Today, 31st March, marks the 6th anniversary of the launch of Magento, released at the time under its previous name of Bento, which is now recognised as the fastest growing ecommerce platform in the world. Magento provides flexible, scalable, cost effective solutions that allow companies to manage their on-line offering from visual appearance and content, to SEO and digital marketing, with the extensive features that Magento provides leading to higher conversion rates and in turn increased revenues.
The system was originally developed by Varien, a company founded by Roy Rubin and Yoav Kutner in 2001. Varien’s application, which included input from the open source community, was released as a beta version in August 2007, before the actual launch in 2008. An issue with the original name arose involving FileMaker Inc. and as a result it was replaced with Magento.
eBay first become involved with the company following an investment which bought them 49% of Magento in 2010, with the remaining share of the company then purchased in June 2011. Following this move Magento subsequently became a division of eBay, operating both separately and as part of X.commerce, eBay’s global open commerce platform which also combines PayPal and GSI Commerce. Roy Rubin heads up the operation at Magento as its Chief Operating Officer.
Magento’s portfolio currently comprises of Magento Enterprise Edition, developed for large organisations and fast-growing businesses, with open architecture and extensions allowing for further development of functionality and integration with enterprise systems. Magento Community Edition features open source software for developers, free to download and with Community based support also on offer. Magento Go lends itself to smaller businesses, with customisable design, 24/7 application support as well as including hosting options. Magento’s support for its customers has proved an important element of their success, and as such they have built an extensive premier partner network.
Magento’s Imagine 2014 eCommerce Conference is due to take place at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on the 12-14th May, attracting merchants, developers, partners and open source enthusiasts to the global event. Imagine 2014 is a great opportunity for those attending to network and explore the emerging industry trends, as well as the latest in innovation. Malcolm Gladwell, the best-selling author and journalist is confirmed as a keynote speaker for this year’s event.
