Magento Commerce Cloud: Everything You Need to Know

When it comes to eCommerce success, choosing the right platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of eCommerce platforms, but Magento remains a highly popular choice. While most users are only familiar with the open-source version, it also providers a cloud-based version, referred to as Magento Commerce Cloud or Adobe Commerce. In this article, we will discuss everything there is to know about Magento Commerce Cloud.

What is Magento Commerce Cloud – Key Details

It uses cloud infrastructure of AWS and Microsoft Azure, offering a high-performance managed Magento cloud hosting solution for enterprise-level ecommerce businesses. Cloud hosting enables you to install your website on a network of virtual and physical servers that are outside of your premises.

While managing an eCommerce infrastructure, the deal breakers are security concerns, production deployment, and cost-effectiveness. While many enterprises choose to adopt on-premises web hosting for security reasons, what they seem to ignore is that it is indeed costly and high maintenance.

Magento Cloud edition provides the users with a managed services infrastructure, high security, optimized performance, smooth integration with current frameworks, and scalable web storefronts. It aids the deployment process by developing new technologies such as Fastly, Blackfire, and New Relic.

Magento Commerce Cloud being the successor to Magento Commerce and Open-Source editions adds a new perspective to the market solutions by bringing in an extra set of features. Before moving forward, let’s discuss these features in a bit more detail to understand why the cloud version should be a top choice for large stores.

Key Features of Magento 2 Cloud

Cloud-Based Hosting

Magento 2 cloud is hosted on the AWS and Azure infrastructure, offering merchants a reliable, scalable, and secure environment. Store owners don’t need to concern themselves with the store’s security or server maintenance. Handling sudden peaks in website traffic is easily manageable as the cloud solution scales resources as and when required.

Fully Managed Services

Based on our experience, store owners often find it difficult to manage various aspects of the store effectively. This creates a situation where they focus too much on one area, while neglecting the other. With Magento 2 Cloud, the platform handles all routine tasks, including performance monitoring and security patches. The merchant can focus on business-critical tasks such as product research and customer service.

Advanced Customization and Integrations

Another key feature of Magento Cloud is that it allows merchants to integrate their store with numerous third-party extensions. Unlike the open-source version, the store’s performance won’t deteriorate when using too many extensions.

Continuous Deployment and Development

Another key feature of Adobe Commerce is that it provides numerous tools for automated deployment and development. This not only enhances the pace of development but ensures that projects remain streamlined.

Global Content Delivery Network (CDN)

The Magento Cloud Commerce uses Fastly’s CDN service. It ensures that the website performs optimally even during peak traffic.

Enhanced Security

Magento is already a secure platform. The Cloud version goes one step further by offering advanced features, including a Web Application Firewall.

Business Intelligence Tools

We are living in the age of data. Unless companies can make efficient use of data, they cannot succeed. Adobe Commerce provides an innovative artificial intelligence and machine learning tool called Adobe Sensei. This tool offers numerous features, including analysing customer behaviour and sending personalised product recommendations.

B2B Functionality

If you are running a B2B store, then Adobe Commerce is your perfect partner as it offers advanced B2B-specific tools. These include credit management, requisition lists, and more.

Customer Segmentation

Enables differentiation of customers and offers targeted cross-sells and up-sells based on customer attributes like address, browsing history, and shopping cart contents.

Content Staging

Allows scheduling modifications to CMS Pages or Blocks before publishing.

Ece- Tool Package

Magento brought forth an Ece-tool package that helps the sellers simplify various processes such as cron-management , docker deploy environment, and project verification. This package is a set of scripts and tools tailored according to the merchants’ needs. Certain other features are accompanied by this tool package such as managing the backup of the database, application of custom patches as well as environment configuration verification.

Instant Purchase

Enhances the checkout process by saving customer shipping and payment information for faster future purchases.

Magento Commerce Cloud Architecture

Let’s delve into the intricate lands of Magento Commerce Cloud architecture. Cloud services are known for their advanced feature sets and operational agility. However, understanding the pattern of seamless integration into the delicate framework of an eCommerce architecture and services infrastructure is of profound importance. Let's take a look at their plans:

The architecture is structured to support the following key features.

• All Magento 2 core features
• PayPal onboarding tool
• Business intelligence essentials

The Starter Plan

The Magento cloud Starter Plan architecture encompasses four distinct environments, each serving specific purposes within the e-commerce ecosystem:

1. Integration Environment: This environment comprises three distinct testable instances. Each instance encompasses a Git branch, a database, caching mechanisms, a web server, various services, configuration settings, and environment variables.
2. Staging Environment: Designed as a pre-production testing environment, it encompasses the active staging branch, services such as Fastly and New Relic for optimization, a database, a web server, caching mechanisms, configuration settings, and environment variables.
3. Production Environment: This environment is where the active master branch resides and includes caching mechanisms, third-party services, environment variables, configuration settings, and the web server itself.
4. Inactive Branches: Sellers can get their hands on an unlimited number of inactive branches, facilitating development and testing without affecting the core production environment.

The Pro Plan

Magento Commerce Cloud Pro plan architecture underpins the following.

• All Magento 2 core features
• PayPal onboarding tool
• Business intelligence pro
• B2B module

The Pro Plan has three environments:

1. Integration Environment: Within the Integration Environment, you'll find a comprehensive set of components including a web server, environment variables, database infrastructure, caching mechanisms, various configuration settings, and a suite of essential services.
2. Inactive Branches: Merchants operating under this architecture benefit from an unlimited number of inactive branches, which are derived from the Integration environment.
3. Staging Environment: Positioned as a pre-production testing environment, the Staging Environment encompasses crucial services such as Fastly and New Relic for optimization, a robust database system, a web server, caching solutions, comprehensive configuration settings, and a range of environment variables.
4. Production Environment: The Production Environment is engineered to support an advanced three-node architecture, specifically tailored for data management, environment variables, caching mechanisms, configuration settings, and the integration of third-party services.

Magento Commerce Cloud Core Benefits

Magento Commerce Cloud is comprised of five functional layers, each benefiting your store in multifaceted ways.

• The underlying architecture is powered by Amazon Web Services and/or Microsoft Azure via cloud hosting.
• Ease in deployment of a PaaS solution is enabled by Git and Composer.
• Magento, Business Intelligence, and B2B modules assist in facilitating commerce operations, presenting accurate and precise analysis and store reporting.
• APM supported by New Relic collects and analyses data for optimum interactions between the project applications.
• Fastly enhances the Content Delivery Network complimented by security features and tools for image optimization.

Fast and Easy Deployment:

Magento introduced a couple of crucial enhancements to aid the deployment process.

• Through the cloud UI, Magento launched a staging/production git repository that makes the code merging in the deployment process hassle-free.
• Self-serve configuration and staging management were also provided via Magento.

Page Speed Enhancements

Fastly introduced by Magento is a Magento Commerce Cloud exclusive. With Fastly image optimization, sellers retain the benefit of image optimization and transformation without impacting server origin and photo quality.

Scalability and Customisation

Magento Commerce Cloud takes pride in its advanced security features. Web Application Firewall ensures PCI compliance of store and deterrence of malware inputs, injection attacks, cross-site scripting, and other such threats.

Performance Boost and Increase in Available Memory

Magento introduced the M4 family of servers which is better than C3. The shift to a new family of servers was smooth and hassle-free. This shift has enabled merchants to have 100% growth in memory storage thus allowing them to scale up and expand the product’s catalog without impacting the store’s performance.

Total Cost of Ownership

Many enterprises believe that Magento Commerce Cloud is a bit expensive. What they seem to overlook is the perks that come with the fee structure. It enables them to attain hosting, development, design, maintenance, support, security patches, and third-party and custom extensions that end up justifying the cost if not delivering more! Many enterprises opt for Open Source, failing to realize the advanced functionalities of Magento Cloud Solutions that encompass more than it costs. Merchants can eliminate the support cost and reduce development costs which otherwise is not possible.

Fast Marketing

Fast marketing that is underpinned by automatic deployments is another advantage of Commerce Cloud. Cloud solution brings forth the quickest yet easiest way of maintaining a fully operational eCommerce store in approximately six months of deployment time.

Magento Cloud vs. Other Platforms

Magento Commerce Cloud vs BigCommerce

Features	Magento	BigCommerce
Cloud-based architecture	Amazon Web Service	Google Cloud
Security	Advanced Security	Less Secure
Bulk Data Transfer	Supported	Not Supported
Degree of Control	Unlimited	Limited
Multiple Storefronts	Supported	Supported

Magento Commerce Cloud vs Shopify Plus

Features	Magento	Shopify
Cloud-based Architecture	Amazon Web Service	Proprietary
Security	Advanced Security	Good Security
Bulk Data Transfer	Supported	Supported
Degree of Control	Unlimited (Full source code access)	Limited (no access to the shared core)
Multiple Storefronts	Supported	Supported

Final Thoughts on What is Magento Commerce?

Magento Commerce Cloud emerges as a powerful and holistic solution for the world of ecommerce. It offers a compelling value proposition to businesses looking to thrive in digital landscape. With its robust feature set, scalability, cost effectiveness, efficient deployment options, Magento has a wide range of services that, regardless of the fact they come with a price tag, ultimately justify the investment. As eCommerce continues to evolve, Magento stands as a strategic choice for businesses to showcase their products while attaining operational efficiency.