IBM announced an agreement with Extricity Inc. wherein IBM will license and integrate the Extricity B2B software platform with the next version of IBM’s WebSphere Business-to-Business Integrator. As a result of this agreement, the enhanced product will help companies and electronic marketplaces automate the flow of information and business processes among groups of businesses on the Internet, saving time, money and improving competitiveness and responsiveness. IBM will license the Extricity B2B software platform as an integrated component of the WebSphere BtoB Integrator. The Extricity B2B software platform allows companies to automate the flow of information among groups of businesses by integrating and extending applications and business processes to work with those of their partners. The inclusion of Extricity’s technology in WebSphere BtoB Integrator will help customers to easily build B2B business process management solutions that will span functional and organizational boundaries. This integration further complements the IBM, Ariba and i2 alliance by providing an integration platform with additional B2B process management capabilities. This agreement will help traditional companies extend their supply chain for proactive process management between enterprises and help e-marketplaces facilitate buying and selling among industry consortiums. www.ibm.com/software/websphere/, www.extricity.com