.

Vendors - happy for you to propose or contact.

Suggestions so far - Win Server and SQL.

 

[MatthewH]

Normally, I'd post this as a PM, but I've figured that doesn't help anyone much because it's private and this is a public forum.

Questions:

1. What's the ultimate aim of the system? To encourage loyal customers to come back and shop more across the chains by rewarding their loyalty?
2. Are there any issues with it being a secure web-based application, accessible from any device? It'd be more flexible than a desktop-based application.
3. I assume this logic-driven marketing thing is basically stuff like "Get 25p off Activia yoghurts next time you shop here", akin to Tesco vouchers?

I could bore you stiff with "Here's the latest, greatest technology and why you should use it", but I much prefer getting to the meat behind the business requirements and what pain this is solving before making suggestions on technology.

But, if it's solely technology solutions you're looking for, then Ruby on Rails (web app, programming language) and an SQL database would do you fine.

 

[Talay]

Retail units are a chain of dry cleaners, currently running from paper tickets and simple tills etc. Leading industry providers of EPoS are up for stratospheric quotes for a server based technology with their propriety front end software.

Database to be build from loyalty card and / or phone number as identifier and catalogue order history etc. A move out to delivery will need access to this data as will marketing and data mining etc.

If purely web hosted, then what happens if that connection goes down ? Back to the stone ages. No, there can't be an absolute dependency for sales on the cloud.

Logic driven is sort of as you say but more akin to instant offer from next shop but based on historic spend and purchases. For example, someone who always brings shirts and the occasional suit but never a duvet or curtains could receive a curtain incentive. Subsequent offers would need to track back through previously given offers and whether they were taken up, assisted by A/B testing etc. This could be driven from analysis after the event and might not necessarily be a day 1 requirement.

There will need to be an as yet un-specced website which could in future drive the delivery side of the business and need database access. This delivery tool is likely to be held back until I can figure out how to send the printing, database, order system on the road.

 

[soundengineeruk]

With the vast range of technology and options the choice is endless... There is technology rather than I like to call default choice options Windows and SQL Server...

Good Quality off-shelf products are usually expensive, but you have to give consideration that products without good support package may be more costly in the end.

When you ready to invest in to IT/Technology infrastructure I would recommend to review as many different products has possible; giving focusing on how different IT/Technology systems will talk to each as too many times I have seen investment made into good standalone/individual product that is not developed to talk to anything else.

Other things you will need to consider

• Encryption of Data: Especially if storing customer personal data
• Data Protection: If storing consumers personal data recommend to check Information Commissioner's Office Website
  
• Infrastructure Security: Ensure that data is only accessed by authorised persons
• Disaster Recovery: If not prepared and regularly test can be more costly

 

[tabish]

Hosting is a secondary issue here. You haven;t even developed your solution yet.

Here's how you should be going:
1. PHP > MySQL > Linux Hosting
2. .NET > MS SQL Server > Windows Hosting
3. Node.js > NoSQL(MondoDB, Cassandra etc) > Herroku or other cloud based hosting service providers

 

[Talay]

Hosting is a secondary issue here. You haven;t even developed your solution yet.

To the end user, it is somewhat fundamental that all is considered at the same time. I just don't routinely accept the proposition of the front end software providers.

 

[a_username]

Take a look at knackhq.com - its probably not what you want, but it might be what some other users need. Just playing around with a free account might help educate you so that when you buy a system from someone else at least you will know what to ask them for.

 

[ExplorerBDM]

Hi Talay,

As per many of the other replies, this needs amore detailed discussion on business logic and aims/objectives.

To a certain extent the technology/platform you based this on (if you chose to go with a bespoke built system) is not the primary issue, as there are a number of technologies capable of supporting this.

However, once you have established a detailed plan for the application, then I would urge you to consider how 'efficient' the development platform is, that you or your chosen partner selects.

My company specialise in 'rapid application development' (quick results, fixed cost / fixed timescale) and we'd be keen to discuss your plans with you.

We work nationally and are based in Leeds.

Please feel free to give us a call on 0113 289 9470 and ask for Neil in Account Management and I'd be keen to discuss in more detail with you.


Regards,

Neil

 

[Martina Wade]

Hey,
Just noticed that one of your requirements/things you want is a loyalty program - and like you say it can be expensive to get a solution that covers absolutely everything. The company I work for may be able to help - we do a loyalty solution you can run on your POS, integrated in the tills (provided they meet certain requirements) which will get the transactional data and allocate points automatically. It gives you access to customer analytics etc. - could be a simpler option for you, to relieve pressure on the POS software itself.

You can check out the website - just google loyalzoo (I can't post links yet, sorry!) and feel free to ask me if you have any questions at all.

 

[Talay]

Not looking for an external system or points or such. Full integration is key to driving future discounts based on current and historic orders aka the supermarkets, Boots etc. If to cost intensive, then simply run custom / sql reports against database and drive marketing that way.

 

[ExplorerBDM]

For the technology I would recommend (Oracle APEX) you can use Oracle REST Data Services to integrate very quickly and efficiently.

It's not an expensive technology to use either (Google: "How much does it really cost to build a business-class application on an oracle database?" and you'll see that the starting point is £0.00).

Again, please feel free to contact us to discuss further.


Regards,

ExplorerBDM