The holidays are nearly here - and we hope that the next few weeks will be a sprint to the accomplishment of your year end goals, not a logistics nightmare!

If you’re already one of our AddressDoctor eCommerce Web Service customers, you know first hand the productivity advantages of automatic address corrections. When integrated with your website and call-center, our service frees your internal resources, improving speed in the marketplace. In this edition, our customer AdPepper reports on the advantages of better addresses.

After receiving multiple requests, we’ve summarized in this newsletter what the much used term "Web Service" means. You can also expect to read about exciting new developments for Eastern European business and our new features being rolled out in the Asian market.

Enjoy!

Wishing you success and happy holidays,

In this Newsletter you'll read about:

• News Release: AddressDoctor Improves Asian Coverage
• AddressDoctor Explains: What are Web Services?
• Customer Portrait: AdPepper
• Reseller-portrait: StrikeIron - Market Place for Online Services
• Special: Mail to Estonia
• New ROI Calculators Now Available Online

Processing of Japanese Addresses is Simplified

At the end of September, AddressDoctor introduced new options for processing Japanese addresses, making it possible to correct addresses in both Latin and Japanese characters. The special highlight: Characters are interchangeable. Latin address can be converted to Japanese characters and likewise, Japanese characters can be converted to Latin addresses. This is particularly useful when mail is addressed to Japanese customers. Here is an example:

Besides the improvements made to support Japanese customers, we generally improved our service. For example, we provide better analysis and correction of Brazilian and New Zealand addresses even of poor quality.

Better data quality at lower prices

Web Services are important for the efficient use of the Internet. With them you can combine functions provided by computers on the Web in your own application. These external functions can provide very versatile services, for example the validation of postal addresses.

The advantages are obvious: The quality of each function increases, as a team of specialists is only concerned with their area of expertise. Simultaneously, the time for development of the project decreases, because available components can be used. External services are especially useful when it is not possible to perform them in-house because of the large volume of data required. Tracking applications in logistics are another example for this. The efforts to standardize Web Services in recent years have greatly simplified cross-system usage.

• Most Web Services utilize XML to describe their data system independently, and they often use the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) to identify the service to be used. SOAP wraps a specially formatted XML message in a SOAP envelope that allows the Web Service and Client to exchange messages that contain function calls and return values. A lot of literature has been written about XML, SOAP and Web Services. The "mother" of SOAP is the W3C.
• While SOAP does not define how to actually transport the information from the client to the server and back, the common way is via HTTP or HTTPS over the Internet.
• A Web Service defines the methods it offers through an XML document that conforms to the Web Service Description Language (WSDL). Often the definition of a Web Service is also referred to as its WSDL. A Web Service's WSDL can be used by automatic processes - so called SOAP toolkits - to generate a proxy class on the client side that the developer can use to easily access the Web Service without having to deal with XML or HTTP connections.

Companies and developers who have not had much experience with XML Web Services often ask about security. The easiest way to ensure security is to utilize the transport method's security mechanisms. You can transport your SOAP envelope across a secure SSL connection to ensure the privacy and integrity of the data. Additionally, each Web Service can implement its own method of authenticating clients.

If you want to learn more about Web Services, we will gladly share the sources used by our developers. Write us.

AddressDoctor increases the performance of AdPepper, a leading online media provider

A leading provider of permission marketing and online advertising campaigns, AdPepper facilitates their client’s ability to effectively identify and attract new customers. With updated service information, AdPepper’s clients are able to boost online sales and improve customer relationships.

Established in February of 1999, AdPepper is an international direct sales and marketing organization providing efficient online-marketing solutions. By using the AddressDoctor technology, AdPepper was able to improve the quality and efficiency of their data.

AdPepper, A Prime Standard segment member of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is a leading media, direct marketing and marketing technology company creating group-specific marketing campaigns for its agency and advertiser customers.

“AddressDoctor increased the quality of our campaigns considerably,” reports Ulrich Schmidt, chairman of the board of AdPepper. “The integration was seamless and the system functioned so dependably, we used it in our internal organization as well. As a leading international company, we provide efficient online marketing solutions for a large number of German customers and website partners. Whenever data is captured we test the addresses, ensuring smooth contract settlement and timely payment.”

Test and order AddressDoctor eCommerce online through StrikeIron's market place

Online Web Services provider, StrikeIron, recently added the AddressDoctor eCommerce solution. Software veterans Richard Holcomb and Bob Brauer had this to say, "We believe that Web-based technologies will change the way software is used throughout the world. StrikeIron is pioneering the way Web Services are found, understood, and utilized.”

As one of the first professional portals for Web Services, StrikeIron offers superior functionality compared with other leading SOAP providers. For example, StrikeIron solutions document performance, provide continuous monitoring, and facilitate live testing. AddressDoctor’s eCommerce solution was chosen because it is the only application capable of processing addresses from all over the world.

Click here to read more

Mail to Estonia: Modern Technology, Modern Postal Service

The more than 1.5 million Estonians love modern technology. An economic force in the region with more mobile phones than cable network connections, Estonia is known as the “Baltic Tiger.” With 70% of Estonian exports being received in the European Union. Next to raw materials (wood, textiles, and metal), tourism is a considerable part of their gross domestic product. Because of its geographic proximity to Finland (the capital, Tallinn is only 60 kilometers south of Helsinki), Estonia is a growing market place for northern Europe.

Estonian addresses are formatted as follows:

NAME
THOROUGHFARE_NAME NUMBER
POSTAL_CODE CITY
ESTONIA

A complete address looks like the following example:

Maarja Kuurmaa
APTEEGI 2
10146 TALLINN
ESTONIA

Zip codes in Estonia are always comprised of 5 digits. Estonia consists of 15 provinces; however they should not be included in the address.

Evaluate the financial importance of accurate addresses by visiting the AddressDoctor website where five new online calculators have been added.

Determine your ROI using these free calculators:

• Accounting
• Customer service and call center
• Direct marketing and mailings
• eCommerce (Online-shops, contact forms and logistics)
• Fraud prevention (credit and reward programs)