IBM Creates Interior Design Solution
IBM announced Monday that its WebSphere, DB2, and DB2 Everywhere, combined with xSeries servers, are powering City Furniture's Academy of Design, a unique multi-channel retail solution.
The company's center for e-business innovation in Atlanta helped the furniture and design service center develop a custom business model and innovative applications for design kiosks in the Florida stores, as well as a Web site that will allow customers to add, view and change design details, based on budgets, schedules and personal style. IBM is also providing ThinkPad notebooks loaded with custom applications – for floor plans, palettes, budgets, materials and suppliers – for house calls.
The application is built on Rational Rose XDE Developer for J2EE and Rational Application Developer. It was tested in a pilot program in 2005 and is planned for 21 stores this year.
Keith Koenig, City Furniture president, said the solution was a first of its kind in the home furnishings industry.