IBM has announced the WebSphere Commerce Suite, Marketplace Edition, which enables businesses to create online marketplaces that interact with handheld devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants and pagers.
"The software provides a fully integrated e-commerce solution for integrating buyers and sellers in an electronic marketplace," explains Ilse Cilliers, IBM software executive. "In addition, the software will securely communicate with wireless devices through the support of the Wireless Application Protocol and Short Message Services."
By extending essential business-to-business transactions to wireless devices, participants can remain engaged from anywhere, thereby increasing market efficiency and improving inventory liquidity. For example, bidders can receive notifications on auctions they are participating in - such as a request for higher bid, an outbid notice, or even a winning bid notification - in real-time through a wireless device. This enables exchanges to rapidly move liquid inventory, saving time and money.
The WebSphere Commerce Suite, Marketplace Edition software offers all the functions and tools for building a successful and scaleable marketplace, including various dynamic trading models, such as exchange, RFP/RFQ and auctions. In addition, the solution provides powerful aggregated catalogue, secure membership registration and access control management, as well as easy-to-use business intelligence and reporting functions. Combined with Lotus Sametime, buyers and sellers can communicate and receive online customer assistance to easily exchange goods and services.
The WebSphere Commerce Suite is part of IBM`s WebSphere Software platform, the industry`s most flexible and reliable software platform for building next-generation e-business applications.
Business-to-business online commerce is growing rapidly. The GartnerGroup estimates that over 400 trading markets have been launched to date, and the number will rise to 10 000 by 2002. Over three million sellers are expected to participate in e-marketplaces by that time, with an estimated $438 billion in business-to-business transactions taking place.
"This year alone, hundreds of new e-marketplaces will emerge, changing the way business is done in some of the largest and most traditional industries in the world. This new wave has the potential to fully leverage the Internet`s inherent potential for creating truly dynamic, interactive communities and marketplaces that are exchanging business critical information - from virtually any device," says Cilliers.
"IBM is leading this revolution by offering comprehensive solutions that facilitate all aspects of business-to-business e-commerce. WebSphere Commerce Suite, Marketplace Edition provides the infrastructure and tools that market-makers need to quickly and effectively create a fully functional, scaleable e-marketplace."
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