Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 – a challenger!
Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 Review Strengths
Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 is the release after Microsoft Commerce Server 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2). It offers a set of core e-commerce capabilities, such as shopping cart management, taxation, personalization, transaction management, settlement and product visualization, and has a reference application to help organizations launch new online stores, because it is designed to compress the deployment of an e-commerce site for key Web scenarios, such as B2C.
Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 improvements include integration with SharePoint Server 2010 (beta), FAST Search and BizTalk Server. Another improvement to SharePoint Commerce Services (SharePoint installation required) is the addition of out-of-the-box, customizable, Live Services for an integrated B2C shopping experience with 30 Web Parts (such as an “add to cart” button) that can be used for Web and Mobile sites.
Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 offers site designers new design tools that standardize the creation and editing of site designs and contain prebuilt components for site creation. For developers and architects, there is new functionality: a new multichannel, unified foundation, the addition of Web parts and a new extensibility model. It also offers Web 2.0 Social Commerce (which requires SharePoint) and RIA (which requires Silverlight) capabilities. Microsoft also has added integration with Microsoft live MSN, so that organizations can sell into those marketplaces.
Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 can support B2B and B2C online selling. It also includes capabilities for B2B e-commerce, such as support for punch-outs and marketplace integration, and for B2C models. Microsoft Commerce Server supports multichannel integration with kiosks, mobile devices, POS systems, interactive TV and gaming. It also supports multilanguage, multicurrency and multiple-payment models.
Cautions
Clients and references have disqualified Microsoft Commerce Server (both 2007 SP2 and 2009) from long lists due to its technical architecture not being a proper fit with their organizations’ Java technical architecture, or because they believe that Microsoft lacks an industry focus for their industries’ e-commerce requirements. Therefore, we recommend that organizations work with Gartner to compile their long lists and shortlists of vendors.
Organizations looking to take advantage of SharePoint Commerce Services and Web Parts, or that wish to offer a Web 2.0 rich Internet experience and community capabilities with Microsoft Commerce Server, must purchase additional products, because these capabilities aren’t part of the core offering. Therefore, organizations also must purchase Silverlight for RIAs and SharePoint to leverage Web parts or enable community aspects of Web 2.0. Otherwise, organizations can use best-of-breed providers for the rich Internet experience or community aspects of Web 2.0.
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