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Developer
Program FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The VillageMall Developer Program is ideal for anyone
interested in the integration technologies of the VillageMall Business Services.
We offer a uniform Internet API based upon Web Services standards. These
technologies allow small and medium-sized business application vendors to
seamlessly exchange business information with VillageMall Business Services,
thereby saving small businesses time and money through minimizing data
re-entry and inaccuracies. By utilising integrated, complementary
applications, businesses significantly increase their efficiency by
streamlining their business processes and integrating separate islands of
information. We are looking for partners who share in this vision to work
with us to integrate vertical applications with the VillageMall Business Services.
Businesses don't function as a set of departmental islands, each isolated from the other - sales, marketing, finance, etc. Business actually happens in flows that cut across these departments, for example, from initial customer contact, through sale, delivery of goods and services, customer payment and ongoing servicing. It is in the management of these flows of business where great opportunities lie to save money and increase business effectiveness. And by integrating applications, data can flow seamlessly between different departments, streamlining a business. By integrating your application with VillageMall Business Services you become part of our integration application vision. Data entered in your application will flow seamlessly to the areas of the business that need it. Data entered into VillageMall Business Services becomes available for users of your application too. Because information is shared and updated dynamically, it's always current and everyone knows what's going on in the business. The VillageMall Business Services helps companies manage key business processes such as billing, sales customer relationship management, Internet sales, orders, purchasing, inventory and payroll in a single, integrated system. By automating key business flows, VillageMall Services provides a complete picture of a company's operations, customers, suppliers and employees. Other vendors offer just separate solutions, such as Accounting, CRM, Sales Force Automation or Web Stores. VillageMall Business Services transcends these limited solutions by providing the features and functionality of these separate systems in one integrated application, using one consistent database. The result for a business is improved efficiency and a significant savings in time and money. VillageMall Business Services has the power to grow with your customers' business. In comparison to other small business applications, VillageMall Business Services is more complete, more scalable and it's built for the Internet. VillageMall Business Services integration technologies are extensible, standards-based, robust and reliable and support data-rich integration. And you can extend the scope of the integration over time.
What role does the integration program
play in the overall product strategy of the VillageMall Business Services?
We are focused on developing the most powerful, fully
integrated, business system using worlds best practice technologies
and procedures, suitable for as many small business owners as possible. By following this strategy it is inevitable that we won't meet
the exact requirements of certain vertical markets and specialist business
needs. With the VillageMall Business Services Internet API
technologies, we are recognizing that there are numerous best-of-breed and
vertical application vendors that today meet the specific business needs of
their target customers. By enabling the integration of those applications
with VillageMall Business Services we are providing the means for
those customers to benefit from integrated business management systems.
We are committed to serving the small business market by delivering the most complete, integrated business management solution available. While it is possible that elements of our offering overlap with features of other 3rd party applications, it is not our intention to directly compete with our integration partners. The VillageMall Business Services application will continue to evolve so as to appeal to as wide a range of customers as possible, while partnering with vertical applications providers to leverage their strength and experience in more specialized markets. VillageMall has utilised industry standard Web Services suit of standards to support integration with partner applications.
Server-to-Server (peer-to-peer) Data Exchange
VillageMall offers the ability to support the bi-directional,
server-to-server exchange of business data between VillageMall Business Services
accounts and third-party systems. Server-to-server integration enables
trusted integration partners to add/update/query data directly to an
integrated VillageMall Business Services account in real-time, or in
batch, without user intervention.
A Web store is a perfect example of a previously separate,
stand-alone business application that can now be integrated with the VillageMall
Business Services,
thereby increasing the productivity of a business.
To maximize the revenue opportunity from the Web store, the business wants to ensure all the items they sell (even the newest ones) are presented to the shopper, at the current price, and that if they are currently out of stock that the shopper is made aware of that. Furthermore, when the shopper completes the checkout process, the business wants to be able to process and fulfil the sales order as soon as possible so as to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction. By utilizing the VillageMall Business Services integration technologies, the business can publish their inventory items directly to the Web store from VillageMall Business Services. The Web store can perform dynamic, real-time queries to check availability and current price and even transmit the sales order directly to VillageMall Business Services immediately upon checkout. The business never needs to enter data more than once as the transactional information flows to where it is needed automatically, allowing them to focus on the running the business, not administering it. More details on how to integrate a Web store application with VillageMall Business Services can be found in the Web Store Integration Methodology document. Point of Sale (POS) applications perform a business critical function for retail businesses - recording the sale transaction, storing cash and capturing credit card information right at the cashier's desk. Traditionally, POS data is stored locally until the end of the day when it is then exported as a batch total and either imported or manually entered in the business management application.By integrating the POS application with VillageMall Business Services you can do much better. Because it's on the Internet, all of the retail outlets that a business operates can be linked directly to the same VillageMall Business Services account, instantly giving the business owner a holistic view of how their business is performing. In addition, if you are holding inventory of certain items centrally, the store clerk can instantly let the customer know if an item is in stock or whether it will need to be back-ordered for them. By choosing to exchange data at a transactional level the business owner can build a picture of the buying habits of certain customers and hence offer additional products and/or services that meet their specific needs. The availability of this kind of information will boost customer satisfaction and help ensure that they return to shop at your business. To improve the flow of information across multiple applications, VillageMall Business Services offers several integration technologies that facilitate data exchange. These technologies allow other small and medium-sized business application vendors to seamlessly exchange business information with VillageMall Business Services, thereby saving small businesses time and money through minimizing data re-entry and inaccuracies. By utilizing integrated, complementary applications, businesses significantly increase their efficiency by streamlining their business processes and integrating separate islands of information. Joining the Developer Program will give you access to the latest information on our integration technologies, and give you advance pre-release information on our latest features. It will also allow you to participate in our developer forums and receive specialized information on new opportunities.The VillageMall Developer Program was founded upon this basic premise: The greater your commitment to our application, the more we will help you grow your business. It is that simple. The value you derive is associated directly with your level of commitment. Marketing Channel – We maintain marketing and communication campaigns to our existing and prospective VillageMall Business Services customers. Members of the Developer Program have the opportunity of being featured as part of those campaigns. In addition, we host a permanent partner directory on our Web site which members of the integration program have the option of being listed in.Added Value – An application that is integrated with VillageMall Business Services is much more powerful than one that is standalone. As a result you will be able to attract more customers for your product and, potentially, charge a higher price for it to reflect the added value of the integration. Back to topThere are in excess of 900,000 small business operating in Australia, it is reported that 40% of all small business owners have access to the Internet as at 30th June 2001. Any way you measure it, the small business market is huge. Our integration technologies have the following cost structure: Internet API, Server-to-Server costs $5000. It includes 10 hours of technical support staff and access to our test servers. There is a $1,500 annual renewal fee. Security of our mutual customers' data is of the utmost importance. Integrated applications must therefore meet minimum security requirements and you must agree to certain conditions with regards to the privacy of customers' data.
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