IBM WebSphere Commerce provides a powerful customer interaction platform for cross-channel commerce that can be used by companies of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises, and for many different industries. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog and merchandising across all sales channels, allowing them to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. WebSphere Commerce is a single, unified platform which offers the ability to do business directly with consumers (B2C), with businesses (B2B), indirectly through channel partners (indirect business models), or all of these simultaneously. WebSphere Commerce is a customizable, scalable and high availability solution built to leverage open standards. For detailed about each component, see WebSphere Commerce product overview.

Components of WebSphere Commerce

WebSphere Commerce Express meets the needs of most small and medium-sized businesses. It provides full consumer direct support and simple business direct support.

WebSphere Commerce Professional meets the needs of most consumer direct businesses. In addition to the features included with WebSphere Commerce Express, WebSphere Commerce Professional includes features such as workspaces.

WebSphere Commerce Enterprise is the appropriate platform for most Business-to-Business businesses. It offers online commerce and collaboration with traditional and new customers, and partners through management of online trading relationships. Enterprise Edition also provides B2B commerce functions, including accounts, contracts, request for quotes, purchase orders, requisition lists, and approvals.

WebSphere Commerce provides you with several starter stores on which you can base your own business (store or site). Starter stores shorten the time from installing WebSphere Commerce to going live with your site. Each starter store contains a composite store archive that contains all the assets to create a functional store. Because each starter store is packaged with WebSphere Commerce as a store archive, no further installation is necessary. To create a running store, you must publish one of the composite store archives. By default, WebSphere Commerce Developer is preconfigured with published starter stores.

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To find out about the WebSphere Commerce requirements, see WebSphere Commerce supported prerequisites.

Choose from these learning sources on the WebSphere Commerce zone to fit your learning style:

• Consult the WebSphere Commerce information roadmaps, which guide you through learning the basics, and the different areas in WebSphere Commerce development.
• Consult the WebSphere Commerce Information Center to find the latest documentation and tutorials.