e-Spirit and BlueSky Join Forces in the US Retail Market: Synergy of FirstSpirit CMS and IBM WebSphere Commerce

Boston, MA, March 07, 2012 --(PR.com)-- e-Spirit Inc., manufacturer of content management system (CMS) FirstSpirit, has a new strategic integration partner in the USA: BlueSky Technology Partners. Based in Noblesville, Indiana, BlueSky is a Smarter Commerce Authorized IBM Premier Business Partner developing ambitious e-commerce projects at medium-sized companies and corporate enterprises on the basis of IBM WebSphere Commerce. With its new partnership, e-Spirit successfully drives its further expansion in the USA and Canada. Jointly with BlueSky and its extensive expertise in the industry, the CMS manufacturer wants to focus its attention on top class companies in the retail market. BlueSky has experience as the first “trained partner” who has integrated FirstSpirit at a known US retail chain.

The CMS as content integration platform for successful online shops
With FirstSpirit as a content integration platform, companies can quickly transform their international web strategies, efficiently manage website content, intranets and extranets, as well as distribute through different channels or integrate in complex portal structures. The seamless integration of the CMS within the leading e-commerce platform, IBM WebSphere Commerce, allows the clients to easily develop and comfortably maintain high-performance and successful e-commerce websites. Thereby the CMS is the central content integration platform permitting quick and easy expansion of the data from the merchant applications with editorial and social content, as well as the integration of marketing instruments. This ensures the optimized editing processes and the quick return on investment.

Best-of-breed strategy through integration of any cloud services
Thanks to the innovative modules, such as the AppCenter for simple integration of any cloud services as well as the flexible and open architecture of FirstSpirit, companies can follow a best-of-breed strategy which permits to select and integrate applications that are suitable for them. In this way the companies can dissolve themselves from the so-called “rip & replace” strategy of many other CMS manufacturers, at which the company’s clients must exchange their entire back end in one swoop and the selection of their applications is limited only to the “purchased” assortment. As an experienced system integrator, BlueSky ensures the individual and seamless integration of FirstSpirit in the existing and desired IT systems.

Synergy of CMS and IBM WebSphere Commerce expertise
The goal of the new partnership is to bring together the technological, integration and industry expertise in the e-commerce environment and to offer, to commercial enterprises, an excellent symbiosis of shop solution, content management system and additional best-of-breed applications which support the success of the online merchant. “We are very happy to have in BlueSky another strategic partner in the USA, which has recognized the unique selling characteristic of FirstSpirit as a real content integration platform and wants to establish it together with us on the market,” says Robert Bredlau - COO North America. “BlueSky has a long and wide experience in the implementation of e-commerce projects on the basis of IBM WebSphere Commerce and also has excellent access to the retail sector.” In parallel to the first project, which is already in operation at one large US retail chain, BlueSky has already trained additional employees and consultants to work with FirstSpirit. “With e-Spirit and its content integration platform, we have finally found, after a long search, the right partner in order to adapt the e-commerce platforms flexibly and efficiently on the basis of IBM WebSphere Commerce to the individual desires and requirements of the clients,” says Todd Irwin, partner and CEO at BlueSky. “In addition, the future-oriented roadmap and the modular expandability of FirstSpirit offers our clients a high level of investment security which is searching for its equal in the US market.”

e-Spirit at the Gartner PCC Summit in Orlando
Clients and interested parties which would like to convince themselves of the flexibility and integration power of the FirstSpirit CMS can do this from March 12-14 2012 at the “Gartner Portals, Content & Collaboration Summit” in Orlando, Florida, where e-Spirit is presented for the first time. Based on the continuously positive development of the company and its convincing best-of-breed strategy, as well as on the basis of the exceptional usability and integration capability of the enterprise portals, Gartner has placed e-Spirit 2011 in the magic quadrant for web content management.

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