Platform Architecture

In developing its Web Publishing Platform, inteRAD sought to help hosts to achieve three key objectives:

• reduce maintenance costs and down time
• deliver signficiant customer benefits and opportunities for differentiation, to maximize customer retention and new customer sign-ons
• drive a higher average customer dollar spend

Four key goals underpin the product design:

• to ensure complete open standards compliance, to ensure easy integration, extensibility, and scalability
• to maintain maximum simplicity, to ensure both reliability and usability
• to ensure the highest possible level of security, both for hosts and for their customers
• to develop a vision of future industry directions and technology potential, and innovate to accommodate future needs ahead of competitors

Automated Application Deployment

Because all data is stored in an open SQL manner, new modules can be added by simply dragging and dropping a standard J2EE compliant servlet into the Tomcat deployment context. Thus, modules supplied by third party providers, as well as custom developed web services, can be easily added to the list of modules available for addition to user sites via menu selection and point and click configuration. Developers will not need obtain and adhere to a specific API when creating new web services.

By facilitating module addition and configuration by non-technical users via external access, the risk of error damaging platform configuration files is significantly reduced, slashing network administration costs for the HSP.

Assists Management of Apache Tomcat Platforms and Drives Cost Reductions

Apache Web Server holds 63% of the Platform market, and is used by almost all Hosting Service Providers, usually with an SQL database.

• Like most Web Appplication Server offerings, Apache Web Server was designed for a world in which web sites comprised static pages.  Web services were not contemplated when platforms were developed.  The use of these platforms for interactive hosting web service offerings, therefore, imposes a need for significant expertise in configuring and maintaining platforms, and implies high error potential in setting up interactive web services.
• If something goes wrong with an Apache/SQL configuration, the error could be in any one of over 300 separate files.
• Errors present in these files as a result of common errors by technicians performing complex configuration tasks to setup new sites or add interactive components to sites.
• Network Maintenance staff wages comprise a significant portion of ongoing operational costs for an HSP. Much of the Maintenance technician's time is spent repairing errors appearing in Apache/SQL files after a new site setup or the addition of new interactive modules to a site.
• Quality Administration Tools can reduce maintenance costs by automating site setups and configuration changes to reduce error potential.
• Some Management Tools, such as InteRAD's WPP, fix Platform costs and reduce network management salary costs, by automating configuration and management tasks and eliminating errors.
• inteRAD's  WPP also drives additional hosting business by delivering significant cost benefits and additional service functionality to the HSP's customers via its Site Maintenance toolset.