Icecat Service Roadmap 2022

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Icecat services roadmap 2022

Icecat will further improve its services and add new functionalities for its users in 2022. Below, a concise summary of the planned developments in the Icecat Service Roadmap 2022.

Icecat brand dashboard and reporting

Same as in 2021 a critical project in 2022 is to publish more analytics on our front office in the Brand Rank Page and to include more of our reporting in this graphical interface behind a brand login.

– Documenting the Reporting APIQ1
– Statistics API-out as a microserviceQ1-Q3
– Expand the brand rank page further with insightsQ1-Q4
– Track more interactions with product assetsQ1-Q4
– To include all LIVE events in the standardized report. This includes, for example, video and 3D usage, content interactions, and scrollingQ2
– Rework logical/tech user filteringQ2
– Limit report on Brand localesQ2
– Possibly exclude users with an empty value for “Business type”Q2

Icecat Portal

The Icecat portal attracts around 8 billion visits annually. Improving usability, functionality, and SEO are therefore critical points.

– Monitor and improve searchQ1-Q4
– Download generic data of distributor feedsQ2
– Allow users to upload SLA product listsQ3-Q4
– Allow for self-management of standard Icecat subscriptionsQ4
– Possibility for users to leave a comment on the product pageQ3-Q4

Icecat Vendor Central (PIM)

Hundreds of brand editors use Icecat Vendor Central, our global multilingual PIM cloud, to enrich the product data sheets for their channel partners. Therefore, improving usability, efficiency, quality management, and workflow is the main focus this year.

– Brand quality product datasheets with a >50% completeness score automatically upgraded to “Icecat quality”Q1
– Inheritance of the brand logic by sub the brandsQ1
– Copy the product upgradeQ1
– “Invite your reseller” button for brand managersQ1-Q2
– Possibility to filter user-specific taxonomy on the product levelQ1
– Further upgrades of the Editor Assignment Tracking Tool to increase workflow efficiencyQ1-Q4
– Finalize fully multilingual support for all 50+ languagesQ1
ETL speed upgrade and include for brand editorsQ2
– Possibility to assign more than one country to the userQ2
– Authorization requests automatizationQ2
– Possibility of creating new image types without developer helpQ3
– Access for third-party users to PIM: New “user” quality product datasheetsQ3-Q4
– Possibility to have user-specific assetsQ2-Q3
– Asset hub: Possibility to assign different assets to a group of products based on family, features, and other elementsQ3-Q4
– Editor journal V2 refactoring to improve tracking of changes made by editorsQ4
– Sub user possibility in the systemQ2-Q4

Open Catalog Interface (APIs)

Ten billion product datasheet requests were supported during 2021 by our pull-APIs. Furthermore, the data is used in more and more industries or Verticals. Therefore, adaptations are needed to improve our APIs’ efficiency, timeliness, and stability.

– Personalized, user-specific nRT XML.Q1
– Hard limitations on Datasheet downloadsQ2
– Open Icecat distribution limitation on subscribed verticalsQ2
– Icecat Health DashboardQ1-Q2
– Possibility to call LIVE page with 2 languagesQ1-Q2
– nRT diary of product updates + taxonomy changes per period.Q3
-Explanatory text should be available via XML and JSONQ3
– Personalized index filesQ2-Q3

Icecat Cedemo Toys & Gaming

Cedemo plays a prominent role in the Toys & Gaming market and the French e-commerce channel. As a result, most processes between Icecat and Cedemo are now well-aligned. In 2022 we are going to merge Old video games and Syndy platforms with Cedemo new platform

– Phased out old video games platformQ1
– Pricing Management ImprovementQ1
– CMS upgrade: possibility to search based on the external product IDQ1
– UI improvement for product content optimizationQ2
– Product completeness report to retailersQ2
– Merge Cedemo-Syndy platformsQ2-Q4
– Automatic sourcing improvementQ3
– Channel management for logistical featuresQ3
– Possibility to archive the productQ3-Q4
– Move Cedemo Platform to Icecat infrastructure.Q3-Q4
– Cedemo database to Icecat Master Database.Q3-Q4

Testseek: Shoppable reviews

Testseek offers Expert Reviews, User Reviews, and now also shoppable reviews. A further ambition is to add tooling for the creation of user-generated reviews.

– Modernisation of the existing frameworkQ1-Q3
– Align APIs with Icecat APIs (JSON and LIVE)Q1-Q3
– Refactoring Expert and User reviews functionalitiesQ1-Q4
– Live API upgrade/optimizationQ1-Q4
– Tool to support User Generate Review creationQ1-Q4

Syndy

The Syndy PIM cloud is used in FMCG and beyond. For local and global accounts, functionality improvements are created:

– Digital Asset Management improvementsQ1
– FMCG feature types optimizationQ1
– Reporting improvementsQ1
– AKZO API IntegrationQ1
– Global Assortment FeatureQ1-Q2
– GS1 integrationQ1-Q4
– Merge Cedemo-Syndy platformsQ2-Q4
– Integration improvementsQ2-Q4
– Admin improvementQ2-Q3
– Architectural improvementsQ2-Q4
– Product Hierarchy/Private LabelQ4
– Bulk Import for CustomersQ4

Tech stack

For security, performance, and functionality reasons, tech stack innovations are continuously applied during 2022.

– A new tool is needed to replace RedisQ1
– Moving rest of architecture to Kubernetes for the efficiency gainQ1
– Cassandra 4.0Q2
– Private index files & personal product referencesQ2-Q4
– Editorial and Taxonomy journal upgradesQ1-Q4
– Adding new functionalities to the Icecat PIM for Cedemo integrationQ1-Q2
– Replacement of the exchange server from RabbitMQ to KafkaQ1-Q4
– Storage for Product Stories 2.0Q1-Q2
– S3 Storage for video + improved video converterQ1-Q3
– Distributed & remote backupsQ3-Q4

Security

In 2022 we will focus on the following security points:

– Improvement of disaster recovery objectives & planningQ1-Q2
– Application token for Icecat services accessQ1-Q3
– Track and log activities of the PIM usersQ1-Q2
– Continuous monitoring of all group sites, including pen testing, vulnerability scans, and fixingQ1-Q4
– Oauth2 implementationQ1-Q3

Chief Operating Officer at Icecat

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