Microsoft server maps Caltex globally

FCB Electric Ocean, a leading digital communications company in SA and a Microsoft Certified Solutions Provider, recently implemented Microsoft`s Content Management Server (CMS) for Caltex worldwide. CMS allows Caltex to create and update its new Web sites without having to rely on a development house.

"This is a remarkable achievement," says Neil Isserow, product marketing manager at Microsoft South Africa, "as this is the first time that our CMS was utilised locally for a global roll-out, using a single template based solution. The project was completed remotely from SA, and its success is now evidence that the CMS allows for a rapid roll-out without compromising creative approach to site design."

Microsoft`s CMS is a robust enterprise Web content management system that enables companies to quickly and efficiently build, deploy and maintain Internet, intranet and extranet Web sites. It is a shrink-wrapped solution which allows the customer to walk away with a fully functional site, and the ability to maintain it and to create new sites without incurring additional development costs.

Diane Ritchie, managing director of FCB Electric Ocean, says: "We used CMS to create Caltex.com as a template for the subsequent roll-out of all Caltex`s in-country sites. The Caltex.com template was developed in such a way that Caltex could create new sites, without having to commission us to develop each of these sites. From a business point-of-view, this implies huge cost savings for Caltex, as they plan on rolling out up to 20 Caltex sites, mostly in South-East Asia."

The solution manages the access and versioning of all types of content, including HTML, graphics, and downloads among others. It allows for content to be published only once and then used across several sites, which means that less manpower is needed to complete the job.

Caltex has also allocated a designated content provider at each of its offices globally, to create, manage, and publish their own content. "From a technology point-of-view, site administrators in Caltex need not have knowledge of HTML or any other software programme in order to publish material to the site: text and images can be posted through a simple cut and paste procedure," says Ritchie.