[Toronto, CANADA] – Andersen Consulting and Epylon Corp., a provider of hosted eBusiness solutions for education and government institutions, signed a global alliance to deliver eProcurement solutions tailored to the public sector.
AC Ventures, the venture capital unit of Andersen Consulting, has purchased a minority stake in Epylon.
Epylon has developed a set of public sector procurement tools including eQuote, which produces a price quote for buyers based on the criteria specified. Epylon’s tools also integrate standard auditing functions into the eProcurement process.
Under a separate agreement, Epylon will use Ariba software for the Andersen Consulting-Epylon eProcurement solutions. The three firms plan to collaborate on related business development, marketing and product development support activities.
“Providing eProcurement solutions for educational and other public sector institutions presents a huge market opportunity. We are excited by the potential to leverage Epylon’s current position into a leadership position in this market,” said Barry Cater, an AC Ventures partner.
The Andersen Consulting Global Government and Higher Education Services
Group will work with institutional buying organizations to customize and integrate Epylon’s eBusiness technologies with existing public sector client infrastructures. The firm will also train purchasing professionals on this tailored eProcurement solution.
“This alliance with Epylon represents an opportunity to develop solutions that help the public sector align its procurement processes with those of the commercial sector,” said Dave Seibel, Andersen Consulting’s Managing Partner for Canada.
“Both Andersen Consulting and Ariba bring a unique perspective and world-class value proposition to the public sector,” said Stephen George, founder and chief executive officer of Epylon. Epylon’s eProcurement solution is designed entirely around the needs of public sector purchasing professionals.