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    <title>Sitecore Commerce Server Blog</title>
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    <description>The Official Blog for Commerce Server</description>
    <lastBuildDate>Wed, 17 Apr 2019 03:20:32 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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      <title>What’s New in Sitecore Commerce 8.1</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/whats-new-in-sitecore-commerce-8-1</link>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2016 12:32:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
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        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/?p=3061</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[A few weeks back we quietly shipped Sitecore® Commerce 8.1, which is now available for download from...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A few weeks back we quietly shipped Sitecore® Commerce 8.1, which is now available for download from <a href="https://dev.sitecore.net/en/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce.aspx">https://dev.sitecore.net/en/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce.aspx</a>. </p> <p>This is an all-up release featuring our entire portfolio of Commerce products, including:<br>• Commerce Server 11.3 for those continuing with the standalone product<br>• Sitecore Commerce powered by Commerce Server 8.1<br>• SItecore Commerce powered by Microsoft Dynamics 8.1<br>• Sitecore Commerce Connect 8.1</p> <p>With this post, we wanted to highlight some of the major new capabilities. </p> <p><strong></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Significant Usability Enhancements for Merchandising Manager </strong></p> <p>We have substantially enhanced the experience for business users for those using SCpbCS 8.1 or CS 11.3. First and foremost is the Bulk Editing capabilities, which allow:<br>• Selection of multiple products or categories through all supported means<br>• Editing of attributes or relationships in bulk through a consolidated editing surface<br>• Comprehensive application of changes with inline validation</p> <p>With this change, Merchandisers can now work much more efficiently at scale and we are pleased to deliver on an outstanding request for many customers over the years. </p> <p>Also in v8.1 of Merchandising Manager is the ability to have two-way relationships at the time of relationship creation. So, for example when associating a battery to a product, you can also associate that product with the battery to maximize cross- and up-selling scenarios. </p> <p><strong></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Experience Profile is now Commerce-enabled</strong></p> <p>For customers using SCpbCS 8.1 or SCpbMD 8.1, we have now fully enabled the Sitecore@ Experience Profile™ to showcase commerce specific metrics. You can now see such things as:<br>• Cart removals<br>• Lists of orders placed<br>• List of abandoned carts<br>• Metrics for the current visitor view (e.g. total order sum, average order value, etc.)<br>• Most popular products by customer<br>• Individual order and cart details<br>• And more!</p> <p><strong></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>PuP is dead! And a big welcome to PowerShell…</strong></p> <p>PowerShell is indeed the new black. We have introduced a series of PowerShell scripts and NuGet packages to streamline the deployment of SCpbCS 8.1, CS 11.3, and SCpbMD 8.1. You can now perform such tasks as:<br>• Individually configuring subsystems instead of everything<br>• Managing Sites and Web Services<br>• Having configuration removed from the Web.config to simplify environment management</p> <p>This, coupled with updated deployment documentation, should make the installation, configuration, and deployment experience far simpler than it was in any previous release. </p> <p><strong></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Other Deployment Enhancements</strong></p> <p>Deploying via Azure PaaS through the Sitecore Azure 8.1 module is now supported for SCpbCS 8.1, which can be deployed in the Azure Module’s Web Roles and by provisioning the additional Sitecore Commerce databases to SQL Azure V12. </p> <p>We also have made the dependency upon Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) optional to enable high availability deployments when working with SQL Azure or SQL Server in IaaS, etc. </p> <p><strong></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Additional Enhancements for SItecore Commerce powered by Microsoft Dynamics</strong></p> <p>We have added several key capabilities to the SCpbMD 8.1 release specifically, including:<br>• Profile Provider, which will allow the personalization in Sitecore upon attributes stored in the user profiles within Microsoft Dynamics AX itself <br>• Support for multiple AX Retail Channels within the Transaction Service, which will allow multiple channels to be supported within the same Sitecore Commerce deployment versus requiring multiple deployments as was the case in 8.0. <br>• Support for AX2012 R3 CU9 as the out-of-box default version; support for CU10 will be coming in a subsequent KB article along with any other CUs released prior to Sitecore Commerce 8.2. </p>]]></content:encoded>
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    <item>
      <title>Useful Sitecore Commerce Videos</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/useful-sitecore-commerce-videos</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 06 Jan 2016 14:50:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
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        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2016/01/06/useful-sitecore-commerce-videos/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[Mark Demeny from our Enablement Services has put together a very useful set of videos for installing...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mark Demeny from our Enablement Services has put together a very useful set of videos for installing Sitecore Commerce, both the powered by Commerce Server and powered by Microsoft Dynamics variants. He also has produced a great technical overview session.</p>  <p>Find them at:</p>  <ul>   <li>SCpbCS 8 Installation Video - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i78F239RfiQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i78F239RfiQ</a></li>    <li>SCpbMD 8 Installation Video - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEqqeDPhYyY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEqqeDPhYyY</a></li>    <li>SCpbCS 8 Technical Overview - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC043pAzLiE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC043pAzLiE</a></li> </ul>  <p>Hope this helps!</p>]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Sitecore Commerce 8 is Now Available for Download!</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/sitecore-commerce-8-is-now-available-for-download</link>
      <pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2015 16:03:51 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
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        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2015/01/15/sitecore-commerce-8-is-now-available-for-download/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[Sitecore is pleased to announce the launch of the Sitecore Commerce 8 family of products, available...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sitecore is pleased to announce the launch of the <a href="https://www.sitecore.net/commerce">Sitecore Commerce 8 family of products</a>, available in our new developer portal at <a href="https://dev.sitecore.net/">https://dev.sitecore.net/</a>. </p>  <h4>Sitecore Commerce 8 powered by Microsoft Dynamics®</h4>  <p>Announced earlier this week, at the National Retail Federation’s annual convention (<a href="https://bigshow15.nrf.com/">NRF 2015</a>), the centerpiece of this release is Sitecore Commerce 8 powered by Microsoft Dynamics®. The solution represents the manifestation of the joint partnership announced between Sitecore and Microsoft exactly one year ago at the NRF 2014. </p>  <p>This product is a game-changer for B2C retailers seeking a “one platform” solution or existing Microsoft Dynamics AX customers looking to add a B2C web direct sales channel.</p>  <p>Sitecore Commerce 8 powered by Microsoft Dynamics creates an entirely new product category for retailers - being a true omni-channel solution with a shared commerce foundation between brick-and-mortar stores plus contact center and online digital sales channels. This is achieved via the combination of the <a href="https://www.sitecore.net/Platform/Sitecore-8.aspx">Sitecore Experience Platform 8’s</a> digital channel capabilities with <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/erp-ax-overview.aspx">Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 for Retail’s</a> point-of-sale/mobile point-of sale and contact center capabilities, as well as the full ERP capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX to automate each and every aspect of a retail supply chain. </p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p>Sitecore Commerce 8 powered by Microsoft Dynamics’s key capabilities include:</p>  <p>· High performance publishing of product assortments from Microsoft Dynamics AX with easy enrichments of content and media assets in Sitecore Experience Editor and Content Editor</p>  <p>· Completely shared commerce infrastructure between online and brick and mortar channels, ensuring absolute consistency in payments, tax calculation, and shipment calculation – as well as the ability to leverage the many payment, tax, and shipping providers already available for Microsoft Dynamics AX</p>  <p>· Real-time integration with Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail to ensure up-to-date pricing, discounts and inventory availability </p>  <p>· Full analytics and personalization abilities based on all digital commerce interactions (e.g. target based upon cart contents, abandonment, etc.)</p>  <p>· Comprehensive cross-channel enablement, facilitating scenarios such as:</p>  <p>o Buy online, pickup in store</p>  <p>o Buy in store, view in online order history</p>  <p>o Returns in-store from an online order</p>  <p>· Custom loyalty programs, with points tracking/accumulation and the ability to use points to pay either online or in-store</p>  <p>· Custom gift cards with issuance and fulfillment either online or in store</p>  <p>· Comprehensive call center and order management capabilities via Microsoft Dynamics AX</p>  <p>Download this release today from: <a href="https://dev.sitecore.net/en/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce_powered_by_Microsoft_Dynamics/8,-d-,0/Sitecore_Commerce_powered_by_Microsoft_Dynamics_8.aspx">https://dev.sitecore.net/en/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce_powered_by_Microsoft_Dynamics/8,-d-,0/Sitecore_Commerce_powered_by_Microsoft_Dynamics_8.aspx</a></p>  <h4>Reference Storefront</h4>  <p>To help customers jumpstart their deployment, we are also announcing the Reference Storefront. It provides a comprehensive B2C-oriented feature-set showcasing the capabilities of Sitecore Commerce 8 powered by Microsoft Dynamics. The Reference Storefront is built in ASP.NET MVC5 using Sitecore best practices and is fully analytics and personalization-enabled. It also can leverage the Dynamics AX Retail SDK’s user controls directly for interaction with Microsoft Dynamics. It is available for download as part of Sitecore Commerce 8 powered by Microsoft Dynamics. </p>  <p>To enable our channel, we are making the Reference Storefront available on GitHub under a MIT license so anyone can contribute to it. We’ll of course be curating pull requests to help assure quality, as well as continuing to update it on an ongoing basis ourselves. </p>  <p>This release is meant for education and demonstration purposes. In subsequent updates very soon, we’ll add go-live support, performance guidance, and support for Sitecore Commerce 8, powered by Commerce Server. </p>  <h4>Updates to Other Sitecore Commerce Products</h4>  <p>Simultaneously, we have updated our other commerce products and are pleased to announce the availability of:</p>  <p>· <b>Sitecore Commerce Connect 8</b> available at <a href="https://dev.sitecore.net/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce_Connect/8_0/Sitecore_Commerce_8_Connect.aspx">https://dev.sitecore.net/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce_Connect/8_0/Sitecore_Commerce_8_Connect.aspx</a>, which adds new service layers for gift cards, wish lists, and loyalty programs as well as support for Sitecore Experience Platform 8.</p>  <p>· <b>Sitecore Commerce 8</b> <b>powered by Commerce Server</b> available at <a href="https://dev.sitecore.net/en/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce_powered_by_Commerce_Server/8,-d-,0/Sitecore_Commerce_powered_by_Commerce_Server_8.aspx">https://dev.sitecore.net/en/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce_powered_by_Commerce_Server/8,-d-,0/Sitecore_Commerce_powered_by_Commerce_Server_8.aspx</a>, which adds support for Sitecore Experience Platform 8, and full visual redesign of Merchandising Manager to add customer enhancements requested from v7.2 and v7.5 and to align to the new user experience introduced in Sitecore 8. </p>  <p>· <b>Sitecore Commerce Server 11.2</b> available at <a href="https://dev.sitecore.net/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce_Server/11_2/Sitecore_Commerce_Server_11,-d-,2.aspx">https://dev.sitecore.net/Downloads/Sitecore_Commerce_Server/11_2/Sitecore_Commerce_Server_11,-d-,2.aspx</a>, which adds the same Merchandising Manager enhancements, and is targeted toward existing Commerce Server customers looking for an in-place upgrade. </p>]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
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      <title>Sitecore Commerce 7.5 now available!</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/sitecore-commerce-7-5-now-available</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2014 12:39:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
      <guid
        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2014/10/28/sitecore-commerce-7-5-now-available/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[Sitecore Commerce 7.5 is now available immediately from the Sitecore Developer Network. Building...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sitecore Commerce 7.5 is now available immediately from the Sitecore Developer Network. Building upon the strong foundation set with 7.2, Sitecore Commerce 7.5 adds:</p>  <ul>   <li>Support for Sitecore Experience Platform 7.5, including leveraging the Experience Database for all analytics data gathering and personalization </li>    <li>Underlying support for Microsoft SQL Server 2014 and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2013 R2 </li>    <li>A number of performance, debugging, stability, and maintainability improvements </li> </ul>  <p>This release includes all three Sitecore Commerce products, including:</p>  <ul>   <li>Sitecore Commerce 7.5, powered by Commerce Server - <a href="https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20Commerce/Sitecore%20Commerce%207,-d-,5.aspx">https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20Commerce/Sitecore%20Commerce%207,-d-,5.aspx</a> </li>    <li>Sitecore Commerce Connect 7.5 - <a href="https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20Commerce%20Connect.aspx">https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20Commerce%20Connect.aspx</a> </li>    <li>Commerce Server 11.1 - <a href="https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Commerce%20Server/Commerce%20Server%2011,-d-,1.aspx">https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Commerce%20Server/Commerce%20Server%2011,-d-,1.aspx</a> </li> </ul>  <p>For those tracing the modernization of the Commerce Server codebase, this release is the first built entirely natively in .NET 4.5 and Visual C++2013, eliminating VB6 and various VC++ runtime dependencies. As a result, you’ll see a much higher performing, easier to-debug codebase – and the stage set for much more rapid innovation in the months ahead.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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    <item>
      <title>Sitecore Commerce 7.2 Performance Whitepaper now available!</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/sitecore-commerce-7-2-performance-whitepaper-now-available</link>
      <pubDate>Fri, 26 Sep 2014 12:23:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
      <guid
        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2014/09/26/sitecore-commerce-7-2-performance-whitepaper-now-available/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[We have just completed and posted on the Sitecore Developer Network the Sitecore Commerce 7.2,...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We have just completed and posted on the Sitecore Developer Network the Sitecore Commerce 7.2, powered by Commerce Server Performance Whitepaper. </p>  <p>With extensive testing conducted using Azure Infrastructure-as-a-Service technologies, this guide will help you plan your deployments from a performance and scalability perspective. </p>  <p>Download it today from <a href="https://sdn.sitecore.net/downloads/CommerceServer11.0PerfTesting.download">this link</a>. We hope this helps! </p>]]></content:encoded>
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    <item>
      <title>Sitecore Commerce at Symposium Europe Barcelona 2014</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/sitecore-commerce-at-symposium-europe-barcelona-2014</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2014 04:07:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
      <guid
        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2014/09/15/sitecore-commerce-at-symposium-europe-barcelona-2014/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[Greetings from Barcelona! We wanted to provide an overview of the Sitecore Commerce coverage at...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Greetings from Barcelona! We wanted to provide an overview of the Sitecore Commerce coverage at Symposium Europe 2014:</p>  <p><strong>PROT1D – Content + Digital Marketing + Commerce = The Total brand buying experience</strong></p>  <ul>   <li><em>When:</em> Tuesday, September 16th at 17:30-18:30 in Forum Room H2 </li>    <li><em>What:</em> Customers expect more from online shopping than just transactional shopping-cart capabilities. To drive customer experience as a differentiator and break through the noise, brands must seamlessly connect the entire experience—from marketing, to sale, to customer retention—across the lifecycle. Learn how a powerful end-to-end solution that blends content with real-time digital marketing and powerful enterprise commerce drives conversions and revenue. </li>    <li><em>Who’s It For: </em>Anyone seeking to understand Sitecore’s vision for commerce. </li> </ul>  <p><strong>DEVT1B Compelling, personalized Sitecore storefronts with any commerce platform</strong></p>  <ul>   <li><em>When:</em> Tuesday, September 14th at 14:30-15:30 in Room F </li>    <li><em>What: </em>Sitecore Commerce Connect adds intrinsic commerce capabilities in Sitecore® Experience Platform™. In this session, get an in-depth look at how to architect and build compelling B2x storefronts and 1:1 personalized commerce experiences using Commerce Connect, irrespective of the underlying commerce platform. </li>    <li><em>Who’s It For:</em> Any Sitecore developer looking to build a commerce site on the Experience Platform as well as those looking for insight on integrating with other commerce platforms or ERP systems. </li> </ul>  <p>In addition, we will have a number of experts available for Q&amp;A throughout the event. Hit us up on Twitter @CommerceServer or send e-mail to <a href="mailto:csinfo@sitecore.net">csinfo@sitecore.net</a>. We hope to see you over the next several days at #SYMEU. </p>]]></content:encoded>
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      <title>Sitecore Commerce at Symposium Las Vegas 2014</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/sitecore-commerce-at-symposium-las-vegas-2014</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2014 17:12:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
      <guid
        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2014/09/03/sitecore-commerce-at-symposium-las-vegas-2014/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[We wanted to highlight some of the great content that is commerce-related at Sitecore Symposium Las...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We wanted to highlight some of the great content that is commerce-related at Sitecore Symposium Las Vegas next week:</p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>PROT2A Content + Digital Marketing + Commerce = The Total Brand Buying Experience</b></p>  <p>o <i>When: </i>Tuesday, September 9, 2014 at 11:30 AM-12:30 PM in Juniper 4 (also repeats as PROT2E on September 10<sup>th</sup> at 8:00 AM in Juniper 4)<b></b></p>  <p>o <i>What:</i> Customers expect more from online shopping than just transactional shopping-cart capabilities. To drive customer experience as a differentiator and break through the noise, brands must seamlessly connect the entire experience—from marketing, to sale, to customer retention—across the lifecycle. Learn how a powerful end-to-end solution that blends content with real-time digital marketing and powerful enterprise commerce drives conversions and revenue.<b></b></p>  <p><i>Who’s It For: </i>Anyone seeking to understand Sitecore’s vision for commerce. </p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>PRO2TC Commerce Strategy and Roadmap</b></p>  <p>o <i>When: </i>Tuesday, September 9, 2014 at 3:00-4:00 PM in Juniper 4</p>  <p>o <i>What:</i> With multiple offerings available, Sitecore® Experience Platform™ is now a full-fledged B2x commerce platform. This session explains Sitecore's overall commerce strategy; our various commerce offerings, including what to choose and when; our positioning in the commerce platform market; and our future commerce product roadmap.</p>  <p>o <i>Who’s It For: </i>Anyone that wants to understand the features and functions in detail of our new commerce offerings, with a focus on the recently released Sitecore Commerce, powered by Commerce Server. </p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>PROT2B Insite for Sitecore with the Commerce Connector</b></p>  <p>o <i>When: </i>Tuesday, September 9, 2014 at 1:30-2:30 PM in Juniper 4</p>  <p>o <i>What: </i>In this session, get an overview of Insite for Sitecore that provides details on the components such as web page libraries, the integration tool set, and the software development kit; the Commerce Connect integration with Sitecore; and Insite’s approach to Commerce Connect and its architecture.</p>  <p>o <i>Who’s It For: </i>Anyone that wants to understand the features and function in detail of Insite’s commerce offerings. </p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>DEVT2B Commerce Server for the Sitecore Developer</b></p>  <p>o <i>When: </i>Tuesday September 9, 2014 at 1:30-2:30 PM in Ironwood 5</p>  <p>o <i>What:</i> Get a detailed technical understanding of Commerce Server and its integration into the Sitecore Experience Platform via Sitecore Commerce Connect.&#160; Aimed at knowledgeable Sitecore developers, this session is aimed at providing a focused on-ramp to learn just what's relevant to build compelling commerce experiences with Commerce Server and Sitecore Commerce Connect.</p>  <p>o <i>Who’s It For:</i> Any Sitecore developer seeking to understand how to quickly ramp and build solutions on Sitecore Commerce, powered by Commerce Server. </p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>DEV T2E Compelling, personalized Sitecore Storefronts with a Commerce Platform</b></p>  <p>o <i>When: </i>Wednesday, September 10, 2014 at 8:00-9:00 AM in Ironwood 5</p>  <p>o <i>What: </i>Sitecore Commerce Connect adds intrinsic commerce capabilities in Sitecore® Experience Platform™. In this session, get an in-depth look at how to architect and build compelling B2x storefronts and 1:1 personalized commerce experiences using Commerce Connect, irrespective of the underlying commerce platform.</p>  <p>o <i>Who’s It For:</i> Any Sitecore developer looking to build a commerce site on the Experience Platform as well as those looking for insight on integrating with other commerce platforms or ERP systems. </p>  <p><b></b></p>  <p><b>BUST2B Driving Commerce Revenue with the Sitecore Experience Platform</b></p>  <p>· <i>When: </i>Tuesday, September 9, 2014 at 1:30-2:30 PM in Ironwood 1, 2</p>  <p>· <i>What:</i> Learn how to use Sitecore's new commerce features to effectively engage customers in a buying cycle that ultimately culminates with a conversion. Also covered in this session are general commerce optimization best practices including areas such as SEO, cart abandonment, product introduction, replenishment, and more.</p>  <p>· <i>Who’s It For:</i> Anyone interested in business best practices leveraging the new capabilities introduced with Sitecore Commerce. </p>  <p>&#160;</p>  <p>***</p>  <p>Additionally, several members of the SItecore Commerce product team will be there and we would love to meetup! Tweet us @CommerceServer or mail us at <a href="mailto:csinfo@sitecore.net">csinfo@sitecore.net</a>. </p>  <p>We hope to see you at #SYMLV next week! </p>]]></content:encoded>
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      <title>Unwrapping Sitecore Commerce 7.2</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/unwrapping-sitecore-commerce-7-2</link>
      <pubDate>Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:19:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
      <guid
        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2014/08/29/unwrapping-sitecore-commerce-7-2/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[For this blog, we wanted to provide some pragmatic advice on how to get going with Sitecore Commerce...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For this blog, we wanted to provide some pragmatic advice on how to get going with Sitecore Commerce 7.2 and make sure that customers and partners know where to go to get the various pieces of information required to properly setup the product. </p>  <p>At a glance, the process is comprised of:   <br /></p>  <ul>   <li>Install Sitecore Experience Platform 7.2 itself</li>    <li>Install Sitecore Commerce Connect 7.2</li>    <li>Install Commerce Server 11.0</li>    <li>Install Sitecore Commerce 7.2 components</li>    <li>Configuring the Business User Experiences</li> </ul>  <h3><b>Installing Sitecore Experience Platform 7.2</b></h3>  <p>Installing Sitecore 7.2 is a relatively straightforward process. It is very well-documented and covered by the Sitecore CMS Installation Guide, which can be found on the Sitecore Developer Network (SDN) at <a href="https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20V5/Sitecore%20CMS%207/Installation/Installation%20Guides%20CMS%207,-d-,0%20and%20later.aspx">https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20V5/Sitecore%20CMS%207/Installation/Installation%20Guides%20CMS%207,-d-,0%20and%20later.aspx</a>. </p>  <p>But, one is not done there. DMS is also required, which is documented in a separate DMS Installation Guide which can be found on SDN at <a href="https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20V5/Sitecore%20CMS%207/Installation/Installation.aspx">https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20V5/Sitecore%20CMS%207/Installation/Installation.aspx</a>. </p>  <h3>Installing Sitecore Commerce Connect 7.2</h3>  <p>Sitecore Commerce Connect 7.2 provides the commerce-enablement of the Sitecore Experience Platform. It is a Sitecore module and hence it’s installation process is relatively straightforward. It has its own installation guide, which can be found at <a href="https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20Commerce%20Connect/Sitecore%20Commerce%20Connect%207,-d-,2/Documentation.aspx">https://sdn.sitecore.net/Products/Sitecore%20Commerce%20Connect/Sitecore%20Commerce%20Connect%207,-d-,2/Documentation.aspx</a>. </p>  <h3>Installing Commerce Server 11.0</h3>  <p>Commerce Server 11.0 underpins much of the commerce functionality in Sitecore Commerce 7.2. Hence, it is the next step in the installation process. It’s installation guide can be found at <a href="https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceInstallationGuide/en-us/">https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceInstallationGuide/en-us/</a>. </p>  <h3>Installing the Sitecore Commerce 7.2 Components</h3>  <p>The next step in the installation process itself is to install the Sitecore Commerce 7.2 components. The overall process is described in the Getting Started guide, which is a must-read in its entirety and can be found at <a href="https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceConnectGuide/en-us/">https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceConnectGuide/en-us/</a>. </p>  <p>However, for this specific step, one will want to look at the <i>Deploying the Integration Packages</i> topic, which can be found specifically at <a href="https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceConnectGuide/en-us/#Task/t_DeployIntegrationPackages.html">https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceConnectGuide/en-us/#Task/t_DeployIntegrationPackages.html</a>. This will get you up and running with the MVC sample site that ships with Sitecore Commerce 7.2. </p>  <p>Once that is complete, you will want to enable Analytics to ensure that everything functions properly. This can be found in the <i>Enable Analytics</i> topic in the <i>Getting Started Guide</i> at <a href="https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceConnectGuide/en-us/#Task/t_EnableMVCandAnalytics.html">https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceConnectGuide/en-us/#Task/t_EnableMVCandAnalytics.html</a>. </p>  <h3>Configuring the Business User Experiences</h3>  <p>There is only one remaining step, which is installing the business user experiences required to administer the commerce experiences. In this version, there are four toolsets:   <br /></p>  <ul>   <li><em>Merchandising Manager</em>, which is a modern Web-based administration tool running in Sitecore. This is the toolset that all business users should utilize when managing a Sitecore Commerce 7.2 solution. </li>    <li><em>Catalog and Inventory Manager</em>, which is a desktop-based application. It is the predecessor of Merchandising Manager and will likely only be used by customers upgrading from prior releases of Commerce Server while transitioning to Merchandising Manager. </li>    <li><em>Marketing Manager</em>, which is a desktop-based application that will be utilized principally for managing discounts and coupons. Although it also offers List Management and Advertising (content targeting features) – they should not be used in lieu of Sitecore E-Mail Campaign Manager and content targeting in DMS. </li>    <li><em>Catalog and Inventory Schema Manager</em>, which is a desktop based tool to configure catalog and inventory structure and metadata. </li>    <li><em>Customer and Order Manager</em>, which is a desktop-based application that will be utilized for configuring the order capture system as well as perform basic order management tasks. </li> </ul>  <p>To install Merchandising Manager, please refer to the <i>Deploy Merchandising Manager</i> topic within the <i>Getting Started Guide</i>, which can be found at <a href="https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceConnectGuide/en-us/#Task/t_DeployMerchandisingManager.html">https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceConnectGuide/en-us/#Task/t_DeployMerchandisingManager.html</a>. </p>  <p>To install the other tools, please refer to the <i>Desktop Business Tools Installation Guide</i> at <a href="https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceDesktopBusinessToolsInstallationGuide/en-us/">https://commercesdn.sitecore.net/CS11/SitecoreCommerceDesktopBusinessToolsInstallationGuide/en-us/</a>. </p>  <p>***</p>  <p>With these steps, one’s deployment is fully operational. Enjoy! </p>  <p>As an announcement, we have also launched the Sitecore Commerce Development Team blog, which is available at <a title="https://www.sitecore.net/Learn/Blogs/Technical-Blogs/Sitecore-Commerce-Development-Team.aspx" href="https://www.sitecore.net/Learn/Blogs/Technical-Blogs/Sitecore-Commerce-Development-Team.aspx">https://www.sitecore.net/Learn/Blogs/Technical-Blogs/Sitecore-Commerce-Development-Team.aspx</a>. Content will be cross-posted in both places, but we wanted to ensure the Sitecore developer community had something that will get picked up by the RSS aggregation – just as this is picked up by the Microsoft developer community RSS aggregation. </p>  <p>And lastly, for further information, please join us in Las Vegas or Barcelona for <a href="https://it.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumNA2014/Home.aspx">Sitecore Symposium</a>, where the product team will be offering commerce sessions for both business and technical audience. </p>]]></content:encoded>
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      <title>Sitecore Commerce: An In-Depth Introduction</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/sitecore-commerce-an-in-depth-introduction</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2014 13:12:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Donovan [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
      <guid
        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2014/08/06/sitecore-commerce-an-in-depth-introduction/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[With yesterday&rsquo;s announcement of Sitecore Commerce, we wanted to provide some more insight...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With yesterday&rsquo;s announcement of Sitecore Commerce, we wanted to provide some more insight into precisely what is now available. Sitecore released three products: Sitecore Commerce 7.2 powered by Commerce Server, Sitecore Commerce Connect 7.2 and Sitecore Commerce Server 11.0.&nbsp; Although Sitecore Commerce 7.2, powered by Commerce Server now represents our primary offering, the other products represent key aspects of foundational technology as well as having their own discrete uses. Each is outlined in the brief below.</p>
<p><strong>Sitecore Commerce 7.2, powered by Commerce Server</strong></p>
<p>As the hallmark of yesterday&rsquo;s press release, this software product represents Sitecore&rsquo;s broad enterprise commerce offering, which is targeted towards both B2C and B2B customers spanning all industry verticals.</p>
<p>Under the hood, the product extends the Sitecore Experience Platform 7.2 by adding a comprehensive set of fully customizable commerce capabilities, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>Catalog Management to allow for highly structured representation of categories, products (or services), and product variants across multiple languages and currencies. Advanced capabilities include aggregation, segmentation and targeting for scenarios such as loyalty programs or B2B purchasing contracts.</li>
<li>Inventory Management to track item availability and configure logic around stock-out scenarios.</li>
<li>Discount Management to facilitate percentage or fixed amount discounts on items or orders as well as shipping discounts based upon session context, basket contents, and/or user profile attributes. Also included are the ability to have both unique and personalized coupons with redemption validation.</li>
<li>Profile Management to allow for the storage and management of complex personal metadata such as organizations (for B2B), roles, address books and wish lists.</li>
<li>Order Calculation and Capture to allow for the correct calculation and submission of orders to ERP or B2B trading partners based upon an organization&rsquo;s unique business requirements. Included is the capability to integrate virtually any tax, payment, fulfillment, or other service required based on anyone&rsquo;s unique business or market requirements.</li>
<li>Web Services and adapters (via support of Microsoft BizTalk&reg; technologies) to over 30 different ERP systems (such as SAP or Oracle) and B2B trading protocols such as EDI or AS2.</li>
<li>First-class merchandising experience, comprised of:
<ul>
<li>Merchandising Manager, a purpose-built tool to help merchandisers and merchandise marketers easily manage large product and service catalogs with a focus on providing an extremely straight-forward, task-driven interface that makes it possible to complete complex catalog management tasks in a minimum of clicks.</li>
<li>Extensions to the Sitecore Content Editor and Page Editor to provide full, in-context merchandising abilities as part of the content management experience.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Sitecore Commerce 7.2, powered by Commerce Server includes and is built on top of Sitecore Commerce Connect 7.2 and Commerce Server 11.0.</p>
<p>Unique capabilities include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Commerce Across All Channels &ndash; Every experience deliverable by the Sitecore Experience Platform is now seamlessly commerce-enabled. So, you can deliver robust commerce experiences over the Web, Mobile Web, Native Mobile, Print, Social, E-Mail, and more.</li>
<li>Searchable Fusion of Content and Commerce &ndash; No longer are organizations limited by the lack of ability to easily affiliate unstructured content and media assets around their product or service catalogs. Nor are they hampered by the inability to have hierarchy, categorization, and relationships within their content. And search just works across everything &ndash; with automatic facets based upon underlying catalog taxonomy and the ability to define new facets and manage boosting within search results at will.</li>
<li>Commerce-enabled Campaigns &ndash; The Sitecore Experience Platform already features extremely robust marketing capabilities. Now, personalization and automation is fully commerce-aware, enabling targeting around such dimensions as product viewing history, basket contents, order history, and/or personal profile attributes.</li>
<li>Full Conversion Optimization &ndash; Leveraging the deep analytics, personalization, and testing capabilities of the Sitecore Experience Platform, marketers can deliver a tailored experience that optimizes for conversions and repeat business. Users now have the insights to take appropriate actions, the tools to streamline end-user experience, and the ability to create automated follow-ups such as e-mail notifications on abandoned carts or back-in-stock notifications.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Sitecore Commerce Connect 7.2</strong></p>
<p>Sitecore Commerce Connect provides several important foundational technology capabilities.</p>
<p>First, it serves as the developer experience for building commerce solutions with the Sitecore Experience Platform. So, when you are, for example, manipulating a shopping cart, you are actually working through the Connect programming model.</p>
<p>Second, Connect commerce enables the rest of the Experience Platform so that such core elements as the rules engine and engagement plans can react to and interact with full commerce entities.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Lastly, and most importantly, Connect also allows for the integration of third party commerce or ERP systems in the Experience Platform. Although Sitecore Commerce 7.2, powered by Commerce Server, is a hallmark internal use case, the core commerce integration capabilities are equally open to our technology partners and customers for integrating with their own systems.</p>
<p>We are very excited about this because taking a &ldquo;one-size-fits-all&rdquo; approach to commerce simply doesn&rsquo;t work. Sitecore is committed to offering customers the right option to suit their needs.</p>
<p><strong>Sitecore Commerce Server 11.0</strong></p>
<p>Sitecore Commerce Server 11.0 represents the latest edition of the Commerce Server family. In addition to serving as an underpinning to Sitecore Commerce 7.2, powered by Commerce Server, this release adds:</p>
<ul>
<li>Support for the latest technology platforms, such as Windows Server 2012 R2</li>
<li>Merchandising Manager as a purpose-built, browser-based toolset offering end-to-end product catalog and inventory management capabilities, while featuring significant improvements in ease of use over the previous desktop-based toolset.</li>
<li>Easy upgrade path from Commerce Server 2007 and above</li>
<li>Incremental upgrade path to Sitecore Commerce 7.2, powered by Commerce Server, and all of the new capabilities brought forth by being part of the Sitecore Experience Platform</li>
<li>Global ecosystem and product support from Sitecore&rsquo;s regional presence in over 55 countries</li>
</ul>
<p>***</p>
<p>Sitecore is excited to officially enter the realm of commerce platform providers. But Sitecore Commerce 7.2, powered by Commerce Server, is just an &ldquo;opening act&rdquo;. Stay tuned for more e-commerce news, including the introduction of true omni-channel retailing through our partnership with Microsoft Dynamics AX&reg;.</p>
<p>Please join us in Las Vegas or Barcelona for&nbsp;<a href="https://it.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumNA2014/Home.aspx">Sitecore Symposium</a>, where the product team will be offering commerce sessions for both business and technical audiences.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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      <title>Mainstream Support for Microsoft Commerce Server – Key Date Approaching</title>
      <link>https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/commerce/mainstream-support-for-microsoft-commerce-server-key-date-approaching</link>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Jun 2014 09:31:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Smith [Sitecore]]]></dc:creator>
      <guid
        isPermaLink="false">https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commerce/2014/06/27/mainstream-support-for-microsoft-commerce-server-key-date-approaching/</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[With Commerce Server now under active development at Sitecore, we still keep an active eye on...]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With Commerce Server now under active development at Sitecore, we still keep an active eye on historic versions to make sure that all Commerce Server customers worldwide are kept informed on key milestones &ndash; and there&rsquo;s one approaching fast!</p>
<p>As part of Microsoft&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/">Lifecycle Support Policy</a>, they provide support on legacy versions of products for a finite period of time. It&rsquo;s generally 5 years from original date of release that a product moves out of Mainstream Support and into Extended Support. Once that happens, customers can no longer contact Microsoft for support. A customer can elect to purchase Extended Support, but there&rsquo;s only a limited window of opportunity to do so.</p>
<p>On July 8<span>th</span>&nbsp;2014, both Commerce Server 2009 and 2009 R2 move from Mainstream to Extended Support phase. As these were the last versions released by Microsoft, that means effectively that all Mainstream support for Commerce Server from Microsoft has ended. You can see these dates on Microsoft&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/default.aspx?sort=PN&amp;alpha=Microsoft+Commerce+Server+2009&amp;Filter=FilterNO">online database of support dates</a>. From that point, only security fixes would be made generally available. Furthermore, no more proactive testing of underlying technology platforms such as Windows, SQL, or .NET Framework will occur &ndash; raising the risk that breaking changes can break Commerce Server.</p>
<p>So what are a customer&rsquo;s options for keeping support? At Sitecore, we have a range of products that can ensure that legacy versions remain supported.</p>
<p><strong>Upgrade to Commerce Server from Sitecore</strong></p>
<p>Sitecore sells a range of Commerce Server versions that can bring a customer under Sitecore support, these range from a functionally identical version of Commerce Server 2009 R2 with no breaking changes from Commerce Server 2007 that has an additional year of support available, through to later versions including the forthcoming release of Commerce Server 11.</p>
<p><strong>Talk to us about Sitecore Commerce</strong></p>
<p>With the forthcoming release of Commerce Server 11, we will be opening up a whole new range of product capabilities with its integration with the Sitecore Experience Platform &ndash; maybe now is the time for customers to start thinking about how they can plan to take advantage of some amazing new commerce functionality!</p>
<p><span>Whichever option a customer takes, it all starts with an initial contact, so&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.commerceserver.net/contact">please contact us</a><span>&nbsp;to discuss any or all of these options but as you consider them, remember the clock is ticking to July 8</span><span>th</span><span>.</span></p>]]></content:encoded>
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