Many companies that have until recently regarded e-business as a cool but bleeding-edge technology now embrace it as an integral and essential part of their operations. Recognizing this fundamental shift in the corporate landscape, Microsoft developed three server products aimed squarely at helping companies develop e-business solutions that are integrated with their internal networks and applications and that facilitate interaction with their business partners: Content Management Server, Commerce Server, and BizTalk Server. These servers represent a three-tiered strategy that addresses the different levels of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) integration.
At the most basic level, companies must establish a Web presence. Content Management Server helps with Web content creation and management. Commerce Server helps companies take the next step by letting them conduct business over the Web. Commerce Server provides the tools to build and integrate online order processing with a Web site so that customers can purchase items on the Web. BizTalk Server hits at the deepest level of e-business integration by providing the ability to seamlessly connect disparate internal business processes as well as enterprise-level B2B applications. BizTalk Server performs its integration by transferring documents between platforms that use XML as the common language or by acting as the hub in an XML message-brokering system.
The rising popularity of e-business and the Microsoft e-business servers has spawned a growing market of add-ons, utilities, and services. These tools extend the native capabilities of the servers by adding features that let you administer the servers more easily and work with them more productively.
Content Management Server 2002
Creating and maintaining Web content are probably the most important activities in enabling e-business, and Content Management Server 2002 helps perform these tasks. Content Management Server provides a rapid application development (RAD) environment that helps even nondevelopers create, deploy, and maintain content-rich Web sites. Figure 1, page 54, shows Content Management Server's Site Manager, which lets you work with Web sites.
Content Management Server's template-driven system doesn't require programming expertise to use, so you can keep Web content fresh without waiting around for developers. The templates also help you maintain a consistent look and feel throughout your Web site. This consistency can help to promote corporate branding throughout the site.
Content workflow features ensure that you properly review and approve all Web content before publication. A content-scheduling feature automates the timely publishing and archiving of Web content so that the content doesn't become outdated.
Running on the Windows Server 2003 servers, Windows 2000 Server, and Win2K Advanced Server, Content Management Server requires access to a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 system to store its Web site definitions. As you would expect from one of the Microsoft server line of products, you can use Content Management Server with other Microsoft servers. For example, Content Management Server supports XML Web services, so you can use BizTalk Server to connect with network applications and transform their content for sites that you use Content Management Server to build.
Extending Content Management Server's Development Capabilities
The biggest area of third-party tools for Content Management Server is that of extending the server's Web development capabilities. Altova's xmlspy 5 lets you edit and manage XML-based content in Content Management Server. Altova also provides the authentic 5 Browser Edition CMS 2002 Placeholder Control, which facilitates XML content editing and management from the Content Management Server development environment.
Chuckwalla ContentConnect uses the Windows .NET Framework to provide Content Management Server document and digital-asset management. Another company that provides digital-asset management is MediaBin, whose Content Management Server add-on MediaBin Asset Manager uses .NET and XML Web services to expose the digital-asset management server functionality. OpenNetwork Technologies' DirectorySmart provides identity management support for Content Management Server, ensuring that only the right people can access and modify Web content.
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