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Publish The Catalog
Once product information is entered, simply click a button and Actinic Catalog uploads to the specified host provider server and builds the catalog on the web site in minutes.
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Take orders
Actinic Catalog includes an electronic shopping cart and order-entry system, enabling visitors to search, select and purchase goods and services online. The software has its own, in-built 256-bit secure encryption and support of industry standard encryption, such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Credit card payments can be processed using existing merchant account or using one of many Payment Service Providers.
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Download orders
Actinic Catalog emails one of the specified networked PCs in DSS Ltd office when a new batch of orders is waiting for collection. Simply click a button and the orders are downloaded, decrypted and stored on the PC.
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Process orders
Easy-to-use order-processing facilities, enables to display orders and adjust them if necessary. Orders and invoices can be printed or exported to a file, providing the opportunity to import them into the existing accounts package.
An Actinic Catalog demonstration with more than 20 DSS Ltd items is provided on a Floppy disk with this report. The demonstration provides an overview of the 5 steps described above.
Security
As mentioned earlier in the report Actinic Catalog uses Java Applet 256-bit encryption to safely encrypt credit card information. Encryption occurs on the buyer's PC and decryption only occurs on the vendor's PC. At no stage is the transaction decrypted whilst it travels over the Internet, or whilst it is stored before the specified PC in DSS Ltd office receives it. In addition, orders including credit card details are only stored until DSS Ltd downloads them to their PC. There is no large store of orders available anywhere online to invite attack.
The encryption is carried out by using a Java applet. The applet is subject to the standard security restrictions which prevents any general communication across the Internet. Decryption is carried out on the vendor's PC after orders have been downloaded. The vendor can then process the credit card numbers in the normal way using a PDQ machine.
High Street banks such as Barclays Bank, Middland and the Royal Bank of Scotland have all approved use of Actinic Catalog.
Alternatively, Actinic Catalog can be integrated with a secure server, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or a number of Payment Service Providers, who take credit card numbers securely and carry out the transactions online. These include NetBanx, WorldPay, Datacash, Secure Trading and Secpay. Other processors are able to integrate their services with Actinic Catalog using plug-in technology.
DSS will be using the Payment Service Provider, WorldPay for their credit card transactions. This is described in more details in Section 2.3.1 in this report.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
SSL is a method for hiding the information being transmitted between a web browser and a web server. It is structured to use "certificates" of identity to authenticate web sites and web users. These certificates are "digitally signed" and issued by a trusted third party such as Thawte or VeriSign. Such trusted third parties are known as "Certification Authorities" or CAs. Once a web site has registered with a CA, the browser can ask the CA "Is this the correct public key for this company?"
Payment Service Provider
Since the built-in Java Applet encryption and the industry standard SSL encryption methods do not provide real-time transactions and are very time consuming, they have been ruled out as a transaction option.
Among the Payment Service Providers that Actinic Catalog 4 supports, WorldPay is suggested due to the following reasons:
- WorldPay provides real-time transactions, clearing card transactions in seconds and cardholder accounts are directly debited with no time restrictions.
- WorldPay also provides single or multi-currency solutions for future expansion of DSS Ltd company.
- Depending on expected monthly individual sales and the monthly turnover, WorldPay offers the most appropriate fee rates for DSS Ltd compared to other PSPs such as, NetBanx, Datacash, Secure Trading and Secpay.
2.3.1 WorldPay
The WorldPay Direct option is the most appropriate solution for a small and medium company such as DSS Ltd. There is no need for a merchant account and the monthly fee is set to zero.
Assuming that DSS Ltd has an Internet Trading Account (ITA), the company can use the WorldPay BankDirect payment option to route Internet transactions to its existing bank for a small percentage fee per transaction.
A detailed table illustrating the setup fee and the cost per transaction can be found in Appendix 2.
Hosting
The Internet Service Provider (ISP), Claranet offers an e-Commerce web hosting package especially designed for Actinic Catalog 4 software. The offer is only valid until February 18th 2002. It is a professional solution without a large financial commitment for the DSS Ltd company.
The package includes Actinic Catalog 4 and a hosting solution for a period of 12 months. It involves domain name registration and renting space on a server provided by Claranet. The rented space provided is 100MByte with a 3.0GByte transfer limit per month, which support more than 10,0000 products with images and product descriptions. Full CGI and PERL capability is also provided, which is necessary for the Actinic Catalog to run.
Other important issues to consider when signing up for web hosting are FTP access, regular tape backups, uninterruptible power supplies, fast technical support via email, same day setup, 24/7 online support, and 99.99% server accessibility. They are all provided by Claranet.
This is an excellent option for a small business, such as DSS Ltd.
Appendix 3 includes a detailed description of what is included in the package.
Claranet also provides optional extras, such as Actinic Catalog 4 training and extra cover. The training is suitable for merchants wishing to gain a basic understanding of Actinic Catalog software. It is a one day intensive training course providing with the knowledge and skills necessary to use Actinic Catalog to a basic level. Learn how to create the business settings, such as company terms and conditions, contact information and warranties, and to create files in a spreadsheet to build data for importing.
The Actinic Catalog extra cover option, offers all round peace of mind, priority access to the technical team at Actinic with a 2-hour response time for critical issues, and free software version upgrades during the period of cover.
Both of the options are very appropriate for the DSS Ltd company due to the fact that the staff are not sufficiently computer literate.
Two fully estimated costing option are illustrated in Section 3.0 in this report.
Second Year and Future Hosting
Claranet offers continuous hosting after 12 months contract termination of the Actinic Catalog package.
The Clarahost SoHo (Small ofiice, Home office) package is one of the most appropriate solution for DSS Ltd. The futures are exactly the same as the Actinic Catalog Software package with 100MByte of webspace, 3.0GByte transfer limit per month, a full CGA and PERL capability. A more detailed description of what is included in the SoHo package can be found in Appendix 4.
Two fully estimated costing option are illustrated in Section 3.0 in this report.
Dial-Up Connection
A dial-up connection is needed in order to update the DSS Ltd website content located on the Claranet web-server.
Claranet offers a 24/7 unmetered Internet access account, especially suited to the SoHo users. Freetime Anytime Business, provides the user with a 5:1 user-to-modem ratio (i.e. 1 modem for every 5 users), which minimises the chance of a busy tone and maximises the time online.
A more detailed description of what is included in the Freetime Anytime Business package can be found in Appendix 5.
Anti-Virus Software
Viruses are becoming more common, typically increasing by 1000 per month, and more difficult to avoid. They have the potential to affect PC's worldwide from a single home user to a large networked organisation with many PC’s.
An anti-virus software program is necessary to be installed on the specified networked PC located in the DSS Ltd office to prevent virus attacks. With the amount of malicious viruses about, it is important to ensure that the anti-virus software is up to date and running to detect any viruses that may be circulating.
The McAfee VirusScan Online is recommended, which automatically checks for virus updates, in order to protect the system from new viruses. This option will be included in the two fully estimated costing option illustrated in Section 3.0 in this report.
Software Upgrades
DSS Ltd are recommended to consider upgrading from Michrosoft Windows 98 to Windows 2000/XP and Internet Explorer 6. This is due to security reasons and the benefits of stability.
Costing Options
Two fully estimated costing option are illustrated in table ? for DSS Ltd company. Both include one license of Actinic Catalog 4 and Claranet as hosting solution. The budget for each option is set to a maximum of £2,000.
Estimated Costing For The First Year
Estimated costing for the second year
Conclusions and Recommendations
Both of the options are appropriate for the DSS Ltd company, which neither exceed the e-Commerce project budget of maximum £2000.
Due to the fact that sufficient computer literate is not provided by the DSS Ltd a training program is necessary. Depending on the gained knowledge at the training day, the option of whether to undertake the Actinic Extra Cover or not can be decided on.
Operating System upgrade to Windows 2000/XP is recommended, but not necessary. If a great confident with Windows 98 is present, the upgrade should be made.
The choice of dial-up connection between modem and ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is depending on the development of the e-Commerce web site.
Appendix 1 – Actinic Catalog 4
Appendix 2 – WorldPay Fees
Considering the following assumptions:
25% Debit Card, 75% Credit Card; Debit Card orders based on £0.25; Credit Card orders based on 2.25%, 1 year with the PSP and an amount of 50 individual order per month with a monthly turnover of £ 8000.
This will result in £140 plus £50 setup fee.
Appendix 3 – Actinic Catalog Web Hosting Package
Actinic Catalog Package
Web hosting package £399 - 27% off normal Actinic Catalog solution – Save £151
What do you get?
Actinic Catalog software - Specifically designed to enable small and medium-sized
companies to set up an Internet sales channel, Actinic Catalog is an easy to use,
low cost, out-of-the-box solution that incorporates 128bit encryption and an
interface to online payment providers and SSL.
Plus:
- 3.0GB transfer limit per month
- 100 MBs webspace
- 50 POP Boxes
- 75 SMS messages per month
- Unlimited local rate Internet access and email
- Domain name registration (.co.uk, .com, .org, org.uk, .net)
- Business technical support
- Email redirection, filtering and responders
- Web based email access
- Account control Interface
- Group aliases
- RAID hosting (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)
- FTP access
- Graphical webstats on site traffic
- Raw website access logs
- Full CGI capability
- Full UNIX shell account
- Perl, C Compiler and PHP functionality
- Website access control (password protected)
Optional extras
Actinic Catalog training – £200
Suitable for merchants wishing to gain a basic understanding of Actinic Catalog,
this one day intensive training course provides you with the knowledge and skills
necessary to use Actinic Catalog to a basic level. Learn how to create your own
business settings, such as company terms and conditions, contact information
and warranties, and to create files in a spreadsheet to build data for importing.
Actinic extra cover – £250
With online sales depending upon your e-Commerce software, extra cover offers all
round peace of mind, priority access to the technical team at Actinic – with a 2 hour
response time for critical issues, and free software version upgrades during the
period of cover.
What does it cost?
Please note
12 month minimum contract
After initial contract period prices revert to normal pricing structure
This offer is only valid until February 8th 2002
Payment service facilities also available
To discuss the benefits available for your business and which package is best suited to your needs, please contact a member of our business services team on 0845 3552000 or email
Appendix 4 – Clarahost SoHo Package
Clarahost SoHo Package
The benefits:
Scaleable – 100MBs of webspace and a 3GB monthly transfer limit.
Secure – The package has SSL for secure website hosting.
Excellent service – Full business support.
User Friendly – An account control interface keeps you in control.
Cost Effective – A simple low annual payment with no set up fees.
Advanced Features – Allowing you to handle sophisticated tasks.
Numerous Web Tools – Counters, hassle-free web page updating,
SMS messaging from your email account to you mobile.
Claranet recommends for:
SoHo and SME customers that are looking for a professional solution
without a large financial commitment.
- 3.0GB transfer limit per month
- 100 MBs webspace
- 50 POP Boxes
- 75 SMS messages per month
- Unlimited local rate Internet access and email
- Full newsgroup access
- Email redirection
- Email filtering
- Email responders
- POP3 email delivery
- Web based email access
- Account control Interface
- Group aliases
- RAID hosting (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)
- FTP access
- Frontpage extension support
- Graphical webstats on site traffic
- Raw website access logs
- Secure website hosting (SSL)
- Default CGI scripts (includes guestbook, counter and formmail scripts)
- Full CGI and Perl capability
- Full UNIX shell account
- Perl
- C Compiler
- PHP functionality
- Business technical support
- Local search engine
- Website access control (password protected)
- Domain name registration (.co.uk, .com, .org, org.uk, .net)
How much does it cost?
Appendix 4 – Claranet Freetime Anytime Business
Freetime Anytime Business
Claranet can now offer you Freetime Anytime Business – a new 24/7
unmetered Internet access account, especially suited to the home worker or
SoHo user. Available for a flat rate of £24.99 per month, the service has a user
to-modem ratio of 5:1 (i.e. 1 modem for every 5 users) This minimises the
chance of a busy tone and maximises your time online.
To qualify for this account you must have a BT phone line.
Freetime Anytime Business is not intended to be a permanent connection,
it is a contended service with a user to modem ratio of 5:1.
As well as unlimited Internet access, with each account you’ll get unrestricted
newsgroup access, unlimited email addresses and unlimited access to our
games servers amongst many other features.
With Freetime Anytime Business you receive:
- Unlimited Internet access
- 5:1 user-to-modem ratio
- Unlimited e-mail addresses
- 50Mb webspace
- Comprehensive newsgroup coverage
- Dedicated - 24 hour technical support charged at local call rates
- No restrictions to online services such as IRC, ICQ and Napster
- Access to online gaming servers
How much does it cost?
