Boutir: Empowering Global Merchants with Online Shop Builder Powered by App Engine

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Boutir, a Hong Kong-based online commerce platform, was created with the vision of empowering merchants by allowing them to set up mobile shops within minutes. The platform handles everything from ordering to checkout, delivery, and end-client notifications automatically. Since its inception in 2014, Boutir has expanded across Asia, serving over 100,000 merchants. However, the company faced challenges in delivering a seamless development experience, real-time data analytics, and unlimited scalability. The COVID-19 crisis further exacerbated these challenges as the demand for online shopping surged, causing systems to crash due to high demand. Boutir also needed a solution that would allow for continuous innovation without service interruptions and the ability to test different app versions in new markets.

Boutir is a Hong Kong-based online commerce platform that allows anyone to set up a mobile shop and start selling within minutes. The platform handles everything from ordering to checkout, delivery, and end-client notifications automatically. Since launching in 2014, Boutir has spread across Asia to markets including Malaysia and Indonesia, serving more than 100,000 merchants. The company has won multiple awards, including the Hong Kong Retail Innovation Award for Best Retail Innovation Product and the HSBC Youth Business Award Merit Prize. Boutir's mission is to empower merchants by providing them with the tools they need to succeed in the digital marketplace.

Boutir turned to Google Cloud to address these challenges. The company's founder, Eric Ng, had previous experience with Google Cloud and knew that it could provide the seamless development experience, real-time data analytics, and unlimited scalability that Boutir needed. Google Cloud's App Engine was chosen for development and deployment due to its ease-of-use and unlimited scalability. App Engine also allowed Boutir to handle the surge in demand during the COVID-19 crisis without any issues. One of the key benefits of App Engine is the ability to trigger simultaneous hot deployments of new app features, allowing Boutir to offer a continuous stream of innovation with zero service interruptions. Boutir also uses BigQuery, Google Cloud's data warehousing solution, to analyze data and drive platform improvements. The company plans to use BigQuery to provide its clients with business intelligence and to adopt Vision AI to analyze product photos for automated categorization.

• The use of Google Cloud's App Engine and BigQuery has significantly improved Boutir's operations. App Engine's ability to handle unlimited scalability and simultaneous hot deployments of new app features has allowed Boutir to continuously innovate without service interruptions. This has also enabled Boutir to test different app versions in new markets, aiding in its global expansion plans. The use of BigQuery has provided Boutir with valuable data insights, driving platform improvements and boosting performance. Boutir plans to use BigQuery to provide its clients with business intelligence, enabling them to offer targeted product recommendations. The company also plans to adopt Vision AI for automated categorization of product photos, which will improve efficiencies and customer satisfaction.

• Supported growth from under 10 Hong Kong merchants to over 100,000 across Asia

• Enabled simultaneous A/B testing with zero downtime

• Handled order surge to 1,000s per second without issues during the COVID-19 pandemic