Cambridge Technology Partners Bring WStore's Technology Reselling E-Business Live in Only Five Months.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 1999-- Built by Cambridge and Powered by Microsoft Commerce Technologies, WStore Pursues European Leadership in Online Reselling Today at Gartner Group's Internet and Electronic Commerce Expo 1999 (iEC Expo '99), Cambridge Technology Partners unveiled details of its client partnership with WStore, a venture-funded computer hardware and software products distributor and reseller An organization that sells hardware and software to the general public. Resellers purchase products from software publishers and hardware manufacturers. based in France. WStore, http://www.wstore.com, intends to establish itself as the leading Internet-only reseller in Europe. The combination of Cambridge's award-winning Internet consulting services Noun 1. consulting service - service provided by a professional advisor (e.g., a lawyer or doctor or CPA etc.) service - work done by one person or group that benefits another; "budget separately for goods and services" and Microsoft Corp.'s leading platform and Internet technology enabled WStore to bring its Digital Economy business model live in under five months. WStore's rapid, successful launch of its ground-breaking e-business is a testament to the power and potential of the Cambridge and Microsoft strategic alliance, formed in December 1998. As part of this alliance, Cambridge is collaborating with Microsoft to build solutions that utilize Internet technology and advanced architectures to create electronic businesses and sophisticated online commerce communities for clients and their partners. Cambridge is also a member of Microsoft's new Commerce Alliance announced yesterday at iEC Expo '99. "Building a business based solely on the Internet is something only a handful of companies have done, " said Patrice Laureau, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , WStore. "To meet our aggressive launch plans and business goals, we needed a set of partners who understood and could bring a virtual business model to life. Cambridge and Microsoft were able to apply the right approach, skill set and technologies - all at Internet speed." The Cambridge and Microsoft solution deployed for WStore is enabling the online reseller to rapidly expand its business in France and meet its aggressive business goals for 1999. WStore is also building a rollout strategy across Europe, targeting to launch sites in UK and Germany by July. The system allows WStore to use the Internet for competitive advantage over traditional resellers by providing customers - both businesses and consumers - with the ability to buy merchandise directly from the site and by offering direct access to real-time information on pricing, product information, inventory status (verifying ver·i·fy tr.v. ver·i·fied, ver·i·fy·ing, ver·i·fies 1. To prove the truth of by presentation of evidence or testimony; substantiate. 2. product availability every 15 minutes), and delivery status. The Internet-enabled system also optimizes the information flow throughout WStore's digital value chain, fostering close communication and collaboration between different areas of the enterprise including, finance and customer support, as well as manufacturing, distribution and transportation, which are outsourced to a warehouse and distributor. The systems' efficiency also enables WStore to offer the most competitive pricing for PC-related products. "WStore exemplifies the types of solutions that Cambridge excels at delivering- those that drive the Internet throughout a client's value chain to help them gain competitive advantage in the Digital Economy," said Fergal Mullen, vice president of Cambridge's Interactive Solutions service line in Europe. "Our expertise in building e-businesses, combined with our strategic Microsoft alliance, uniquely positions Cambridge to help clients respond rapidly to the competitive pressures and market shifts that are driving the need for e-business solutions." Cambridge's Interactive Solutions service line has won a leadership position in the industry by helping clients rapidly transform their businesses to win in the digital economy. Cambridge has won multiple industry awards, and its robust strategy capability and strength in developing innovative, state-of-the-art electronic commerce and e-business solutions was recognized by Forrester Research Forrester Research is an independent technology and market research company that provides its clients with advice about technology's impact on business and consumers. Corporate facts
(2) See systems integrator. " report. (For reprints of this report go to www.ctp.com/forrester-TCIs.) The Cambridge-built system is scalable enough to support WStore's fast-growing product offerings. WStore currently offers more than 10,000 products and is on schedule to add two new brands with hundreds of new products per month. Today, WStore's customer site services include search, compare, guarantee, and complementary products. Future services will include configuration, software licensing, and download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. updates. The first release of WStore was rolled out by the Cambridge team in 5 months. The WStore site is based on the latest Microsoft technologies including Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. Server 4.0, Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition, and SQL Server An earlier relational DBMS from Sybase and from Microsoft. Sybase introduced SQL Server in 1988 for various Unix versions. In that same year, with help from IBM, Sybase created an OS/2 version that Microsoft licensed and branded as Microsoft SQL Server. . Cambridge programmed the back-office entirely in HTML HTML in full HyperText Markup Language Markup language derived from SGML that is used to prepare hypertext documents. Relatively easy for nonprogrammers to master, HTML is the language used for documents on the World Wide Web. , allowing the business to be run by a single person who can easily control contracts, billing and invoices and margins with a single mouse click. About the Microsoft-Cambridge Strategic Alliance In December 1998, Cambridge Technology Partners and Microsoft formed a strategic alliance designed to speed the adoption and deployment of innovative, mission-critical solutions that rapidly deliver business value and competitive advantage to enterprise customers worldwide. Through the alliance, Cambridge delivers scalable, replicable solutions based on the Microsoft enterprise platform, with emphasis on electronic commerce/e-business, customer loyalty, data warehousing See data warehouse. data warehousing - data warehouse and investment trading platforms. Cambridge also is working with customers to rapidly develop and deploy customized next-generation applications using Microsoft COM+ technology and the Microsoft Visual Studio Microsoft Visual Studio is Microsoft's flagship software development product for computer programmers. It centers on an integrated development environment which lets programmers create standalone applications, web sites, web applications, and web services that run on any platforms development system. Cambridge delivers the Microsoft-based solutions via its hallmark hallmark, mark impressed on silverwork or goldwork to signify official approval of the standard of purity of the metal, also called plate mark. The hallmark was introduced by statute in England in 1300 and enforced by the Goldsmiths' Hall, London. fixed-time/fixed-price methodology. This approach lowers costs and risks for enterprise customers, reduces the time of deployment, increases the solution's reliability and speeds the delivery of business value. About Cambridge Technology Partners Cambridge Technology Partners is an international management consulting Noun 1. management consulting - a service industry that provides advice to those in charge of running a business service industry - an industry that provides services rather than tangible objects and systems integration firm. Founded in 1991, Cambridge provides end-to-end business solutions for Global 2000 organizations seeking to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. competitive advantages offered by the new economy. Cambridge has 55 offices and more than 4,400 employees worldwide. Cambridge on the Web: http://www.ctp.com. |
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