70% of Enterprise Teams Favor Open-Source eCommerce for Control That SaaS Can’t Deliver

More enterprise brands are questioning whether SaaS really simplifies eCommerce.

Rising GMV fees, rigid workflows, and platform limits are making it harder for teams to scale efficiently, which is pushing companies to explore open-source options like Magento.

It gives them control over technology, performance, and future plans while keeping decisions in their hands.

Caleb Bradley, Founder and CEO of Bighorn Web Solutions, spoke with DesignRush on why more enterprises are moving beyond SaaS and how they maintain flexibility and visibility as they scale.

Who Is Caleb Bradley?

Caleb Bradley is the Founder and CEO of Bighorn Web Solutions LLC, a specialized eCommerce development agency established in 2020. With over a decade of experience in the eCommerce services space, Caleb has led his team of experts in platforms like Shopify Plus and Magento, focusing on site speed, conversion rate optimization, platform migrations, and custom development. Under his leadership, Bighorn Web Solutions has garnered recognition, including being named one of the Top 3 Best Design & Development Agencies to hire in 2025 by DesignRush.

Editor's Note: This is a sponsored article created in partnership with Bighorn Web Solutions.

As enterprise eCommerce grows, the limits of SaaS become more obvious. What once seemed simple can create hidden obstacles.

Capped stock-keeping units (SKUs), fragile APIs, and unexpected fees start to slow down teams and processes.

“Enterprise at scale often requires the merchant to have greater control and visibility into the systems versus what SaaS can deliver or offer,” Caleb explains.

“The SaaS roadmap is littered with unforeseen issues and failures, as CNBC reported, that businesses must contend with and tend to be much less predictable than open-source solutions.”

Control matters more than ever.

70% of respondents now prefer and seek composable tooling, up from 45% just two years ago, according to Commerce Trends by Acquia.

Organizations are looking for solutions that give them real control.

The survey highlights three main pain points:

1. The inability to modernize fast enough
2. Budget constraints that often push companies toward suboptimal all-in-one systems
3. Limits in flexibility with current platforms

What Makes Open-Source Work at Scale

As companies push past the limits of SaaS, platforms like Magento show where real control and flexibility come into play.

Caleb highlights three areas where Magento Open Source gives enterprises an edge.

1. Performance Control

“Deep server-side control (PHP, MySQL, Redis, Varnish, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch) allows enterprises to tune infrastructure far beyond what SaaS platforms allow,” Bradley explains.

This level of control eliminates shared SaaS bottlenecks.

Teams can right-size hosting, optimize caching layers, and implement CDN strategies that match their specific traffic patterns.

Brands can also adopt front-end frameworks like Hyvä or headless to improve Core Web Vitals, which directly impact SEO and conversion.

Deloitte-Google data shows that even a 0.1-second speed boost can increase eCommerce conversion rates by 8.4%.

2. Extensibility Without Limits

Magento’s modular architecture enables precise, code-level customization without touching core code.

This makes it easier to implement complex rules, workflows, and integrations with ERPs, PIMs, OMSs, 3PLs, and proprietary systems.

“Unlimited code-level customization enables enterprises to implement complex rules, workflows, and integrations that SaaS platforms generally cannot support even with costly apps or middleware,” Bradley notes.

3. Long-Term Scalability

Open-source gives companies full ownership of their roadmap.

They control upgrades, security policies, and release cycles without being bound by vendor priorities.

“Full ownership of the roadmap, i.e., enterprises set their own upgrade pace, security policies, and release cycles instead of following a SaaS vendor’s priorities,” Bradley says.

“Future-proof architecture since Magento Open Source can evolve into headless, hybrid, or traditional builds as business needs change.”

This approach lets enterprises scale across multiple stores, brands, and languages without extra licenses or surprise fees. This is a huge advantage over SaaS.

They grow on their own terms, without GMV charges or locked-in SaaS tiers.

Real Red Flags You’ve Outgrown SaaS

Caleb points to three clear signs that an enterprise has reached the limits of its SaaS platform.

1. Workarounds Are Replacing Real Solutions (Customization Ceiling Hit)

Signal: Teams are relying on hacks, apps, or middleware to mimic workflows the business actually needs.

“This creates instability, slows releases, and increases cost. A clear sign the business needs the flexibility of open-source or custom architecture,” Caleb explains.

2. Integrations Are Becoming Fragile or Expensive

Signal: ERP, PIM, WMS, CRM, or custom system integrations keep failing, hitting API limits, or require middleware to stay functional.

“SaaS APIs are often rate-limited, incomplete, or too shallow for enterprise orchestration. As transaction volume and operational complexity grow, the SaaS platform becomes the bottleneck in the enterprise stack.

“When integrations break under load or require constant vendor escalation, it signals the need for an eCommerce backend with deeper, controllable integration points, like Magento Open Source,” Caleb says.

3. Scaling or Growth Triggers Unexpected Costs

Signal: GMV fees, API overages, SKU caps, storage costs, or upgraded SaaS tiers are greedily eroding margins.

“SaaS pricing models work for small stores, but at the enterprise level, variable fees and growth taxes become painful.

When a company suddenly pays more simply because it grew, not because it gained new capabilities, that’s a structural problem.

Open-source architectures let enterprises scale on their terms: hosting, infrastructure, performance, and feature set all scale without platform-imposed penalties,” Caleb notes.

Taking Control with Open-Source

B2B, manufacturing, and regulated industries face eCommerce challenges that demand control.

Magento Open Source gives teams direct oversight of infrastructure, security, and workflows.

They can meet compliance frameworks like SOC 2, PCI-DSS, FDA/GMP, or geographic data rules, and build processes such as:

1. Contract pricing
2. Multi-tier accounts
3. Quoting that matches real business operations

“Enterprise at scale often requires the merchant to have greater control and visibility into the systems versus what SaaS can deliver or offer,” Caleb explains.

Open-source also lets teams govern updates and security on their own schedule. Enterprises can patch, upgrade, or lockdown systems without waiting on a vendor.

Moving from SaaS to Magento is more than a tech swap.

Leadership should align teams on the processes that need improvement, the systems that integrate deeply, and the long-term roadmap that Magento opens up.

“Treat the migration as a business transformation, not just a tech change,” Caleb says.

“Clean your data. Invest in architecture early. Start simple. Scale with purpose.”

Choosing the right partner is part of the process.

“Choose an agency that’s done it before. The right partner reduces risk and accelerates ROI,” he adds.

With open-source, enterprises regain flexibility, control, and visibility.

They can scale globally, stay compliant, and innovate without being limited by SaaS.