B2B integration. (E-Commerce Viewpoint).

A new way of thinking is being widely embraced by the European business community and that is that technology must be driven by business, not the other way around. It is no longer productive, effective or expected to impose technological solutions on a business challenge if they're unnecessary, don't fit the bill, or involve pulling apart systems that have years of planning and investment behind them.

The philosophy of Sterling Commerce to integrate new systems with older ones, rather than advocating a complete replacement of business systems. And Dave Robinson of Sterling Commerce believes this approach will become the rule, rather than the exception, for businesses across Europe in the future. When B2B commerce first appeared as a commercial concept over three years ago, technology vendors seemed keen to encourage their customers to entirely strip out their existing systems, an approach that with hindsight proved costly.

However, more recently businesses have begun to demand more from their bottom line and focusing on results by making more of their existing B2B systems and integrating them with new channels such as the web in order to maximize their value.

The most important deliverable for B2B commerce is measurable returns on investment for all participating parties; and many of us have learnt the hard way that delivering that ROI is much more challenging than we thought it would be in 1999 We've also learnt transactions are the currency of B2B commerce; and if the transaction flow isn't there, neither is the value. At the same time, the realities of business have shown us that achieving efficiencies through systems integration is a formidable task -it's an evolutionary process that must be implemented in steps, and must now incorporate existing technology and business needs, not replace them.

Now that conventional B2B commerce thinking is behind us, we've all learned some important--and painful--lessons that put the potential of the Internet for B2B into perspective.

For example, EDI will continue to be the driving force behind electronic B2B transactions for the foreseeable future, and the Internet will initially provide a means to extend existing B2B commerce efforts, not replace them. It's true to say that the value of any B2B commerce system is realised from integration and automation, not simply from just creating new sales channels. It's no use opening up new web channels for business if the back office is not ready for the new business. A three-pronged strategic approach to developing B2B commerce capabilities is the first step toward realizing these efficiencies and driving through cost savings. And for most companies, integration is at the foundation of these strategies. Firstly, strategic integration must take into account all aspects of B2B commerce. Enterprise applications must first be able to share information within an enterprise, then upgraded to perform the same tasks with the suppliers and business partners that are part of an enterprise's business community. Secondly, B28 integration must accommodate a range of electronic business standards, such as EDI, ebXML and EDI-INT, as well as web integration, to allow as many business partners to participate as possible, regardless of the technologies they have already deployed

Finally, data transformation solutions serve as the central interpreter for these multiple incoming formats, using preestablished governing rules to transform data into the format required for use at its destination. Workflow and Rules software can then provide additional intelligence to the integrated infrastructure by establishing a framework through which partners can interact with the trading community and enterprise applications.

Each of these key elements of integration must be addressed strategically for businesses to realize the promise of e-business--reduced cycle times, faster flow of information and more fully automated business processes. And we now understand that automation--replacing time-consuming, paper-heavy and error-laden manual processes with seamless, paperLess electronic ones--is the real value proposition of B2B commerce, Internet or otherwise.

Once strategic analysis reveals a company's B2B commerce needs and goals, modular solutions can be evaluated and slotted into a tactical plan to meet immediate needs while also building toward a fully integrated, extended enterprise. For the overburdened IT executive, this type of evolutionary strategy offers a realistic, business focused path, planned before execution, for realising measurable bottom line results working within cost effective budgets. www.sterlingcommerce.co.uk

Actinic Link for Sage Line 50Version 2

Version 2 of Actinic Link for Sage Line 50, provides a direct integration between the two small business ecommerce and accounts packages adding the following features and enhancements..

Actinic Link v2 for Sage adds the following key features and enhancements. With its Windows-style interface and comprehensive on-screen help, this upgrade provides an easy to use and affordable way of integrating ecommerce sites with Sage Line 50 accounting software.

* Actinic Link automatically create a new customer record in Sage Line 50 when an order is received at the web site from a new buyer. Creation of both Registered and Unregistered Customers can be permitted or prevented. New customers can be given a unique customer account reference, using a set of rules that can be defined by the user.

* The add-on can now recognise and utilise any invoice or order numbering system being used within Sage Line 50.

* When used in conjunction with Actinic v6, Link is able to update stock levels of product components as well as the products themselves.

Version 2 is compatible with Sage Line 50 v9 as well as Actinic Business and Developer v6 and can seamlessly upgrade integrations built using earlier versions. www.actinic.co.uk

CRM Solution for Commercial Banking

Pivotal Corporation has announced the general availability of its latest vertical offering--a cost-effective and powerful solution for commercial banking. Built on Pivotal's three-tier, meta-data driven architecture, the solution features comprehensive out-of-the-box commercial banking functionality, a highly adaptable data model, and robust customisation tools--lowering the total'-cost-of-ownership while enhancing performance and productivity. The solution offers he Pivotal solution features a smart desktop, one-click access to critical information, and pre-configured workflow and business rules. It seamlessly integrates with existing legacy banking systems providing users with a complete view of customer information and transaction history. Highlights include:

* A flexible relationship model that allows bankers to track all the different types of relationships that can exist within a financial institution and between customers.

* Customer profiling tools that enable bankers to build a comprehensive customer view with detailed information on preferences, share of wallet, credit history, profitability ratings, financial account portfolios, assets, and products and accounts held with competing institutions. It also enables users to instantly recognise all products held and services used by the customer at any point of contact within the bank. This consolidated view gives bankers seamless management of customer relationships from a single intuitive interface.

* Easy-to-use action plans that are automatically created to fit to each customer's financial situation or business life stage. It gives bankers the steps and processes to quickly and proactively identify opportunities, up-sell and cross-sell, and maximise lifetime value by increasing revenue per customer. Activities generated by action plans are easily and seamlessly synchronised with Outlook and Lotus Notes.

* * Flexible product building capabilities allowing product managers to quickly create new financial products with features such as variable interest rates, service fees, and payment terms. Products can be easily modified to meet the unique needs of each customer.

* Team call planning functionality giving bankers a quick, graphical way of planning calls to customers, such as investment reviews. Activities for other team members on a customer account can be designated in the plan and automatically scheduled to ensure' that customers receive personalised, consistent service.

* Call reporting tools giving bankers a quick, intuitive way to log information from customer-calls, such as products discussed, into the Pivotal CRM system. www.pivotal.com

CRM ROI Assessment Service

Cedar Knowledge Solutions, have a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) ROI Assessment Service, for the insurance and financial services sector. With 70 per cent of CRM projects perceived as failures (source: Butler Group, August 2002), the ROI Assessment Service provides added security to financial sector organisations who need to improve customer relationships, but cannot afford to shoulder the burden of project failure.

The service, which is based on Cedar's specially developed actuarial models, enables companies to calculate the cost, attainable revenue and achievable profit associated with an impending CRM implementation. It also identifies opportunities for quick wins, which will deliver return during the early stages of the CRM project. www.cedarknowledge.com