IBM WebSphere Commerce is an e-commerce solution for consumer direct, business direct and indirect business environments. It consists of a set of integrated software components that enables enterprises to build and customize e-commerce sites. WebSphere Commerce software uses an open architecture based on a Java™ programming model that allows you to customize the behavior of your sites. WebSphere Commerce is a complete commerce solution that includes WebSphere Application Server, DB2™, WebSphere Commerce Payments, and HTTP server. WebSphere Commerce comes in three editions: Express, Professional, and Enterprise. Depending on the edition, WebSphere Commerce also provides additional software to support live customer care, collaboration, and advanced business analytics. The following figure shows the key components of WebSphere Commerce. For detailed about each component, see WebSphere Commerce product overview.

There are three editions of WebSphere Commerce available, each tailored to suit a certain realm of business needs:

• WebSphere Commerce-Express is an easily installed, affordable, yet complete solution designed to help growing mid-market companies do business on the Web. Start your online presence with the basics then grow with the industry leaders as your needs change.
• WebSphere Commerce Professional provides a comprehensive online selling solution for maximizing revenues, improving operational efficiencies, and increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Through the use of advanced marketing and merchandising, configurable business processes, and powerful analytics and personalization, businesses will be able to attract, motivate, transact, and understand their customers throughout the customer lifecycle.
• WebSphere Commerce Enterprise provides a powerful, flexible infrastructure based on a unified platform for running large, high-volume business-to-business and advanced business-to-consumer e-commerce Web sites for global e-businesses.

WebSphere Commerce-Express offers the following new and improved features:

• Lightweight development
• Starter stores
• Catalog import utility
• Content
• WebSphere Commerce business process models
• Information center
• Sales catalogs
• Streamlined installation
• Improved business user tools
• Extend e-Marketing Spots to e-mail activity
• Manage e-mail
• Integration reference applications
• Migration wizard
• Payments plug-in controller

WebSphere Commerce Professional offers everything in WebSphere Commerce-Express plus the following new and improved features:

• Scalable, mission critical platform
• Workspaces
• WebSphere Commerce Analyzer enhancement
• E-mail templates
• Single datamart database for WebSphere Commerce Analyzer
• IBM Gift Center
• IBM Sales Center

WebSphere Commerce Enterprise offers everything in WebSphere Commerce Professional plus the following new and improved features:

• Wizard driven extended site creation
• Business accounts and contracts
• Catalog filtering
• Advanced B2B direct starter store model
• Business models
• Contract enhancement
• Business accounts
• Business policies
• Buyer and Seller collaboration
• Request For Quote (RFQ) and shopping cart