News

Commerce Server 2000: Stripped Down Name, Beefed Up Functionality

• By Scott Bekker
• 09/25/2000

Commerce Server 2000, the clipped down name of the Microsoft Corp. product formerly known as Site Server 3.0, Commerce Edition, is making its public debut with the release of Enterprise 2000.  

The latest iteration of Redmond’s e-commerce server is arriving on the scene with more than just a shortened name, it also packed full of new capabilities that are expected to ease and quicken the deployment of e-commerce sites and markets.

Microsoft took a more business-friendly approach with its latest release. This time, focusing more on the sell-side of e-commerce, Commerce Server 2000 contains more tightly integrated components, improved decision support and site management tools, and has expanded its built-in applications.

Choosing to integrate ISV technologies into Commerce Server 2000, such as Knosys ProClarity, Microsoft is offering a more complete package. It chose technologies that extend Commerce Server’s capabilities in areas such as application hosting, data center hosting, Web design, systems integration, and data analysis.

But besides just adding functionality that stems from ISV input, Microsoft improved on the core of Commerce Server. Users will find things such as a business desk that allows managers to remotely access their business via the Web, a profile and targeting system, and a campaign manager.

On the business analytics side, Commerce Server 2000 made big strides. The latest release includes a scalable data warehouse – based on SQL Server – that pulls all site and legacy data into a central repository. Once in the repository the data can be analyzed with the included data mining tools.

Since Microsoft’s big focus is on its .NET venture and XML, Commerce Server 2000 comes with off-the-shelf integration with the BizTalk server. Microsoft hopes this and its Commerce Server Site Packager feature will help businesses deliver more efficient e-commerce sites in less time. –Alicia Costanza

For Microsoft’s overview on Commerce Server 2000, see www.microsoft.com/commerceserver.