IBM Internet Commerce Offerings Accelerate Move to e-Business
Family of Servers, Expanded Payments Offerings Announced
LOS ANGELES (March 09, 1998) – IBM today announced a range of new e-business offerings designed to exploit customers’ current investments and help move their businesses to the Web. Included in the announcements made at Spring Internet World, is the general availability of a robust family of commerce servers and expansion of the CommercePOINT* payment family of products to multiple platforms. IBM also announced a new framework designed to allow developers to more quickly integrate IBM Net.Commerce* with their enterprise resource planning applications.
IBM was joined by several customers and industry-leading software vendors who unveiled a variety of business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications based on IBM commerce products. Announcement highlights:
Family of Commerce Servers
Three new commerce servers, now available, each targeted to specific customer e-commerce needs include:
Lotus Domino.Merchant 2.0 Server Pack provides everything that small but growing organizations need — including the powerful Domino web server — to customize comprehensive electronic commerce solutions quickly and easily. Domino.Merchant will be available at the end of March.
Net.Commerce START includes the commerce server plus Store Creation Wizard, IBM CommercePOINT eTill for online payments using the Secure Electronic Transaction SET protocol, Domino.Web* and Lotus Go Server* compatibility. Net.Commerce START is offered with SmoothSTART, a service aimed at small-to-medium-sized businesses that choose IBM Global Services* or an IBM Business Partner to help implement their e-commerce site quickly.
Net.Commerce PRO for large enterprises building next-generation Web sites with more sophisticated commerce features including flexibility, enhanced functionality and the ability to integrate into existing core business systems. Net.Commerce PRO comes packaged with Net.Commerce START and:
– Advanced Catalog Tools — create shopping advisors and intelligent search methods to assist customers through the product selection and purchasing process.
– Back-End Integration Tools — facilitate easy integration into existing legacy software such as IBM CICS*, MQ Series*, IMS, SAP R/3** and EDI.
A Commerce Extensibility Framework
A set of open programming interfaces that make it easy for customers and other software vendors to develop seamless, realtime linkages between Net.Commerce and other applications. Based on Java, the framework includes a set of adapters between Net.Commerce and other business systems, such as inventory management systems. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendors are using the framework to link their applications with Net.Commerce so that customer, order, product information and transactions flow smoothly between the two systems.
CommercePOINT Payments
IBM announced expanded availability of the CommercePOINT payment family of products, providing its online cash register, IBM CommercePOINT eTill, on the IBM OS/390* and SunSolaris** platforms, and IBM CommercePOINT Gateway, which offers security for online credit card processing between financial institutions and merchants, on OS/390. By broadening the availability of these payment products, IBM helps customers conduct more secure electronic commerce on multiple platforms.
“Today, our customers are benefiting from the advantages of e-business as a means of effectively and economically reaching their customers, business partners and suppliers,” said Karl Salnoske, general manager, Electronic Commerce, IBM. “IBM is committed to delivering the right software, services and solutions that let our customers profit from the exploding e-commerce opportunity.”
Customer and Business Partner Announcements
The most recent customers and Business Partners taking advantage of Net.Commerce’scalability, security, and ease-of-use include:
Brookstone Company, Inc.
Brookstone is recreating the dynamic atmosphere of its stores and catalogs to offer gifts and gadgets that are fun yet functional on the World Wide Web using Net.Commerce.
Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)
Recreational Equipment, Inc., (REI) is selling more than 7,000 items of outdoor sporting goods, clothing and footwear on the company’s Web site using IBM Net.Commerce. REI is expanding its IBM RS/6000-powered Web site.
1-800-Batteries
IBM Business Partner Web Emporium** completely renovated the 1-800-Batteries online commerce site, using IBM Net.Commerce to allow for fast, extremely intuitive searches, while offering scalability and transaction security. 1-800-Batteries is a leading direct and on-line supplier of high quality batteries and tools for mobile professionals worldwide.
Earth Savers
Earth Savers teamed up with IBM and IBM Business Partner Web Emporium to design a creative and original Net.Commerce-based solution that employs the capabilities of 50,000 small-to-medium-sized lighting and electrical contractors across the U.S.
Wolferman’s
Wolferman’s has been a purveyor of specialty foods and signature baked goods for over 100 years. Wolferman’s brought in the technical and electronic commerce expertise of IBM Business Partner, Cephas, Inc.** to build an electronic commerce-enabled Web site. Since going live, Wolferman’s has received orders from as far away as Greece.
ISV Relationships
IBM announced three new solutions from industry-leading software vendors that have joined the company’s Internet Partners in Development program.
They include:
Comm-Press, Inc., which offers low-cost, secure electronic data delivery for trading partners that works over multiple environments taking advantage of IBM Net.Commerce, EasyAccess Secure FTP Client from Comm-Press, Inc., and the IBM Global Network Information Exchange.
ICVERIFY, which with Net.Commerce, provides real-time credit card authorization secured by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
Netegrity, which used together with IBM Net.Commerce and Netegrity’s SiteMinder, makes it possible to securely deliver personalized data from a Web site. Businesses can tailor catalog content and pricing to meet specific customer profiles, or develop on-line loyalty programs or tailored catalog content and pricing based on user-specific profiles.
Source: IBM