Two of the online leaders in their respective spaces teamed up Monday to promote business-to-business e-commerce to retail customers.
E-commerce firm Ariba, Inc. (ARBA) and Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) Monday said they will jointly develop e-commerce solutions intended to “lower costs and drive new revenue opportunities.”
Terms of the agreement include the creation of a B2B marketplace portal for Dell’s small- and medium-business customers, powered by Ariba’s B2B eCommerce platform, as well as the integration of Ariba’s procurement product in Dell PowerEdge servers and within Dell’s own company infrastructure.
Also as part of the alliance, Dell has acquired an equity interest in Ariba, though terms were not disclosed.
“The use of the Ariba B2B eCommerce platform as the foundation of the Dell B2B
marketplace will enable Dell to provide their small- and medium-business customers with more efficient
ways to do business, including access to Ariba network commerce services, such as e-payment services
from American Express,” said Larry Mueller, president and chief operating officer, Ariba.
The Dell B2B marketplace is expected to be available to customers in the United States by the third quarter
of this year. Dell PowerEdge servers installed with the Ariba B2B procurement solution will be available in
the second quarter of 2000.
The partnership is part of Dell’s strategy to build its infrastructure. In February, the company launched its Internet Partners Division with the aim of providing servers, storage and services capabilities to enterprises looking to build an online presence.
