Intersoft.co.za adopts ColdFusion-based e-commerce strategy

In the first phase of a project intended to offer more than 15 000 technical and self-help books for sale on the Internet, local book distributor, Intersoft, has gone live with its new Macromedia ColdFusion-based Web site.

Ronald Woolf, Sales and Marketing Director of the local book stockist, says the initiative is a natural extension of the current business and will extend the company`s reach as well as its portfolio of products to computer users in rural areas and outside the borders of SA. "As a result of the distribution agreements we have entered into with various publishers around the world, we currently have access to over 15 000 titles.

"As it is not economically viable for us to carry stock of all these books, we have previously been restricted to bringing in only those we believe will appeal to South African readers," he continues.

While the success of Intersoft is indicative of good selection policies in this regard, Woolf believes the Web site will ultimately add another dimension to the business because it means the company can make every one of its titles available. "The only difference is that customers wanting to purchase books not currently in stock will be advised of an approximate delivery time - in contrast with our usual 48-hour commitment," he comments.

However, the first phase of the project is to provide Internet-based inventory checking and procurement functionality against the current database of some 2 000 books for Intersoft`s more than 800 registered customers, as well as to begin expanding this client base through online registration. Another objective of the site is for it to become a source of information for all computer book users.

The second phase will be to capture details of the additional 15 000 titles Intersoft currently has distribution rights to, gradually making them available via the Web.

Craig Lintott, project co-ordinator of the site and MD of Macromedia alliance partner, Tinroof Creations, says the original site consisted of static pages and was primarily intended as a marketing tool. "The brief was to develop a functional Web site and provide a reliable and scalable platform to support Intersoft`s e-commerce strategy," he says.

While the Intersoft site has been based on the ColdFusion platform (version 3 originally) since inception the company upgraded first to version 4 and, more recently, to version 5. "The primary reason for upgrading was to take advantage of increased reliability and functionality in later releases of ColdFusion - qualities vital to 24/7 ventures such as this," adds Lintott.

An important aspect of the project was content management - the ability to give key members access to modify particular sections of the system themselves. Another crucial facet was site performance, specifically the way in which database queries affected it. "ColdFusion offers excellent control of query caching, allowing Intersoft to maximise available resources and improve the so-called `world- wide -wait`," notes Lintott.

The product`s support for COM object addressing eased the process of interfacing with third party software and applications, crucial in any e-commerce initiative.

Also required of Tinroof Creations, was the ability to publish book reviews written by Intersoft customers for other customers to read. "We scoured the Web for sites selling books and implemented only those ideas we felt were appropriate to the local market and Intersoft customers," explains Lintott.

Woolf points out that another critical facet of the site, from the Intersoft point of view, was that it should be quickly adaptable to a changing business environment. "If we want to add functionality, we want to be able to do so quickly," he says.

"[Macromedia] ColdFusion provides a robust platform and rapid development environment that allows us to do this."

Jeremy Matthews, MD of local Macromedia distributor and e-business enabler, Dax Data, describes this view as consistent with market trends, both locally and abroad. "When a site is required to offer marketing and sales information, software downloads and other functionality typical of most Web sites, just about any technology will suffice.

"However, when the purpose is to provide a revenue-generating e-commerce portal for the business, a proven technology such as Macromedia ColdFusion is the only logical choice," he comments.