Install an application server that integrates the Internet site with your existing order and sales systems: Application servers are hot right now, so you have lots of choices. Big names -- such as Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., and Oracle Corp. -- are fighting tooth and nail for your business. But don't just look to the big guys. The current leaders are names such as BEA Systems Inc., Iona Technologies Ltd., New Era of Networks Inc., Vitria Technology Inc., and webMethods Inc.
The two most important technologies underlying most application servers are Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Java. A fuller explanation of both is beyond the scope of this article, but suffice it to say that both are designed as a bridge between incompatible systems -- XML for data and Java for applications.
One exception in the case of Java is Microsoft, which has started pushing its own .Net architecture that uses other language technologies (most notably C# and the Common Language Runtime). By most accounts, including Microsoft's, the architecture will not be fully in place until well into 2001, but some pieces will be ready sooner. For all-Microsoft shops, this may be a good choice. For others, you have literally everyone else to choose from. (See a review of some of the components of .Net.)
Setting up and maintaining an application server isn't easy, however. Many small businesses need to contract with a consultant to set one up and prices are often quoted in increments of $100,000.
Outsource: Cost and complexity are two reasons for the popularity of outsourced systems, such as Oracle's Business Online (see "Oracle, an ASP, too?") and innumerable application service providers (ASPs). This approach is ideal for businesses starting out online or setting up a completely separate online operation with relatively few links to the traditional business. (See ZDNet's ASP Finder to search a database of service providers.)
Mix and match: Finally, you don't need to choose one alternative to the exclusion of the other. Several new technologies on the drawing boards or in early implementations will let you cobble a system together from outsourced information and in-house applications. Notable ones include Microsoft's .Net and Oracle and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s eSpeak. Most are not ready, but they provide a road map to the day when you can bring in those applications that provide the most return on investment and farm out those that are far outside your business's core competencies.
Inventory the applications and servers you can use with the online portion of your business. Good candidates include inventory and shipping systems.
Talk to application providers and see what they offer for extending those applications online.
Create a list of applications you do not yet have. The longer that list, the more likely you'll want to outsource the operation to an application service provider.
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