Bank of America Monday teamed with BroadVision Inc. to form an intranet
firm that will create an online portal offering goods and services to workers over corporate networks.
Though financial terms were not disclosed, Bank of America
and BroadVision will be the primary initial investors in
the company. Other alliance members include Hewlett-Packard Co. and Amadeus
Global Travel Distribution.
Built with BroadVision’s technology, the portal will provide
employees of subscriber companies with access to tools and information,
including workplace communications, training, benefits, financial services,
travel services, industry news, stock quotes and electronic commerce.
Bank of America will be the primary provider of banking and financial
services offered, creating a new distribution channel and revenue opportunity for
the bank. BroadVision will license its One-To-One suite of applications to
the new company, and supply maintenance and support services.
The BroadVision technology was developed with HP and is initially available
on the HP-UX platform. HP will be the primary supplier of IT infrastructure
products and services for the new company and its clients. Travel provider Amadeus will offer corporate travel procurement
applications with self-service travel options, including online booking and
ticketing.
With 156,000 associates, Bank of America will provide its domain space
knowledge as one of the nation’s largest private employers to help build
human resources and employee benefits modules for the employee portal
solution.
According to James D. Dixon, bankofamerica.com executive, Bank of America
plans to be the first subscriber company to implement the employee portal
solution for use by its associates.
“This investment and our commitment to implement the B2E portal solution for
our own associates reflects our desire to redefine the employer-employee
relationship.”
The portal will later be made available to employees of the other alliance
members, as well as employees of other companies that subscribe to this
service.
Bank of America and BroadVision anticipate that the new company will begin
operations later this year, but a potential name for the company has not
been tendered. The firms’ decision to form an entire company devoted to the
delivery of complete corporate intranets is a reflection of the growing
importance of solutions for the enterprise sector.
Studies completed by career resource sites such as JobTrack.com and WetFeet.com have found that job prospects
list quality of life as one of the important factors in determining what
company to work for. Studies have concluded that intranets and other
corporate portals weigh in as decisive factors for job candidates.
