If you’re still relying on outdated, on-premises systems, here’s a reality check: your competitors are moving to the cloud.
This isn’t about imitating what everyone else is doing. It’s about ensuring you’re getting a responsible amount of ROI from your tech stack and keeping you resilient and dynamic in a constantly fluctuating market.
According to the B2B Buyer Report 2025, 73% of buyers prefer online purchasing. Yet a significant 85% encounter significant barriers due to outdated systems and inaccurate data. Here’s what’s at stake when you stay on legacy systems:
Costly workarounds: Continuing to patch outdated systems results in inefficiencies that drain resources – time, money and effort.
Maintenance overheads: Constant upkeep of on-premises infrastructure requires ongoing investment, diverting attention away from strategic growth.
Security and compliance risks: Falling behind in your technology stack increases vulnerability to cyber threats and compliance issues.
Inability to scale: Without the elasticity of the cloud, handling increased traffic or adding new features can become a cumbersome and costly process.
By embracing modern cloud architecture, you free your team from time-consuming maintenance and create a reliable, scalable foundation for your online operations.
Envision a continuously modernized future
Think of cloud modernization like running a warehouse.
At first, everything is set up just right—shelves are organized, stock is easy to find, and operations run smoothly. But as your business grows and competition increases, things get more complicated. The space becomes crowded, and it takes longer to pick, pack, and ship orders. New team members and delivery partners struggle to navigate the clutter.
Simply rearranging a few shelves won’t cut it. To keep up, you need automated systems that optimize storage, speed up fulfillment, and make everything more efficient.
That’s what cloud modernization does for your technology. It’s not just about moving your existing setup—it’s about upgrading and streamlining it so your team can work smarter and deliver a better experience for your customers.
Table of contents
What are the benefits of cloud modernization?
Enhanced scalability: Your technology can easily flex to meet fluctuating demands. That means you’re ready for peak seasons without wasting resources during slower periods. With Sana Commerce Cloud, you benefit from automatic updates every two weeks, ensuring your platform stays optimized without downtime or manual intervention.
Lower overhead costs: By reducing the need for on-site hardware and maintenance, you free up both budget and staff capacity for more strategic work. Sana Commerce Cloud is fully managed and hosted, eliminating the burden of maintaining servers and manual updates—so your team can focus on growth instead of IT headaches.
Stronger performance and reliability: Modern cloud infrastructure is built to handle traffic surges and unexpected issues, ensuring your systems stay online and responsive for customers. Sana Commerce Cloud is designed with built-in failover mechanisms, performance monitoring, and maintenance mode—giving you a reliable backup solution. So, even during high-traffic events or unexpected downtime, your e-commerce platform stays smooth and accessible.
Agility for the future: With the right cloud setup, adding new features, integrating systems, or testing new approaches becomes faster and less complex. Sana Commerce Cloud’s seamless ERP integration means you can adapt quickly, launch new products, and scale operations without needing heavy customization or development work.
Improved security: Reputable cloud providers stay on top of the latest threats, offering built-in protections and regular updates to safeguard your data. Sana Commerce Cloud follows enterprise-grade security protocols, with encryption, compliance standards, and ongoing security updates to help protect your business and your customers.
The cost of doing nothing: Understanding the cost of inaction (COI)
Businesses often delay upgrading their systems because change feels risky or expensive. But sticking with outdated solutions isn’t as safe—or cost-effective—as it seems. By looking at the Cost of Inaction (COI), it’s clear that delaying a move to Sana Commerce Cloud can actually cost your business more in the long run.
Calculating your cost of inaction
Here’s a simple way to measure the real cost of postponing cloud modernization:
COI = Potential Loss × Probability of Occurrence × (1 / (1 + Improvement Factor))
For example, for every £1 million in revenue, your COI could be around £81,750. That’s revenue you’re missing out on by not upgrading your systems.
What are you risking by waiting?
1) Missed revenue opportunities
Businesses that move to Sana Commerce Cloud typically see:
42% increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV)
24% growth in average orders
20%+ uplift in average order value
23% growth in unique buyers
Delays might seem like nothing in the moment, but in reality, they’re money left on the table.
2) Higher operational costs
Legacy systems aren’t just inconvenient—they’re expensive:
Maintenance and workarounds add up fast
Manual tasks become costly distractions
Resources are pulled away from strategic growth
3) Falling behind competitors
Your competitors are modernizing—are you?
Companies leveraging the cloud have the advantage
Sticking to older systems signals stagnation, not strength
4) Security and compliance risks
Outdated tech increases risk:
Higher vulnerability to cyber threats
Greater risk of compliance breaches
Potential legal issues and damage to customer trustc
Types of cloud modernization—Where does Sana Commerce Cloud fit in?
Cloud modernization isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Businesses can modernize in different ways depending on their goals, existing infrastructure, and long-term strategy.
What it is: A basic form of modernization that involves moving an application to the cloud with some minor optimizations but without major architectural changes.
Best for: Businesses looking for cloud benefits like scalability and cost reduction without making large changes to their existing systems.
Limitations: While it improves efficiency, it doesn’t fully leverage cloud-native features and may still carry over legacy system limitations.
Sana Commerce Cloud goes beyond replatforming. Instead of simply moving an existing e-commerce system to the cloud, SCC is purpose-built to maximize cloud capabilities.
2. Refactoring (Cloud-Friendly Modernization)
What it is: Adjusting and rewriting parts of an application to better integrate with cloud technologies like automation, scalability, and performance optimization.
Best for: Companies wanting a more efficient and adaptable cloud-based system while maintaining some legacy components.
Limitations: Requires more development work but doesn’t fully unlock cloud-native benefits.
Sana Commerce Cloud takes this further by being cloud-native from the start, ensuring seamless performance, automatic updates, and deep ERP integration.
3. Rearchitecting (Cloud-Native Transformation)
What it is: A complete restructuring of an application to be built specifically for the cloud. This approach maximizes cloud-native advantages such as microservices, auto-scaling, and high availability.
Best for: Businesses looking for long-term agility, automation, and the ability to quickly adapt to market changes.
Limitations: More resource-intensive than refactoring but results in a future-proof solution.
This is where Sana Commerce Cloud fits best. SCC is a fully cloud-native SaaS solution, designed for high performance, security, and scalability, without the complexity of maintaining infrastructure.
What it is: Packaging an application and its dependencies into a portable unit (container), making it easy to move and scale across different cloud environments.
Best for: Companies running small, modular applications that need to be highly portable and efficient.
Limitations: Containers work best for microservices rather than full-scale enterprise applications.
Sana Commerce Cloud doesn’t rely on containerization but instead offers a fully managed SaaS platform that provides scalability and efficiency without requiring container-based management.
5. Serverless Computing (On-Demand Cloud Usage)
What it is: Applications run only when needed, rather than being active 24/7. A lightweight cloud server is initialized only when necessary, reducing resource costs.
Best for: Simple applications with limited processing needs, such as single-function tools or background tasks.
Limitations: Not suited for complex, high-traffic platforms requiring consistent uptime.
Sana Commerce Cloud operates as a high-performance SaaS solution, ensuring continuous availability rather than running on a limited, on-demand basis.
6. Multi-Cloud (Cross-Cloud Deployment)
What it is: Applications that operate across multiple cloud environments or providers to optimize resources, avoid vendor lock-in, and ensure high availability.
Best for: Enterprises with high resource demands that need redundancy and flexibility across different cloud platforms.
Limitations: Can be complex to manage and requires strong integration capabilities.
Sana Commerce Cloud is hosted on Microsoft Azure, providing a robust, secure, and scalable infrastructure, while offering ERP-integrated flexibility to adapt to different business needs.
Where does Sana Commerce Cloud fit?
Cloud-native (Rearchitected for full scalability and automation)
Deep ERP integration for real-time stock, pricing, and order updates
Continuous innovation with automatic updates every two weeks
Enhanced security: Protecting your business and customers
Security isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. Sana Commerce Cloud offers advanced security features, including:
Enterprise-grade encryption and secure data handling
Regular, automatic security updates to safeguard against emerging threats
Compliance with the latest industry standards to protect sensitive information
This robust security framework significantly reduces risks related to cyber threats, data breaches, and compliance violations, protecting your business reputation and customer trust.
Future-proof your business: Flexibility through add-ons and ADK
With Sana Commerce Cloud, you’re not limited by the boundaries of your existing system. Our flexible cloud foundation, combined with the Add-On Development Kit (ADK), empowers you to customize and extend your webstore precisely to your needs.
Easily develop custom features and integrations
Quickly adapt to evolving market demands without heavy IT involvement
Build a unique online experience that sets you apart from competitors
This means your e-commerce solution grows with your business—keeping you agile, competitive, and ready for whatever the future holds.
Case in point: Birlea
For Birlea, simply moving online wasn’t enough. To truly scale and improve efficiency, they needed a modern, cloud-based infrastructure. With Sana Commerce Cloud, they didn’t just streamline processes—they built a future-ready business.
Scalability for growth
As order volumes increased, Birlea needed a system that could grow with them. Manual processes were limiting expansion, but Sana Commerce Cloud automated order management, allowing the business to scale without adding strain to their sales team. Now, 85% of orders are processed online—a complete reversal from their previous 80% manual order intake.
Efficiency through automation
With orders now flowing seamlessly through the trade store, Birlea has saved over 100 hours per month on manual order entry and customer communication. This has freed up staff to focus on strategic growth rather than administrative tasks.
Reliable performance at any scale
Peak seasons and traffic spikes no longer pose a risk. Sana Commerce Cloud’s cloud-native infrastructure ensures high availability, fast performance, and uninterrupted access for customers—so they can check stock, place orders, and view invoices anytime, anywhere.
Personalization that drives engagement
A modern cloud setup also allowed Birlea to deliver a tailored experience for every customer. Features like real-time stock visibility, custom pricing, and automated discounts encouraged repeat purchases. In fact, 80% of customers actively use these enhanced features, and 160+ return to buy every 90 days.
Seamless ERP integration for accuracy & speed
By integrating directly with Birlea’s ERP, Sana Commerce Cloud eliminated manual errors and provided real-time updates on stock, orders, and invoices. The result? Faster order processing, fewer mistakes, and a smoother buying experience.
Security & continuous innovation
Cloud modernization isn’t just about efficiency—it’s also about staying ahead. With enterprise-grade security, automatic updates every two weeks, and compliance with the latest data protection standards, Birlea’s system remains secure and optimized without extra effort.
The impact?
85% of orders now processed online
100+ hours saved per month
160+ repeat customers every 90 days
20% conversion rate
By modernizing with Sana Commerce Cloud, Birlea didn’t just move their business online—they built a smarter, faster, and more scalable operation that continues to evolve with their needs.
Ready to harness cloud modernization?
Whether you’re ready to take the next step or still exploring options, our CSMs can help.
