Press "play" for on-line business profits.

CD-Plus demonstrates a strong foundation is key.

Making money on the Internet is not reserved for Fortune 1000 companies. The Web has created a tremendous business opportunity for small- and medium-sized companies that approach e-commerce wisely. Choosing the right foundation and tools for running an online business is key to its lasting success.

Take CD-Plus, for example. At first, setting up shop on the Internet was a hobby-like project for CD-Plus owner-entrepreneur Bill Birss, but he quickly realized the potential of the on-line venture for his music retail company. At the time, he had 10 retail stores across Ontario, Canada. His mail-order catalog was already being published across the United States and Canada, and the Internet offered Birss a way to reach millions of customers easily and cost effectively.

Birss, however, was not prepared for the immediate and tremendous success of the e-commerce site, launched more than a year ago. The technology infrastructure of the site couldn't handle the volume of activity that bombarded www.cd-plus.com.

"Once we had the Web site up and running, it just took off," says Birss. "The e-commerce technology we put in place just wasn't strong enough to handle all of the visitors in a timely manner. We didn't want shoppers waiting to search the CD titles. Customer service is just as important on the Internet as it is in our retail stores."

Birss found he needed to implement a stronger backend system that would speed up the site's functionality. He also needed to select a reliable system, one that could grow with his business. Birss moved his Web site over to Microsoft Site Server, Enterprise Edition. He chose INEX Commerce Court Internet commerce software to set up and manage the online store on a day-to-day basis.

Today, with the right technology infrastructure in place, the success of the CD-Plus site is more than Birss had ever imagined. With more than 1,200 visitors per day, Birss expects to do wen over $1 million in business via the site this year. Due to the merger of CD-Plus and Rock Entertainment in January 1999, Birss is also increasing the number of products available on the site from 65,000 to 90,000--a true testament to the scalability of his chosen e-commerce solution.

Birss worked closely with INEX Corp. to develop the new e-commerce site. The INEX Commerce Court application is based on Microsoft technologies and extends and supports Microsoft enterprise server.

"With the technology I was previously using, I had to reboot my server every morning at 7:00 just to make sure it could handle the traffic," says Birss. "I now have a strong back end in place, and I don't have to worry about memory leaks or crashes."

INEX made the setup and management of his site easy--even for Birss, a self-proclaimed "non-techie." The INEX applications are designed to minimize a company's time to market, so Birss was able to launch his site quickly and efficiently.

"Using Commerce Court and Site Server, I can customize my Web site without having to spend hours learning and writing HTML code or hiring someone else to do it," says Birss. "I needed software that was easy to use. With the various wizards and templates, both Site Server and Commerce Court were a snap to set up."

From his desktop, Birss can download orders, analyze product sales performance, process invoices, and even export data right into his existing accounting system.

The shopper's experience is just as painless--the shopping cart and search engine make it easy for shoppers to find and buy the music titles of their choice. INEX's Business Logic remembers shopper profiles, enables sales promotions, and even offers suggestive selling.

Birss' enormous success with his e-commerce strategy has made him committed to making the site an integral part of the overall CD-Plus business. He is so confident in his strategy and technology infrastructure that he has allocated $1 million to Internet development this year to link the operation more closely with store operations and to maintain and expand CD-Plus' lead in this growing market. In addition, Birss plans to rename the "brick and mortar" stores "CD-Plus.com."

Circle 259 for more information from INEX Corp.