Microsoft seeks e-commerce allies

Site Server line expected to grow as company ships product, announces partnerships.

By Scott Lajoie
Network World, 5/25/98

Microsoft Corp. recently shipped Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition, but according to industry experts, the release only marks the first wave of the company's electronic commerce strategy.

According to analysts and industry observers, the latest Site Server is not so much a complete commerce tool but rather a foundation for third- party software development. (See our review of Site Server 3.0) And the slew of partnerships Microsoft an-nounced a few weeks ago at the Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition rollout in New York is an indication that the company is not willing to take on electronic commerce all by itself.

There have already been signs that Microsoft plans to add to the Site Server product line. For example, Microsoft recently bought Firefly Network, Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based company that specializes in analyzing customer profiles for market analysis.

Microsoft has positioned its two Site Servers (the standard intranet-oriented version and a Commerce Edition) as platforms for building intranets and extranets. Just like the intranet version, the Com-merce Edition allows a user to manage and publish content for corporate Web sites. The only difference is the Commerce Edition adds basic purchasing, order processing and advertisement functions.

"Site Server is definitely not the total package that iCat [Corp.], Intershop [Communications, Inc.] and Interworld [Corp.] provide," said Steve Olsen, an analyst at Volpe, Brown, Whelan & Co. in San Francisco. Earlier this month, Interworld announced an alliance with Hewlett-Packard Co., whereby Interworld would provide its suite of products on the HP UX operating system.

Pandesic LLC, an electronic commerce provider formed from Intel Corp. and SAP AG, is one of Site Server's most visible allies. Pandesic announced it would embed Site Server in its end-to-end commerce offerings, which incorporate hardware, software and services.

According to Patrick Holmes, Pandesic's director of technology, the company was looking to incorporate log analysis, which provides information on who is visiting a site, and search functions. Site Server was the perfect match.

"Rather than worry about basic cataloguing, which Site Server takes care of, Pandesic can focus on its value added solutions," said Vern Keenan, an analyst at Zona Research, Inc. in Redwood Shores, Calif. Pandesic specializes in supply-chain automation, which invokes the placement of supply orders when purchases are made, and business cycle analysis, which accounts for how changes in the business environment affect sales and supply.

Microsoft also announced partnerships with Commerce-One, Inc., DataCash, Ltd., ICVerify, Inc. and Great Plains Software, Inc., among others.

Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition, including 25 client access licenses, is priced starting at $4,609 per server.