Xspeedium.com Teams With IBM to Launch Online Trading Exchange; Dot-com ASP Selects IBM Servers, Software and Services to Build e-business

Business Wire, April 5, 2000

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

FREDERICK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2000

Application service provider Xspeedium.com has announced that it has launched a new business-to-business Web trading exchange supported by a complete IBM solution that includes powerful RS/6000 servers, Domino R5 application development software and IBM Global Services expertise.

The Xspeedium.com marketplace will bring together buyers and sellers within a common vertical industry and facilitate the real-time transfer of information, money and goods.

Xspeedium.com makes supply chain management (SCM) and customer relationship management (CRM) applications available to small and medium-sized businesses over the Internet in a hosted application model.

Launched on March 20, the new Web Site acts as a marketplace for companies to buy and sell a wide range of business-to-business products online. In addition, customers can use the online portal to lease supply chain, customer relationship management and e-commerce applications that are specifically tailored to small- and medium-sized businesses.

"We make our living on the Web, so our server platform has got to be absolutely rock-solid," said John Schwartz, CEO of Xspeedium. "RS/6000 servers offer the kind of scalability, reliability and security that we need in order to succeed. For messaging and Web-based application development, Lotus Domino is without peer. And IBM Global Services has been invaluable in helping us assemble all the pieces into a powerful solution."

The heart of Xspeedium.com is its trading exchange--an online bazaar that features business-to-business catalogs from companies of all sizes. Customers can buy and sell goods on the site at significantly better margins than normal. In addition, links to other online exchanges from the Xspeedium.com site ensure that customers have the widest selection of products to choose from.

For a low, monthly fee, Xspeedium.com also offers integral applications such as Shipment Notifier, Supply Notifier, A/R Collector, Customer Self-Service, E-Procurement, Web Storefront, Order Acknowledgment and Vendor-Managed Inventory specifically tailored for small-and medium-sized businesses. Each of these applications can be configured to access data from all of the popular legacy applications, including SAP, JD Edwards, Baan, and Great Plains. In the typical customer scenario, within one hour, any one of the Xspeedium applications can be in use, delivering value by writing simple database queries that can generate required reports.

C.R. Daniels, a manufacturer of industrial and consumer products, uses Xspeedium.com software to alert customers by e-mail when orders have been processed and shipped, as well as providing other product tracking information. "Using Xspeedium.com, we have been able to improve customer satisfaction and increase productivity," said Gary Abel, president and CEO of C.R Daniels. "As a result, the numbers of inbound customer service calls has been greatly reduced."

"IBM is helping Xspeedium.com to take the information technology burden off of small and medium-sized businesses," said Tim Dougherty, ebusiness segment manager, IBM Web Server unit. "The trend toward application serving allows companies to take full advantage of e-business while focusing on their core business practices."

About Xspeedium.com

Xspeedium.com is a dynamic business-to-business marketplace and application service provider that offers small- to mid-sized companies rapid entry into the Internet economy. Through a standard Internet browser, Xspeedium.com subscribers gain pay-as-you-go access to advanced business applications for supply chain management, customer relationship management and e-commerce. Xspeedium.com has developed a strategic relationship with IBM to ensure the best possible hardware, software and business methodology for companies that would otherwise lack the resources required for true e-commerce.

About IBM RS/6000

More than 1,000,000 IBM RS/6000 systems have been shipped to over 150,000 Commercial and technical customers around the world. The RS/6000 family of computers feature IBM RISC-based microprocessors and run AIX, IBM's UNIX operating system. RS/6000 delivers the industry's most complete UNIX offerings by combining applications with hardware, software, service and support--a combination that yields new levels of high availability, scalability, system management, performance, and Deep Computing capabilities.

IBM, AIX, and RS/6000 are trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM Corporation. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective company or organization.