"[Entice] is nothing short of amazing..."
Here's the review/recommendation of Entice by CRN
crn.com
Multiactive Entice
Price: $25,000 per server
Status: Shipping
Distributors/Integrators: Distributes direct to VARs
Multiactive Software Inc.
Vancouver, B.C.
(604) 601-8000
(800) 804-6299
www.multiactive.com
The Web is where it's at. The next logical step for
resellers who have put clients on the Net is to bring
them into E-commerce. Whatever the product or
service by putting an electronic storefront on the
Web, a reseller becomes a vital partner to a client.
Entice from Multiactive Software, perhaps better
known for contact-management software, allows
resellers to quickly and efficiently bring clients into
the Web age.
A new product in a crowded field, Entice is an extremely high-end
E-commerce solution that is a complete end-to-end solution for prospecting
and attracting customers through the sale and transaction process. A
standards-based package, Entice supports many server and Internet
protocols including ASP, ActiveX, COM, ODBC, SSL, X.509 and much more.
It is extremely customizable in general, and also includes excellent
integration with third-party software. A modular package, Entice includes the
Campaign Manager, where the initial marketing project is set up; the Account
Manager, which allows drilling down to current and future clients and their
information; the Customer Prospector allows importing of customer
information from third-party sources and to manipulate and drill thorough; the
E-Store manager and One to One Designer allow resellers to create an online
store and customize and personalize the software for each individual visitor.
Entice works through an intuitive and non-technical drag-and-drop interface
that just about anyone can master easily. An E-Business advisor component
is a treasure trove of helpful information covering everything from marketing a
site to getting the site listed on other sites and search engines. Entice also
included excellent realtime and historical reporting of just about any data.
Last but not least is the administration module, where resellers can setup
security and access privileges and specific user rights.
Analysis
Multiactive Entice was installed on a Compaq Proliant 5500 server, which
included two 500MHz Pentium Xeon Processors, 640 Mbytes of RAM and
three 9.1-Gbyte hot-swappable drives installed on a Compaq SmartArray
controller. Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 5 was installed, along with
Internet Information Server 4.0 and Microsoft SQL Server 7.0. Btrieve and
Crystal Reports also were installed on the server.
The initial server setup took about an hour, and went without incident.
Installation was completed with a single CD that included both the server and
client software. Client installation is even easier, literally taking 5 minutes to
install and configure the client for the server. The software included separate
manuals for administration and user training, and both were excellent. They
included detailed step-by-step instructions as well as annotated screen shots
so resellers know exactly what they should be seeing.
Commentary
The software is nothing short of amazing in how quickly it allows a reseller to
get a business completely operating on the Web. Though priced at the higher
end of the market, it is a small cost in time and dollars compared to bringing
in people to code a site from scratch.
The CRN Test Center at Comdex recommends Entice from Multiactive
Software Inc.
--Michael Wroobel |
