Microsoft Commerce Server

Microsoft Commerce Server
Developer(s) Microsoft
Website www.commerceserver.net

Microsoft Commerce Server is a Microsoft product for building e-commerce systems using Microsoft .NET technology.

The core software that formed the basis for the Commerce Server product line was purchased from eShop back in 1996 by Microsoft.[1] eShop was co-founded by Pierre Omidyar, one of the founders of eBay. The software was re-branded in 1997 to Microsoft Merchant Server, then Microsoft Site Server, and eventually was renamed to Microsoft Commerce Server in 2000.

Initially released in 2000, Commerce Server replaced Microsoft Site Server, expanding on the functionality and establishing a focus on e-commerce functionality (rather than concerning itself with document management or content metadata). It helped to create an e-commerce solution and/or Web site with high-performance, familiar tools that simplify setup, management, and administration tasks.

The last version of the Microsoft-developed product is Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 R2. Microsoft will continue to honor extended support of Commerce Server 2009 through 2019.[2] Sitecore now takes responsibility for developing, selling, and supporting the Commerce Server product. The latest release is Sitecore Commerce Server 11, released in 2014.[3]

System Components

Commerce Server 2009, which became available on Microsoft's price list on April 1, 2009, introduced multichannel awareness into the product, a new default site (running in Microsoft's SharePoint product), including 30 new web parts and controls, and WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editing experiences for business people and site designers.

These features were introduced through the new Commerce Foundation - an abstraction layer that unifies calling patterns of the core systems (see below) and allows for different presentation and business logic to be easily added and represented as 'selling channels'; and SharePoint Commerce Services which includes integration with Microsoft SharePoint - a new default site with 30 new web parts and controls pre-assembled. The default site can be skinned through the new page templating technology, allowing for individual pages to be easily changed by selecting a different template.

The product still retains its core systems of Catalog, Inventory, Orders, Profiles, and Marketing.

Other Components

The server comes bundled with Data Warehouse Analytics, which offer sophisticated reporting functionality, dependent on the availability of Microsoft SQL Server Analytics module, in addition to the Commerce Server Staging (CSS) system. The Staging functionality automates the deployment of both dynamic and active content across a network infrastructure and can accommodate a wide variety of network configurations. (Some have remarked that the speed of CSS deployments is perhaps the most note-worthy aspect of this component.) Commerce Server also comes with BizTalk adaptors, which allow for integration with Microsoft BizTalk for enterprise data manipulation.

Related Technologies

The product requires the presence of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or later. Commerce Server also can leverage a number of other Microsoft server products, including BizTalk Server 2006, R2 or 2009 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS).

.NET Framework 3.5 and Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM) are also required, as the other components used by this product are dependent on these technologies. Recommended deployments are confined to Windows Server 2003 or higher.

Microsoft Release History

post-Microsoft Release History

Future Development

The Microsoft Commerce Server business was outsourced to Cactus Commerce (Gatineau, Quebec, Canada) in 2007.[4] After Ascentium purchased Cactus Commerce along with the Microsoft Commerce Server business in 2011, they re-branded the software to Ascentium Commerce Server.[5] Ascentium later re-branded itself as SMITH and split off the Commerce Server product division into a subsidiary known as CommerceServer.net.[6] In November 2013 Sitecore acquired CommerceServer.net.[7][8] In August 2014, Sitecore released Sitecore Commerce Server 11.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Microsoft Acquires eShop Inc.". Microsoft Inc. 11 June 1996.
  2. ↑ "Microsoft Support Product Lifecycle". Microsoft. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Sitecore Commerce: An In-Depth Introduction". MSDN. 6 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Microsoft sloughs off its e-commerce technology". Internet Retailer. 14 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Microsoft Folds Its Hand And Abandons Commerce Server: What It Means". Forrester Research. 11 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "Commerce Server, Cactus Commerce & Ascentium - The Path Forward". Forrester Research. 30 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Sitecore Acquisition Highlights Customer Experience, E-Commerce Disconnect". CMS Wire. 22 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Sitecore Acquires Commerceserver.net to Extend .NET CXM Play". Gartner Inc. 27 November 2013.

External links

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