Author: JT Smith
industry’s first e-commerce software to support Linux* on the mainframe, is
now available for customers using the open source platform on Intel
servers.
WebSphere Commerce Suite V5.1 will now support Linux on Intel-based
systems, allowing small and medium size businesses to create fast, flexible
and highly-reliable e-commerce sites to more effectively conduct business
around the world.
IBM’s e-commerce software allows business managers to easily design
compelling sales campaigns, explore new revenue opportunities and enhance
relationships with their customers worldwide — all from a single commerce
site.
MuscleTech, a leading research company that develops and distributes
sports and nutrition aids, has embraced WebSphere Commerce for Linux.
“IBM’s WebSphere Commerce for Linux is enabling MuscleTech to develop
a state-of-the-art e-commerce site that runs on a highly cost-effective,
secure and stable platform – bringing one of the most advanced, integrated
e-commerce systems in the world to our customers,” said Jason Bell,
eCommerce Division Manager, and Sean Klyne, Information Technology Manager,
of MuscleTech. “This offering from IBM will allow us to quickly create and
deploy a powerful new direct to the customer retail channel and an enhanced
call center, helping our company drive business around the globe.”
IDC anticipates that Linux will remain the fastest growing server
operating system through 2004, with a compound annual growth rate of 28
percent from 2000 to 2004. IDC research also shows that 40 percent of all
spending on Linux servers is for Internet related applications, firmly
entrenching Linux servers in the Internet infrastructure**.
IBM’s WebSphere Commerce software will now allow businesses to grow
their e-commerce Web sites on Linux, the open operating system which gives
developers the flexibility and freedom to customize the platform to meet
their business needs.
IBM’s e-commerce software supports a variety of languages and
currencies, as well as region-specific sales tax and shipping rules,
customized product catalogs and localized payment methods and pricing. In
addition, WebSphere Commerce allows for anytime, anywhere access to
e-commerce sites with enhanced mobile computing features — including
notification messages, automatic content selection and customized shopping
flow — tailored to individual devices.
WebSphere Commerce is based on open industry standards and features a
Java? programming model. With its intuitive design, WebSphere Commerce
makes it easy for business managers to create dynamic marketing campaigns,
product promotions, discounts and advertisements, all targeted to specific
customers using powerful business rules technology.
Product Availability and Pricing
WebSphere Commerce Version 5.1 for Linux will be available in early
December 2001. WebSphere Commerce Version 5.1 for Linux will support Red
Hat and SuSE Linux, with a starting price of US $5,000 per processor for
Start Edition, and US $52,000 per processor for Pro Edition.
Additional information is available at:
http://www.ibm.com/software/commerce. For more information about IBM’s
offerings for Linux, visit: http://ibm.com/linux.