This is a case study of a website design for a worldwide business development and consulting services company based in San Francisco, California. The site design comprised of Content Management, e-commerce and e-learning applications. Some of the information has been changed or omitted to maintain confidentiality.

Background

The organization carries out some of its business online and is in the process of expanding its on-line presence through e-learning. The organization selected DWG to carry out the site design and application development.

Results

The Website designed and produced by DWG is a unique and accessible Web experience that provides visitors with useful resource tools.The site have become a central tool in its public relations and communications strategy, thus improving perception of the organization.
Our attractive solution reinforces the strong brand identity. Restructuring the navigation enables different types of users to find relevant information easily. A clear navigation system gives the user a constant overview of where they are, as well as easy access to a wealth of information, never leaving them overwhelmed. The feedback on this aspect of the site has been extremely positive.
DWG also introduced and implemented the Web site using SDMS - an enterprise level Content Management System (CMS) to assist in the ongoing development and management of the site.
DWG provided templates for a variety of content formats that allow easy implementation and updating as well as design consistency throughout the site. New interactive functions - including email communication and online applications - have speeded up administrative processes, leading to greater efficiency and long-term cost savings.

Application Integration

This is a case study of an application design and Integration process for a worldwide business consulting services company based in the United States, Malaysia, and China, with Headquarters located in San Diego, California. The organization needed a Skiable Business Portal with Content Management, e-commerce and e-learning applications, which could handshake with multi-location Internal, Vendors', and Suppliers' systems for delivery and fulfillment. Some of the information has been changed or omitted to maintain confidentiality.

Background

The organization carries out some of its business online and is in the process of expanding its on-line presence through resale and re-branding of their portal with or without existing content, products and online courses. The organization selected DWG to carry out the site design, application development, and Application Integration Services. DWG acts as the Application Service Provider for many, but not all the applications involved.

Integration Architecture Analysis

In parallel with the requirements activity, DWG evaluated and coasted alternative approaches to integration. A traditional point-to-point architecture was quickly rejected for the following reasons:
� A high level of custom development would be involved. A minimum of eight separate point-to-point interfaces would need to be written from scratch.
� There was a high level of development risk.
� There was a high level of business risk.
� It would take far too long to develop all the administrative interfaces.

Results

The team agreed that an EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) solution appeared more appropriate, where the data modeling and transfer layers were independent of the applications and environment. Also, it was recognized that IT architecture was constantly in a state of evolution. While individual IS applications would be retired and replaced by better ones, the integration 'backbone' would be largely static where IS applications can be 'plugged in and out.' An EAI approach seemed well-aligned to the concept of an integration backbone.
Utilizing both pre-built and specialized adapters, the data integration layer of the e-commerce module -- the control application for all sessions and activities on the site -- was redesigned to accept external data from a variety of the resellers and vendors through the data model translation module. Furthermore, any re-skinned portal will be able to utilize all or some of the content, products and online courses available through the organization.