At Perspectives 2005, TDCI outlined plans for BuyDesign 5.0 - a whole new generation of the BuyDesignT Product Customization Management solution suite. The new release will include a substantially enhanced user interface and application architecture, a new application for remote, synchronized deployment of BuyDesign, and a new application for integrated usage of BuyDesign Control Center within AutoCAD for architects and designers.

BuyDesign 5.0

Targeted for availability in mid-2006, BuyDesign version 5.0 will have a software architecture based completely on Microsoft .NET. This new architecture will enable delivery of dramatic new enhancements in terms of ease-of-use and flexibility of deployment.

Ease-of-Use Enhancements

Taking advantage of powerful .NET capabilities, BuyDesign 5.0 will provide a far more flexible and powerful user interface, as well as a number of specific new features. Some of these new features are:

• Order sheet selection and configuration - a completely new paradigm for more rapidly entering and configuring products for a quote or order. Rather than selecting and adding all products to the shopping cart and then configuring each one, this optional approach allows immediate entry of primary configuration attributes along with the products. The configuration engine performs the configuration process in the background as the user rapidly moves through product selection, requesting additional user input only if additional configuration is required. A new rules definition capability called 'configuration attribute management' enables this feature as well as other new capabilities.



• Multi-tasking usage model - the ability to have multiple active transactions open at the same time. With version 5.0, BuyDesign will allow a user to work on multiple quotes at the same time, leaving one quote to work on another and return later to complete the first. Similarly, the user could leave an in-process order, perform an inquiry - maybe to answer a phone request - and come back later to complete entry of the order. This capability will dramatically increase productivity in the sometimes hectic dealer/distributor environment.



• User experience self-management - the ability for users to easily tailor the system to 'work the way they do'. With BuyDesign 5.0, individual users and system administrators will be able to customize the user interface, flow, prompts, etc. to work exactly the way that is easiest for particular users. For instance, a novice user may have a very prompted, methodical flow with lots of 'tips' and other aids, while an experienced user might have a very rapid flow requiring just the entry of key data. A given user might evolve over time from one approach to another.

BuyDesign 5.0 will contain a number of other ease-of-use capabilities designed to make you, the manufacturer, 'easy to do business with' from the point of view of your dealers, distributors, and sales reps. Watch for more details on this important aspect of the BuyDesign solution over the coming months.

Innovative New Configuration Capabilities

BuyDesign 5.0 will also introduce powerful new industry-leading configuration capabilities, including:

• Combined 'rules-based' and 'constraints-based' configuration engine - the ability to define a given item's configuration process using the best combination of traditional rules and new constraint definitions. Defined constraints will enable the configuration engine to dynamically filter available feature combinations, showing only those features and options that are valid based on previously answered questions. This will eliminate situations where a user might pick two conflicting features and not be told the combination is invalid until the end of the configuration process. By combining the best of rules and constraints processing, the speed of configuration will be kept high - eliminating the common problem of a constraints-only engine.



• Stand-alone BuyDesign Configuration Service - the ability to deploy the BuyDesign Control Center configuration engine in support of just about any stand-alone application running on a windows platform. This opens the door to an even wider range of opportunities for the use of BuyDesign configuration services within packaged or custom-developed applications. For instance, this capability will be leveraged to allow seamless use of BuyDesign configuration services with the popular AutoCAD product as described below.

New BuyDesign Applications

In addition, two exciting new optional modules will be added to the BuyDesign solution suite:

• BuyDesign Desktop - a new version of BuyDesign that can operate stand-alone, detached from the central BuyDesign solution (which will now be called BuyDesign Online). This new application will operate just like BuyDesign Online except that it will not require constant Internet connectivity. This will be ideal for mobile laptop deployment and/or usage by dealers without full-time Internet service. Synchronization of data and program updates will be performed periodically using an advanced process that works much like Microsoft's automated, virtually fool-proof update process for Windows and Office applications.
  
  
• BuyDesign for AutoCAD - An AutoCAD plug-in of the BuyDesign configuration services that enables architects, designers, and layout specialists identify and configure a manufacturer's products as an integral part of the AutoCAD design process. The products can then be called out for electronic import into BuyDesign for detail configuration and quoting.

Although these new applications will be developed using the BuyDesign 5.0 architecture, they will actually be available for licensing and deployment earlier. Target availability for these applications is December of this year.

If you were unable to attend Perspectives 2005 and/or you want to learn more about BuyDesign 5.0 and these innovative new BuyDesign applications, contact Shelley Horn at shorn@tdci.com.

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