Background
ETAP's in-house web team, although adept with Sitefinity, was relatively green when it came to e‑commerce and more specifically, Ucommerce. Integrations with custom CRM systems, a need for bolstered resilience and security in their Azure hosting infrastructure, and cumbersome deployment processes only added layers to the intricate challenge. And with a strict deadline looming, ETAP needed a partner not just versed in Sitefinity and Ucommerce, but one that could weave them together seamlessly.
Moreover, ETAP's unique requirement of restricting sales to one webinar at a time, integrating Ucommerce order details with Sitefinity users, and incorporating an unsupported payment gateway Bluesnap called for a tailored approach.
Our Approach
Recognizing the myriad challenges, we dove in headfirst, pooling in:
- A seasoned Sitefinity/Ucommerce engineering team.
- Azure and DevOps specialists to overhaul existing setups.
- Custom integrations for both CRM and Bluesnap payment gateway.
- Ucommerce modifications to align with ETAP's specific sales rules.
- Mentorship sessions, guiding ETAP’s team through development processes and Ucommerce best practices.
TSD’s geographical location, while providing some initial collaboration challenges given the cross-Atlantic dynamic, became an advantage. Regular touchpoints ensured the US-based ETAP team and UK-based TSD team remained in harmony. Deployments were executed over weekends, minimizing disruption and maximizing productivity.
Another curveball was the need to link Sitefinity Events and Ucommerce products. We innovatively extended the Sitefinity Ucommerce admin area, introducing a new editor control. With the added keyword search, administrators could now swiftly select events. Given that Sitefinity's "Sitesync" didn’t natively support Ucommerce product data, we innovated again, crafting a custom solution.
Lastly, when ETAP needed to upgrade their Sitefinity version to ensure compatibility with Ucommerce, we were agile, ensuring this was done smoothly, even if earlier than initially planned.
The Results
With the collaboration of the two teams and TSD's expertise, ETAP transitioned smoothly, launching their revamped e‑commerce platform with virtually zero downtime. The tailored solutions didn’t just meet ETAP’s expectations—they exceeded them. Post-launch, the system ran flawlessly with no reported issues, embodying ETAP’s commitment to excellence and setting the stage for a prosperous digital future.
"After several months of careful evaluation of many different e‑commerce platforms, we decided to purchase Ucommerce. One major factor in selecting Ucommerce was the already tight integration of the e‑commerce package with Sitefinity. The second challenge was choosing a competent and reliable part to implement a new piece of software in a very short time frame, since our in-house web team didn’t have any experience working with Ucommerce.
The evaluation and negotiations took another few months to finalize and we chose to sign with TSD as our integration partner. TSD’s experience with Ucommerce on previous projects and also the developer of the Ucommerce Demo site were just a few of the many evaluation points. The eight-hour time difference was a challenge in the beginning but TSD’s team made up for it in the long run with their professionalism, expertise, and truly well-organized workflows and methodology. Having worked with several consultants since ETAP chose to use Sitefinity as their new CMS in 2015, TSD truly stands out as a solid, reliable partner. We have signed TSD for several new projects starting shortly." Thomas Noack, Director, Integrated Marketing at ETAP
Key Takeaway
The intricate dance of software integration, especially in the e‑commerce realm, requires both expertise and collaboration. This journey with ETAP reaffirms that with the right partnership, even the most complex challenges can be turned into global success stories.
