Japanese computer giant NEC Corp. has
announced that it will work with US-based Oracle Corp. and
Hewlett-Packard Co., as well as the two companies’ Japan subsidiaries, on development
and sales of Internet business platforms.
This strategic alliance, said NEC, will help the partners to develop
better and quicker solutions for their clients’ Internet business
problems, especially in customer relations.
By year-end, NEC will join with Oracle Japan and HP Japan to establish
an Internet Business Solution Center to share business and technical
know-how with the aim of providing optimum business solutions to
customers in Japan.
From next year, the companies will begin integrating their
Internet-related product, technology, and service support efforts to
promote use of NEC’s 2.7 million member Biglobe Internet service
provider (ISP) and portal site as a core Internet business platform.
“One of the themes of joint development,” said NEC, “is the expansion
and development of ASP business on Biglobe, including e-services.”
While the alliance will be launched first in the Japanese market, the
companies intend to expand their development and sales of
Internet-focused middleware and applications worldwide in a bid to
create a global industry standard for integrated Internet business
solutions.
“Expectations for use of the Internet are high… for creating new
business models [and] improving efficiencies within and outside of
business operations,” said NEC.
“This is a global, comprehensive alliance to provide the most suitable
solutions in the shortest period of time for rapidly growing the
Internet business market.”
In a related move aimed at ensuring businesses have the customer
relationship management (CRM) resources they will need to rapidly and
effectively deploy their Internet operations, NEC will cooperate with
Oracle Corp. and Oracle Japan on evaluating and developing appropriate
CRM solutions for the Japanese market.
NEC will assist in localizing Oracle’s CRM solutions for Japan as well
as promote the use of Oracle CRM solutions within NEC and its it
subsidiaries, particularly for e-commerce operations.
NEC said it will integrate the fruits of the alliance, including
Oracle’s CRM components, into its own newly announced iBestSolutions
Internet software and services offerings.
NEC last week released the first of its iBestSolutions products,
including packages targeted at the telecom, financial, manufacturing,
construction, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and chemical industries.
By March 2000, NEC intends to introduce 24 kinds of iBestSolutions
offerings to meet the Internet-related needs of nearly every type and
size of business, from SOHO through enterprise.
NEC’s iBestSolutions products are classified into three categories:
customized iBestSolutions.Enterprise software and services, packaged
iBestSolutions.Suite software, and iBestSolutions.Platform business
services.
NEC said it expects iBestSolutions-related sales to reach to 1.2
trillion yen (US$11.4 billion) in fiscal year 2001.
