Site Server, a business perspective

Site Server 3.0 is the latest addition to the ever-growing bundle of development platforms for the Internet. A new tool means a new set of solutions for businesses and a new set opportunities for a developer. With this in mind, I set out to interview Alan Saldanha, a popular writer among ASP newbies (with his ASP 101 tutorial) and the creator of www.siteserver101.com. The following interview was conducted with businesses with potential need for a commerce solution in mind, in line with the focus at ActiveTalk.

About Alan Saldanha
Alan is the President of C & S Inc., Fort Worth TX. He holds a Masters in Computer Science from Texas A&M University. He has been involved in designing Intranet/Internet sites for the past 4 years and has created sites for Campbell Soups, LL Bean, Proctor & Gamle - Dryel, ABC's Monday Night Football, Pepperidge Farm, etc. You can contact him at alan@vallin.com.

What is Site Server? How is it different from say IIS/ASP etc?

I usually describe Site Server as the easiest way for a business to get a "Amazon.com" class electronic commerce site at a very affordable price. However, to a IS Manager it means more, much more - it represents a very powerful web application platform to develop line-of-business application that have tangible ROI. Good example of those types of applications would include workflow, procurement systems, customer service etc.

It's no so much different from IIS/ASP, as that it is a layer of technology that is built on the existing architecture of IIS, MTS, ASP, SQL etc. ASP is like the Honda's of this work - easy to drive, while Site Server and Site Server Commerce is like a Porsche - very powerful, but you need to learn how to drive to use it optimally.

Why should businesses care about Site Server?

Site Server and Site Server Commerce are the quickest way for a business to get competitive edge and advantage! Let me explain, since that may seems like a hype-loaded statement. Say you're a mid sized business who is doing business-to-business transactions with a Fortune 100 company who necessities that from a certain date all transaction need to be conducted via the Web. Site Server Commerce already gets you there - in fact one of the samples site that come with Site Server Commerce, Microsoft Market, illustrates that in detail.

Let me give you another scenario. Say we are a large mail-order company that is looking to develop a truly international site with French domains getting the site in French, the Germans in German etc. Well, Site Server Commerce comes with a component called the "MessageManager", which allows you to create "message sets" - a French set, a German set etc. Using the MessageManager, the French domains are presented with the French set and the Germans the German set. In effect, you have separated the message content of the site from the functionality of the site.

What advantages does Site Server have over say writing your own IIS apps?

Any ASP development project that saw the benefits that component development brings to the table will have a ball with Site Server and Site Server Commerce.

There are twenty odd components that you can plug into your apps to develop really cool applications. Applications ranging from on-line stores that incorporate promotional selling like "2 for the price of 1" deals, to procurement systems for large corporations that enable one server to convey info to another via the Web.

In addition Site Server Commerce also allows you to using scripting to write components, which developers will find extremely handy when business rules need to in-corporated in applications.

Rather than having the developer spend time developing in-house components, the components allow the developer to focus on the solution. Now that does not mean that component development is eliminated, but the level has shifted to a higher level - just as in the case of ASP.

What about the learning curve?

If the user is looking to use it as a "product", Site Server Commerce comes with wizards and sample sites that make getting an on-line store up an ready pretty quickly.

However, if you are looking to develop customized solutions it can be pretty steep even for an experienced developer. That's because of the sheer breath of the product - it provides you components that allow you to develop membership based sites, knowledge management systems, procurement systems ... Site Server also introduces a pretty neat way to manage components and business rules in an application - via a "pipeline". This is a pretty cool feature that makes adding and removing the components in the pipeline "plug and play".

What are the main competitors to Site Server? How do they compare?

Generally IBM's Net.Commerce Pro and Open Market's Transact and Live Commerce are pitted against Site Server Commerce. However, Site Server Commerce's stand is unique once you get beyond the wizard and reporting capabilities. The component nature of Site Server Commerce makes it possible to take it somewhere else - to a point that it actually meets business objectives and customization.

Site Server Commerce would be the product if you were looking to develop customized electronic commerce solutions beyond on-line storefronts.

I would view Enterprise Java Beans and the frameworks that embrace it, and not any any product, as the main competitor to Site Server. And that, has yet to play out.

I am an ASP developer, how easy is it for me to be a Site Server developer?

Site Server development will be the natural progression for ASP developers, who are already familiar with SQL Server, scripting and working with COM objects. You may have some teething problem getting to understand some of the concepts associated with site server like the pipeline and personalization. However, I would encourage you to persist as it will be well worth your time and effort to do so, as Site Server Commerce becomes the most marketable skill set in Web development