Microsoft Corp. made the beta version of Commerce Server 2002 available to testers on Tuesday.
The new version focuses on multiple language support throughout the catalogue system, profiling and targeting, and transactions, according to L.J. Germinario, technical product manager for Commerce Server at Microsoft, in Redmond, Wash.
In addition, companies can use Commerce Server’s profiling and targeting technology to present their online wares based on location or currency. Commerce Server can also accept a variety of currencies.
Germinario said that Commerce Server is now more tightly tied to Visual Studio.Net, Microsoft’s forthcoming toolkit. For example, Microsoft has made the Commerce Server 2002 Application Framework available, allowing developers to work with ASP.Net and the .Net Framework, she said.
With this incarnation, Microsoft is issuing the first Enterprise version of Commerce Server, in addition to the Standard and Developer Editions. The Enterprise edition will include beefier analytics and data warehousing as well as being more scalable and offering increased performance, Germinario said.
“The Enterprise Edition is really focused on large, international corporations,” Germinario said.
This is the only beta version of Commerce Server that Microsoft intends to issue. A Release Candidate is set to follow and the final version will be available this spring, Germinario said.
Developers and customers can find the beta version of Commerce Server 2002 immediately available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/. Commerce Server 2002 is to be released in spring 2002.
More information on Commerce Server 2000 also can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/commerceserver/.
