IBM Continues B2B Lead, Report Says Trio of Industry Powerhouses Powers More Than 200 E-Markets

Business Wire, August 17, 2000

Business Editors/Interactive & Multimedia Writers

SOMERS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 2000

Despite aggressive claims by rival Oracle, a research report "The AMR Research Report on E-Commerce Applications, March 2000" suggests that IBM has firmly established itself as the driving force in the creation of e-markets for industries worldwide.

Through an alliance with e-commerce leaders Ariba and i2, IBM recently has won many large worldwide contracts over the past four months to build major exchanges for consortiums such as Volkswagen, e2Open, Rubber Network, Worldwide Retail Exchange, eHospital Europe, Transplace.com, Omnexus, a plastics exchange.

Together the IBM/Ariba/i2 alliance powers more than 200 e-markets worldwide today and has more than 6,000 trained e-markets people, offering an unparalleled, dedicated work force whose sole focus is helping customers deploy and implement e-marketplace solutions.

Companies in many industries are forming Internet 'e- marketplaces', which connect companies and their suppliers online. These marketplaces tie companies together over a common system, allowing them to save time and money. Companies can communicate purchase orders, participate in auctions, make requests for quotes and utilize inventory-tracking systems.

According to AMR's report: "Evaluating the Independent Trading Exchange: The AMR Research Report on E-Commerce Applications, March 2000", the analyst firm identified the IBM/Ariba/i2 alliance as the force powering top e-marketplaces, according to printed results from the research firm's paper.

"While Oracle is fighting alone to gain the market, the trio (IBM Ariba, i2) is partnering with other e-business software providers and therefore gains more functionality and complexity," said AMR Research analyst, Greg Girard. He indicates the IBM/Ariba/i2 consortium is the main player in the continually growing e-marketplace arena. He also suggests that the IBM-led trio will dominate this piece of the industry where the Microsoft, CommerceOne and Andersen Consulting consortium falls short. ("IBM, Ariba and i2 Kick Oracle Out of Retail Exchange Deal", Computergram International , July 14, 2000.)

IBM Corporation

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM Software offers the widest range of applications, middleware and operating systems for all types of computing platforms, allowing customers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. The fastest way to get more information about IBM software is through the IBM Software home page at http://www.software.ibm.com