SmartDelivery Gains Added Support for Web Services

Centerpost Corp. has rolled out a new release of its Web services-based communications platform, adding more integration capabilities and enhancing its user interface.

Centerpost added more support for Web services standards to the seventh release of its SmartDelivery platform, which officials with the Chicago company said will ease the integration of a business back-end legacy infrastructure and front-end Internet systems.

The platform is a suite of services designed to enable businesses to quickly contact customers, partners and employees via voice, e-mail, fax or instant messaging, all through Web services standards.

The company added XML Schema Definition language support and Platform for Privacy Preferences compliance to the communications platform, which automates the delivery of outbound phone calls and other notifications.

The platform already supports Simple Object Access Protocol, Web Services Description Language, and Universal Description, Discovery and Integration, said President and Chief Technology Officer Craig Goren.

Currently, the primary use of Web services is for integration, and key to Web services are standards.

Centerpost also enhanced the scalability of the platform via technology that makes the entire capacity of the platform available to a user, while at the same time keeping what one user is doing from impacting another.

The improved user interface includes permission-based capabilities, which give users greater control of the platform.

Users said the ease of use and scalability were essential issues when deciding on Centerposts platform, which is targeted at high-volume, customer-facing businesses.

“We have a need to potentially reach millions of customers with important, timely weather information,” said Joe Fiveash, senior vice president of product and business development at The Weather Channel Enterprises Inc., in Atlanta. “If you look at the landscape, youll see there arent many Web service providers that have demonstrated the kind of scale Centerpost has. Their approach to integration makes it easy for us to tap into this capability in a very short time.”

Bob DeTrano, director of reservations at Indianapolis-based American Trans Air Inc., agreed.

“Centerposts technology couldnt be easier to work with,” DeTrano said. “Their standards-based integration approach enabled us to get up and running in a very short time. We had our systems linked and making phone calls to real customers in just a couple weeks.”

The upgraded platform is available now. Pricing varies based on use.