Ryan R. Donovan's Microsoft WebLog : Miscellaneous Microsoft

BizTalk Server 2009 now works with Commerce Server

rdonovan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:55:00 GMT

All internal testing has now completed - and we can gladly state that BizTalk Server 2009 works with Commerce Server, without issues or any special black magic required. This applies to both Commerce Server 2007 SP2 and Commerce Server 2009.

Hope this helps!

"R2" TAP and the ROI of Life on the Bleeding Edge

rdonovan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:19:00 GMT

Recently, we have launched the Technology Adoption Program (TAP) for Commerce Server 2009 Code Name "R2" - which is the next version of Commerce Server. This is highlighted in the team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/commerce/archive/2009/06/22/the-next-version-of-commerce-server-codename-r2-is-on-its-way.aspx - where you can get the full details.

If you sign up, you will get:

One-on-One briefing
Early access to next-generation bits
Direct interaction with the product group

The obvious question is what's in it for me? If I sign-up to be on the bleeding edge - surely I'll have a bumpier road than if I went with a released version. Although that is true, you will also get at least 1-2, possibly more years less lifespan out of the solution.

Investments required in an eCommerce deployment, like Point-of-Sale (POS), are typically large and complex. The goal is to get as long of a runway as possible out of an investment. For POS, it is typically 7+ years, with 10 being idea. For eCommerce, it should be at least 5 years, with more being ideal. TAP helps you achieve just that. By deploying early, you will be live in production before the start of the 5-year standard support lifecycle clock starts. Deploying on a previous version can mean that you will get less than 5 years, some cases considerably so. Above the 5-year standard support lifecycle, Microsoft products enter what is known as extended support - see http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy. At that point, support options become considerably more limited - and potentially costly. So, a little up front bleeding edge roughness...can save a whole lot downstream if you want to use your deployment for a long time!

Something to consider! Hope this helps!

Commerce Server 2009 for the MSIB Customer (MS Solution for Internet Business)

rdonovan — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:24:00 GMT

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…there used to be a solution offering called the Microsoft Solution for Internet Business (MSIB). The MSIB solution integrated Commerce Server 2000 and 2002, Content Management Server 2001 and 2001, and SharePoint 2001 into a single Internet-facing site for customer deployment.

This solution unfortunately became somewhat orphaned given Content Management Server being folded into SharePoint, and SharePoint itself going through major evolutions with the 2003 and 2007 generations – along with Commerce Server 2007. This was a hot topic some time back – I wrote two posts:

The sad part is, we have never come up with a great encore that offered full feature parity to migrate customers towards, until now…

The SharePoint Commerce Services feature of Commerce Server 2009 provides complete feature parity with the old MSIB feature-set. Details are as follows….

Integrated Site and Catalog Search

Here, customers can search the site and get results returned from both static content (visa vis SharePoint) and dynamic content (visa vis the Commerce Server Catalog).

Inline Catalog Editing

In this instance, through a visual popup implemented in Silverlight, properties of the catalog can be edited inline by navigating the site. Upon submission, changes will be persisted back to Commerce Server and caches refreshed.

Content Management

SharePoint brings complete content management capabilities to Commerce Server sites, including the abilities to:

Have versioning with check-in/check-out
Workflow/approvals on content changes
The ability to make content, layout, and other look-and-feel changes through either the Web-based interface or SharePoint Designer

***

With these features in place, customers now have 1:1 feature migration – and then some – and can finally migrate away from MSIB to a modern platform. I wish it had not taken this long to get here, but as they say – better late than never!

Hope this helps!

Clarifying - Is there a Commerce Server Certification? No...

rdonovan — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:23:00 GMT

The question keeps coming up about whether or not there is a Commerce Server certification. As of right now, there is not - nor are there any definitive plans to offer this through the typical Microsoft Training and Certification channels now or in the future. Given the size of the customer base of Commerce Server relative to, say, Windows Server, it simply does not meet the typical models for certification. Hope this helps.

Wiring Up Dynamics CRM & Commerce Server

rdonovan — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:43:00 GMT

Someone sent me an e-mail over the weekend asking about how to wire up Commerce Server and Dynamics. Fortunately, there is any easy answer - BizTalk Server! The BizTalk team has published an adapter for Dynamics 4.0, released on October 6, 2008. It is available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=abd3bb9e-a59a-4eb6-8de8-fb25b77926d7&displaylang=en. Using this and the BizTalk Adapters in Commerce Server, it is possible to get CRM and Commerce Server talking without actually writing code. I highly recommend checking it out! Hope this helps.

How NOT to Demo CS2007 (and gain TechEd Infamy)

rdonovan — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 13:56:20 GMT

I figured this would be good for a laugh - especially as I had 90+ in attendance when it happened yesterday - which happened to be THE WORST public speaking experience of my life.

While presenting DEV234 at TechEd Europe Developers here in Barcelona Spain, I was most definitely struck twice by lighting from the demo gods - and received the lowest speaker scores of my entire life. This was the exact same presentation and demonstration I had used at TechEd US in Boston, MA in June 2006 and received the highest speaker scores of my life.

First, slide timings somehow got inserted into my PowerPoint deck. So, throughout the presentation I was constantly having to hit the Back button as my slides advanced automagically before me - and before I was ready for the next slide.

Second, and far worse, was the demo. During the first part - it was unbearably slow. I could not imagine why. It had worked great on the five or so previous run-throughs.

During the second part of the demo, the VPC rebooted right before my eyes - killing the entire remainder of the demonstration.

Why, might you ask? The answer was unfortunately all too simple. Have you ever seen those 3AM Automatic Update default dialogs when installing your system? It just so happens that 3AM Pacific Time equalled 12PM in Barcelona, Spain - in the middle of my presentation. Yes, Windows Update had taken control of my machine, installed a plethora of updates, and rebooted the VPC - right in the middle of my demonstration.

I have now added two must-do checks to my pre-presentation checklist. And I am feeling infinitely more secure, albeit embarassed.

Check Out the BPI Customer Response Team Blog

rdonovan — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 05:25:00 GMT

The BPI Customer Response Team, which acts as the direct liaison between the engineering groups in the Business Process and Integration Division (comprising Commerce Server, BizTalk Server, Host Integration Server, and BizTalk Adapters), is now blogging on MSDN. They are using this WebLog as a means for communicating key notifications and interesting findings to the division's entire customer-base.

Check out their WebLog today at http://blogs.msdn.com/BPIDCustomerResponseTeam/ for lots of salient information and advisories on all BPI-related products and technologies.