webMethods, Inc. announced strategic alliances with consulting firms Intelligroup, Inc. and Lante Corporation. As part of their expanding e-commerce practices, these consulting firms will incorporate webMethods B2B into their methodology and provide customers with a broad range of consulting and implementation services to execute B2B e-commerce strategies. webMethods B2B provides a business community integration platform that makes it possible for companies to pursue direct integration with trading partners, while also participating in emerging B2B Marketplaces such as mySAP.com, the Ariba Network and Clarus SupplierUniverse. webMethods B2B utilizes XML and open Web standards, such as RosettaNet, OAG, OBI and ACORD, to connect integrated business communities and enable companies to conduct business over the Internet with minimal stress to corporate resources and existing IT infrastructure. www.webMethods.com
Day: November 22, 1999
Eloquent, Inc., and Gilat Communications Ltd. announced a partnership to offer a joint business communications and distance learning solution. This solution leverages Gilat’s live broadcast and interactive capabilities and Eloquent’s on-demand rich media capabilities to provide a complete “live to on-demand” business communications and interactive learning platform. Gilat’s TrainNet is an IDL system which enables a live, interactive instructor-led classroom experience by providing full-screen, full-motion video broadcast to classrooms and individual PCs over broadband, LAN or Internet connections. TrainNet also features instantaneous application projection, collaboration tools and feedback buttons that enhance the communication and interaction between teacher and student. The TrainNet platform is a robust and fully scalable solution for both corporate as well as educational institutions. Eloquent’s rich media format-synchronized video, audio, text and graphics-will capture, organize, and archive live TrainNet sessions. Customers can now make TrainNet content available on demand over the Web at typical Internet bandwidths, extending the value of the original broadcast to students, employees, and partners who are not able to attend the live sessions. In addition, personalized, pre-event presentations from Eloquent enable participants with different backgrounds to prepare appropriately for TrainNet sessions. Eloquent’s rich media format and the Eloquent Enterprise Communications Portal Server also enable customers to create a fully searchable and navigable archive of TrainNet materials, extending their useful life and enhancing their value to the organization. www.eloquent.com
The Council for Internet Commerce today announced the opening of the second and final round of voting on the Standard for Internet Commerce, a codification of e-commerce best practices to increase consumer satisfaction, confidence and trust. Through Dec. 6, the public is encouraged to join the council’s founding members in their votes and shaping the content of the commerce standard. Consumers visiting the Commerce Standard site will be able to cast their votes in categories ranging from disclosure practices to customer support, in an easy-to-use multiple choice format. www.commercestandard.com
The e-content company, a division of Interleaf, announced two new additions to their growing roster of e-Partners. Tata Infotech, one of the largest information technology organizations in India, and SDI, a provider of knowledge-based services, will team with the e-content company to provide solutions with BladeRunner, the e-content company’s XML content management solution for e-business. Tata InfoTech and SDI are the most recent addition to the e-content company’s e-Partner Program. In addition to joining as a Consulting Partner, companies may also join as a Technology Provider, Platform Provider, Complementary Software Provider, Reseller, or OEM depending upon their area of expertise. Since it was introduced in January, several companies have joined the e-Partner Program such as Microsoft, NetPerceptions, UWI.Com, and Hewlett-Packard among others. www.xmlecontent.com
Cascade Systems Inc. announced that it has signed a Letter of Agreement to merge with Pindar Systems. The two privately held companies, who expect the transaction to be completed by the end of January, plan to combine their engineering, marketing, and financial resources. E-merchandising represents an explosive market for the new millennium. Pindars’s catalog publishing products combined with Cascades’s e-merchandising technology will provide a powerful e-commerce solution covering web, print and e-mail. The National Retail Federation and International Data Corporation forecasts sales in e-merchandising to grow from $2 billion in 2000 to more than $8 billion in 2003. Although Internet commerce continues to grow at a rapid pace with anticipated revenues of $84 billion by 2004, print catalogs remain a big business. The Direct Marketing Association estimates print catalog sales will grow from $93 billion in 1999 to more than $125 billion by 2004. Both companies recognize the importance of continuity in shared product information databases as the key to effective print and electronic merchandising in the next century. www.cascadenet.com
