Monday, February 11, 2008

The Microsoft Strategy: Meeting the Challenge

Microsoft's e-commerce strategy helps businesses establish stronger relationships with customers and partners by delivering the benefits of e-commerce and addressing the issues of implementing e-commerce systems. Platform, portal, and partners are three essential elements of the Microsoft e-commerce strategy. In addition, the company has developed a platform-neutral e-commerce framework called Microsoft BizTalk™, described by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates "as the glue that ties this all together."
The Microsoft e-commerce platform is the set of software technologies and products that implements and supports e-commerce. Microsoft strives to offer the best technology platform for e-commerce solutions. The platform starts with Microsoft Windows®, serving as a universal access point to provide consumer and business users with secure access to online e-commerce services. Windows contains support for standard Internet security protocols to enable secure, convenient online payment.
To enable businesses to create comprehensive online sites and applications, the platform also includes the Microsoft Servers suite, including Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft SQL Server™ 7.0, and Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition. Microsoft Servers integrate with development tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio®, providing speedy development of secure, scalable e-commerce applications. E-commerce applications based on Microsoft Servers can easily integrate an organization's existing systems—including SAP, Baan, Oracle, AS/400, and mainframe systems.
The Microsoft portal for consumers is MSN–The Microsoft Network. MSN gives consumers the ability to research products and services, as well as shop and buy online, all from one convenient location on the Internet. Because more than 40 percent of Web users in the U.S. visit MSN each month, MSN can help any business generate awareness and demand for products and services with a large and qualified target audience. MSN's advertising, partnership, and small-business services help companies reach and build relationships with their online customers. In addition, MSN's Internet e-commerce services provide excellent partner-integration opportunities at any level for the consumer-goods, automotive, financial-services, real estate and travel industries.
Moreover, MSN Sales works with companies to find the best online opportunities to meet specific marketing goals. Through the bCentral Web site, Microsoft and MSN now offer a broad set of services to help small businesses increase their visibility online and strengthen their relationships with customers. MSN's Passport provides a single, secure identity and an electronic wallet that can be used across all Microsoft and third-party Web sites that meet Microsoft's strict consumer-privacy guidelines. The service will help facilitate Web-site access, make online purchasing easier, and provide individual consumers with content that is tailored more closely to their interests and preferences. For business partners, the introduction of this service will provide an opportunity to increase reach, revenue, and retention by making the online shopping experience easier and more appealing.
Microsoft partners can provide businesses a choice in e-commerce solutions and ensure the successful implementation of e-commerce systems. Microsoft partners offer both software products and professional services designed to help companies implement sophisticated e-commerce solutions. Microsoft Certified Solution Providers—consultants, skilled and trained in developing, deploying, and managing e-commerce sites and applications—offer professional services for businesses of all sizes. Leading systems integrators work with enterprise customers to provide a range of e-commerce-related services into Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Industry-leading Internet services providers host e-commerce sites for smooth round-the-clock operation.
An expansive offering of products from multiple independent software vendors (ISVs) extends the Microsoft platform, helping customers minimize custom development. Many ISVs participate in the Value Chain Initiative—a consortium of Microsoft and 180 companies that has built a software framework for implementing business-to-business value-chain trading on the Internet.

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