CommercialWare Goes Java for Multi-Channel MMS

Published: January 16, 2007

by Alex Woodie

CommercialWare this week unveiled CWSerenade, a new Java-based multi-channel merchandise management system intended as the upgrade for users of the company's old RPG-based application, called CWDirect (formerly Mozart).

CWSerenade, which CommercialWare calls "an evolution" of CWDirect, satisfies a range of requirements for retailers that operate in several sales channels, including order management, fulfillment, customer service, warehousing, inventory control, merchandising, marketing, and finance.

Existing CWDirect users can upgrade to the new CWSerenade application with a minimal amount of trouble because the applications share common databases, screens, and logic, the company says. Customers can install the software on their choice of Java-enabled platforms, although the only supported combinations are SQL-based databases running the open source JBOSS Java application server, or the System i combination of OS/400, DB2/400, and WebSphere.

Jane Cannon, chief operating officer at CommercialWare, says the adoption of Java enabled better integration between the CommercialWare products and those from Datavantage, the Cleveland, Ohio, company that bought CommercialWare last year for $13.2 million.

"Many retailers are moving toward open-source technologies and with that in mind, CommercialWare developed CWSerenade with all of the best practices and knowledge we've gained over the years working closely with our customers and partners," Cannon says. "With the delivery of CWSerenade, CommercialWare and Datavantage applications now share a common platform, allowing us to deliver CWSerenade, Xstore, Relate Retail CRM, Analytics and Enterprise Java Merchandising all on the same infrastructure."

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