Asp nt hosting

Icom brings ASP hosting to Maritimes - Product Announcement

Icom Alliance is staying true to its mission statement -- "create wealth through technology for ourselves and our partners" -- with the release of ivendor version 1.5.

Since 1997, the Halifax-based e-business developer has been providing businesses in Atlantic Canada with a unique Web presence.

"Our focus has always been not on how to do things the quickest or the easiest, but how to do them correctly," said Icom Alliance Inc. vice-president of operations and CTO John Weatherbie. "Our focus has never been to make a one-off product for one client. It's been to have the client tell us their needs and develop a product that suits that client, plus other clients."

Icom's ivendor 1.5 runs on Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition and is Windows 2000-compatible. It is geared towards qualified developers who want to rapidly configure and deploy sophisticated business-to-consumer and business-to-business e-commerce solutions in an ASP hosting environment.

"We wanted a solution that would allow us to use its components, but modify it to fit the very diverse need of our clients," said Weatherbie, regarding Icom's decision to use Site Server 3.0.

Icom has positioned itself as the e-commerce solution provider for the medium to large enterprise market for Atlantic Canada, with clients such as Clearwater Fine Foods, Nova Scotia Power and Newfoundland Tel.

A company that has found Web success with the help of Icom is the Maritime Trading Co. The Halifax-based distributor of Atlantic Canadian crafts, music, food and artisan items, has been online since 1995. However, it recently decided it needed to strengthen its Web presence.

"We really looked at the Web as part of our overall integrated strategy, in the sense that we wanted to give our customers access to whatever medium they are comfortable with," said Kent Groves, president of Maritime Trading. "It doesn't replace our traditional mediums (catalogue and retail), yet it complements them and it gives us a communication vehicle for a certain segment of our customers."

Groves also noted a Web site legitimizes a company for many people.

"From a marketing perspective, if you don't have a Web site, then the question asked by the consumer is 'why not?' continued Groves. "You have to take advantage of the medium and recognize that it ultimately could become a critical component to your overall marketing strategy."

Blake Doyle, Icom's vice-president of sales and marketing, said the Web is an integral part of a company's growth, particularly in Atlantic Canada. "If you look at any clients in this geography, they're all looking to export either to central Canada or to the U.S.," added Doyle. "E-commerce and the Internet enables people to reach new markets they couldn't necessarily otherwise grasp."

ivendor requirements com

MS Site Server 30 Commerece Edition

MS Windows NT Server

MS SQL Server 70

MS Internet Information Serever 4.0

MS Data Access Components 2.1