E-Commerce Software
an industry perspective…
…Sunil Bhargava
Contract CTO
Personal Background
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Started undergrad at GWU at 15
– BS – Computer Engineering, 1987
– MS – Software and Systems, 1989
– D.Sc. – Computer Science, abandoned in 1992
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CTO for many web-technology companies
– Spent last year at OneSoft, local e-commerce
software and application services provider
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Contact: Sunil@bhargava.com
What is e-Commerce
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e-Commerce has become e-Business
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Business automation
– Web-based by definition
– Application by nature
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Involving the whole commerce chain
– manufactures and customers
– suppliers and buyers
The more traditional definitions?
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Retail (B2C) - Sell-side
– Market peaked last year and still dropping
– Bill presentation and payment on the rise
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Procurement (B2B) - Buy-side or Sell-side
– Market plateau’d last year but stable
– Different from when business act as consumers
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Collaborative Commerce (B2B2C) - Sell-side
– Exploiting and assist the existing channels

Market places - Buy-side and sell-side
– Emulate all benefits of real-world, single-product
marketplaces
Retail (B2C)
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Value Proposition
– Disinter-mediate the retail channel
– Better shopping experience
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Personalized up sells
Comparison shipping
– Evaporating myth
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Wider net (anytime; anywhere); lower cost; viral sales
Technical Challenges
– International commerce
– Multi-lingual content management
– Cost effective distribution and fulfillment
Procurement (B2B)
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Value Proposition
– Disinter-mediate brokers and traders
– Buy side
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Implementers are large customers
Saves money by reducing inventory and purchase costs
– Sell side
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Implementers are targeting their medium customers
Reduces cost of sale and increases revenue per customer
Technical Challenges
– International commerce
– Automation of custom, non-uniform processes
Collaborative Commerce (B2B2C)
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Value Proposition
– Exploit and extend existing channels
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Direct market the brand but sell thru traditional channels
Enable B2C solutions for franchises and dealers
– Complex selling
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Value added products and services combinations
Technical Challenges
– Managing conflict with e-initiatives of the channel
– Supporting variety of business processes, logic, and rules
Market Places (Bs2Bs)
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Value Proposition
– Private exchanges
 Bring Shopping to the traditionally Buying focus
– Public exchanges
 Exponential growth in the market place
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Technical Challenges
– Custom catalog management
– Custom and dynamic price management
– Complex payment processing support
What is e-commerce Software?
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Front-end
– For Visitors and Customers
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Web-based by definition
Backend
– For enterprise business managers

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Merchandisers, Account Mangers, Customer Support, etc.
Middleware
– To interface with existing systems
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Customer, Inventory, Credit, Payment and Order Processing systems
e-Commerce Front-end
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Web Application Server
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Functionality
– Personalization and Profiling
– Complex, Dynamic Content Presentation
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Process Support
– Shopping Process
– Buying Process
e-Commerce Backend

Content Management
– Merchandizing
– Catalog management
– Price and on-line collateral management

Process Support
– Customer Support
– Anomaly management
 Payment or Order processing hiccups
e-Commerce Middleware
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Payment Processing
– Customer specific credit, purchase orders, etc.
– Electronic payment including EDI and credit cards
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Order Processing
– Interface to proprietary, custom enterprise systems
– e-enabled systems of large warehouses
– e-Services that provide Order Distribution
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Inventory Management
– Soft and hard reserve functionality
– Direct access to specific inventory
The critical success factors
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Backend System Management Functionality
–
–
–
–
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Support for workflow and process management
Appropriate use of technology for process support
Access control in content management
Business rules in anomaly management
On-line collateral Management
– Images, Audio, or Video; for virtual examination
– Structured; for comparison shopping
What’s missing?
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Community
– Polls, Message Boards, Chats, etc.
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Services
– Fee email, Consumer news and information, etc.
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Marketing Campaign Management
– Referrals, Affiliates, Banner ads, Emails, etc.
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Hot features of the day
– ‘Amazon innovations’
– Mobile commerce
– Shopping robots
What about services?
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Shopping Portals
 Process Re-engineering
 e-Services
– Branding
– On-line collateral development and management
– Search engine placement optimization
– Efficiency improvements in web delivery
The e-commerce leaders
Almost everyone does almost anything
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Retail
– BroadVision, ATG, Blue Martini, MS Commerce Server
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Procurement (buy-side)
– CommerceOne, Clarus
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Procurement (sell-side)
– I2, Manugistics
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Collaborative (sell-side)
– Click Commerce
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Market places
– Ariba, VerticalNet
Other important software players
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Net Perceptions
– Business intelligence for Commerce
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eShare
– Community and Customer Communication
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TaxWare
– Almost universal Tax Computations

CyberSource, CyberCash
– Credit card authorization with value-added services
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webMethods
– With ActiveWorks a formidable middleware vendor
Other important service players
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OrderTrust
– Payment and Order routing
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Double-click
– Banner ad provider
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VeriSign
– SSL encryption certificaties
Core Solution Requirements

Database
– Oracle
– Microsoft SQL Server

Application Servers
– With integrated or separate web server
– General purposes AppServers
 BEA’s WebLogic, IBM’s WebSphere, Microsoft’s ASP
– Specific AppServers
 BroadVision, ART Technology Group, Oracle
The vender we love to hate
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Front-end: IIS
– Web Server
– Application Server (ASP)
 Choice of languages but scripted
– .Net support
 Easier deployment of services; complied code

Middleware: BizTalk
– Standards (XML) based inter-application
communication broker
Microsoft Continued
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Backend: Commerce Server
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Catalog Management
Customer (profile Management)
Targeting Content to Customers
BizDesk
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Campaign management
Catalog, Customers, Content management
Order Processing including shipping, tax, returns
processing, etc.
Traffic, Product view, and product purchase analysis
Important Technologies

Everything from the two 400 lbs gorillas
– Oracle
– Microsoft

DHTML
– Microsoft won the browser wars in e-business

XML
– Microsoft’s and IBM’s support for SOAP is promising
– webMethods is proving the value in inter-application
communications
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Java
– Server side – J2EE, JavaBeans, JSP
Questions

Responses
Parting thoughts

Understand the business behind e-business

It is business application development for
users outside the implementer’s company

The line between software or service is
blurring