Sterling Commerce believes that, while there is still great scope for e-business solutions, no single vendor will be able to deliver an entire solution that enterprise needs to compete on an equal footing in the new economy.
Sterling Commerce is known for its e-business integration software, designed to connect legacy systems with Internet technologies.
However, its partnership with Commerce One in July confirmed that it does not want to be all things to all people. Its current business strategy still includes integration, but its consulting business and e-marketplaces are growing in importance for the company.
"Partnership and 'co-opetition' is the only way to achieve a total solution," believes Gerry Mellett, Sterling Commerce manager for partner territories.
Yet while Sterling and its partners develop new technology, Mellett still sees a place for legacy integration with the new business architecture. "A lot of companies don't bring in their back-end systems properly," he notes. "If you want to increase your slice of the pie, you have to link in your back-end systems."
One of the typical legacy systems being dragged into the new world order by Sterling Commerce's integration software is the enterprise resource planning (ERP) infrastructure.
"ERP is a very important part of the e-business infrastructure. It's a core component, but e-business has moved on. It's looking for tighter business integration now, including integration with external business processes."
Another component of a successful e-business that Mellett identifies is customer relationship management (CRM).
He admits that, despite the importance of this customer-facing tool, his company has yet to form strategic partnerships in this area. "We don't have any strategic relationships with CRM vendors, but I am adamant that CRM should not be underestimated in the e-business strategy."
Supported Software, a company in the Datacentrix Holdings group, and Usko represent Sterling Commerce locally.
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