Introducing Commerce Server 2002

Commerce Server is a comprehensive e-business platform that includes features for different users: developers, system administrators, and business managers. In addition, Commerce Server is available in three editions, which provide different features and scalability options.

You use Commerce Server to build scalable and highly available business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) site applications.

Commerce Server Components

Commerce Server components are categorized into five systems. These systems provide the critical e-commerce infrastructure needed to build an effective online business.

  • Product Catalog System. Manage millions of products, create multilingual and multicurrency catalogs, and make it convenient for users to find the products and services they need.
  • Profiling System. Profile and manage your customers and trading partners for site usage authentication and advanced targeting and personalization.
  • Business Analytics System. Analyze site effectiveness by running Commerce Server reports, or by creating your own custom reports. Provide intelligent cross-sell capabilities, and dynamically recommend products to users as they navigate your site.
  • Targeting System. Personalize the buying experience with one-to-one marketing and targeted merchandising that increases the ordering convenience and relevance of content for your customers.
  • Business Processing Pipeline System. Tailor your order and merchandising processes to fit your requirements today, while being able to easily modify them over time, as your business grows and changes.

Commerce Server Tools

You use the following tools to develop and manage a Commerce Server site.

  • Commerce Server .NET Application Framework. A framework that enables you to create .NET-based Commerce Server applications using the new features of the .NET Framework. The Commerce Server .NET application framework provides two new layers to the Commerce Server platform: the Base Class Library and the Common Language Runtime Interop Layer. These layers allow ASP.NET code to run Commerce Server services and systems. Using Visual Studio .NET, you can access Commerce Server features and tools to build Commerce Server applications.

  • Solution Sites. Development reference sites that provide an integrated set of features included in Commerce Server. The Solution Sites provide the following features: multilingual, multicurrency, merchandising, catalog display, customer service, and order capture and receipt.

    Because the Solution Sites provide comprehensive e-commerce functionality, you can use them as a starting point for developing your own Web sites, and, when you are ready, add functionality that is specific to your business.

  • Commerce Server Site Packager. A deployment tool that you use to package your site and its applications and resources into a single file, and then move that file to another environment. You use it to package your Commerce Server site (including the IIS metabase settings), file system, resources from the Administration database, and SQL Server databases into a single file. You also use it to unpack the Commerce Server site (or portions of it) onto other computers.

  • Commerce Server Business Desk. An extensible tool that business managers use to manage and analyze their Web sites. For example, you use Business Desk features to update pricing information in your catalogs, target new advertisements to specific users, and then run reports to measure how these changes affect site productivity.

    Business Desk applications are provided in Solution Site packages. After you install Commerce Server, you must unpack a Solution Site to install a Business Desk application.

See Also

Editions of Commerce Server 2002

Commerce Server Features at a Glance

Commerce Server Architecture

Commerce Server Concepts

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