eFusion Launches ASP Services For E-Commerce Companies And
ISPs
eFusion Inc. has unveiled an application service provider (ASP)
business model for the deployment of a set of market-ready online voice
services for e-commerce companies and Internet service providers (ISPs).
The company has added a new business model to enable the provision of an
array of applications and services on a pay-per-use basis. As an ASP,
eFusion aimed to overcome the problems associated with the mainstream
deployment of online communication services and plans to place enhanced
Internet telephony services within the reach of e-commerce companies and
ISPs. The new service model includes eFusion�s Push to Talk (PtT)
technology, designed to enable PC users on the Internet to make calls to a
standard telephone or to a sales agent without interrupting their Internet
session. Internet consumers can browse a Web site, click a Push to Talk
button, watch and listen to interactive multimedia while in queue and then
be connected directly to an agent. The other element of the new business
model is called Suite Adeline Internet Call Assistant, eFusion�s ASP
solution for ISPs. It provides subscribers with various call management
options and helps service providers remain competitive, differentiate
their services, reduce subscriber churn, create an additional revenue
stream and attract new customers. Suite Adeline was designed to add value
for consumers with just one phone line and who spend time on the Internet:
dial-up customers, telecommuters and SOHO (small office/home office)
workers. Users can monitor and manage their communications from the PC
without incurring the added expense of a second phone line.
No. 500, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo
eShare Announces Expressions 4.1
eShare Technologies, a provider of unified Web and telephony
customer communication solutions, has announced the release of Expressions
Interaction Suite 4.1. Expressions is a real-time chat and threaded
discussion solution that helps enable users to build an online community
by offering virtual meetings, live training, moderated events and social
chat. Enhancements to version 4.1 include integration with Verity search
technology, which helps provide users with the ability to initiate more
accurate message board searches using multiple search criteria; Microsoft
IIS integration, which enables site developers to integrate Expressions to
take advantage of the enhanced features of IIS, such as improved security,
scalability and dynamic Web site traffic analysis; and better diagnostic
logging and querying tools, which allow an administrator to enable
multiple server activity logging options, allowing for more comprehensive
diagnosis of the server.
No. 501, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo
eFORCE Partners With Intraware For E-Business Consulting
eFORCE, an electronic business solutions integrator, has announced
that it has joined the Intraware Solution Provider Network (ISPN), an
online network of Internet consulting firms that provide Intraware
customers with a single source for locating and selecting customized
e-business consulting services. The partnership aims to help both
companies provide their mutual customers with a complete e-commerce
solution from software research, evaluation, procurement and maintenance
to software and solution implementation. Intraware positions itself as an
IT e-marketplace for Web-based software and services. Members of the ISPN
undergo evaluation of their delivery capability, market coverage, vertical
and functional expertise and methodology robustness.
No. 502, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo
Intellectronix Announces New Web Portal Management Tool
Intellectronix LLC, an Internet software startup company, has
announced it has released a new Web content management system called URL
Portfolio Manager. URL Portfolio Manager (UPM) helps collect, index,
search, sort, distribute and manage large databases or portfolios of
uniform resource locators (URLs). One of UPM�s major applications is the
creation and management of large-scale Web directories and product
catalogs. UPM is aimed at e-businesses such as business-to-business or
consumer Web portals, large companies, government agencies, schools and
small businesses. The product may also be used by individual users such as
Webmasters, researches, analysts, information brokers, database
developers, students, independent contractors, data managers and other
general users who manage industrial quantities of URLs and Web content.
No. 503, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo�54
Peregrine Systems Announces Technology Alliance With
Keynote
Peregrine Systems, Inc., a provider of infrastructure management
software and solutions, and Keynote, a provider of Internet performance
measure- ment, diagnostic and consulting services, have announced a
strategic alliance to deliver enterprise solutions that integrate Keynote�s
Perspective service with Peregrine Systems ServiceCenter consolidated
service desk suite of applications. As a Peregrine Systems Technology
Connections Alliance partner, Keynote will measure end user experiences on
e-commerce sites to assist e-commerce companies in solving the problem of
loss of business due to poor response times. According to independent
research, consumers will abandon e-commerce Web sites that fail to respond
in eight seconds. This drop-off rate can lead to economic repercussions
for e-commerce companies that do not monitor Web performance or have the
proper tools for quickly identifying problems and implementing controlled
solutions. Keynote Perspective was designed to provide continuous
measurement of e-commerce Web sites to detect, locate and provide near
real-time analysis of problems the moment they occur. These alerts
automatically generate a ServiceCenter problem ticket, helping enable
personnel to isolate and correct anything from a minor timeout to a major
slowdown and increase the reliability of e-business and IT infrastructure.
No. 504, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo�
PanaSite Software Introduces Web Site Content Management
Software Product
PanaSite Software, Inc. has announced its newest Web site content
management software product, PanaSite Enterprise. PanaSite Enterprise was
designed to help build relationships and achieve efficiencies by linking
an organization�s online business with its customers, suppliers and
distributors using a simple process to keep information current. The
product helps enable multiple contributors across an organization to
define, create, manage and publish Web site content via controlled
processes, then share that content with everyone in the chain of
communication. It simplifies Web site management first by separating
content from design and organizing information into content data types
that can be used to publish to any page on a Web site. It then allows
administrators freedom to define the content data types to suit the needs
of the organization and the types of information being presented.
Enterprise sends e-mail to content contributors requesting updates;
contributors click on their update items and enter new content or
modifications via a customized template. The modified content is then
inserted automatically into the appropriate Web pages, where the
contributor can preview them in real-time. When the contributor finalizes
and submits the new content, e-mail is automatically generated to initiate
the management approval process.
No. 505, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo
Online Retailers Find Bad Service More Damaging To Dot
Coms Than Brick-And-Mortars
E-tailers who fail to create a positive customer service
experience face double the risk of permanently driving away business when
compared with their brick-and-mortar counterparts, according to new
research from Synchrony Communications, a provider of Web-based CRM
solutions for e-business. Based on data from the 1999 holiday shopping
season, the study, commissioned by Synchrony and conducted by Service
Industry Research System (SIRS), found 24 percent of Web shoppers stated
that they would never again shop sites where they encountered their worst
experience. By comparison, only 12 percent of consumers were permanently
driven from brick-and-mortar retailers by similar experiences. Nearly half
of respondents said they would probably not or definitely never shop again
at the site of their worst online experience. Among survey results, 62
percent of shoppers said that customer service quality has �a lot� of
influence on which sites they shop. Ease of navigating a merchant�s Web
site and the timely delivery of purchases were cited as the two most
weighing factors in consumers� favorable or unfavorable views of the e-tailers.
No. 507, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo
Accesspoint Introduces Universal Shopping System
Accesspoint Corporation, a manufacturer of e-commerce transaction
solutions, has announced the release of its Universal Shopping System. The
free solution integrates with Accesspoint�s Transaction Manager service
and was designed to allow companies to quickly and easily embed shopping
and transaction proc-essing technologies into their Web sites. The product
aims to allow sites that function as only electronic brochures to be
upgraded into fully functional interactive e-commerce sites, without the
need to change the look of the existing Web site or hire a new Web
developer, host or ISP. Companies using the program enter their product
information into the system once and the program then automatically
generates all of the necessary code for that product�s inclusion
throughout the company�s site, or even on multiple sites. Accesspoint
will also supply customers with a full compliment of transaction
processing services ranging from merchant accounts to online transaction
solutions, which will help enable businesses to accept virtually all forms
of non-cash payment from their clients, including all major credit cards,
ATM/debit cards, checks and Level-III business-to-business.
No. 508, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo
GartnerGroup Forecasts B2B E-Commerce To Reach $7.29
Trillion In 2004
Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce will grow at aggressive
rates through 2004, according to a new report issued by business
technology advisor firm GartnerGroup, Inc. The worldwide B2B market is
forecast to grow from $145 billion in 1999 to $7.29 trillion in 2004. By
2004, GartnerGroup estimates that the B2B e-commerce will represent 7
percent of the forecasted $105 trillion total global sales transactions.
The catalyst for B2B e-commerce is thought to be �e-market maker�
activity. E-market makers are projected to facilitate $2.71 trillion
e-commerce sales transactions in 2004, representing 37 percent of the
overall B2B market, and 2.6 percent of forecasted worldwide sales
transactions. An e-market maker is an organization that develops a B2B,
Internet-based e-marketplace of buyers and sellers within a particular
industry, geographic region or affinity group. GartnerGroup analysts said
e-market makers will have a critical but subtle impact on transactions
that flow through brick and mortars� sell-side initiatives. These
sell-side initiatives are defined as including Extranets, B2B Web
storefronts, EDI and flat file transfer over the Internet, and related
e-commerce activity allowing a seller to leverage the IP network as a
channel to its buyers. The worldwide B2B market is poised for explosive
growth as the market is projected to reach $403 billion in 2000 followed
by $953 billion in 2001. In 2002, the market will increase to $2.18
trillion, and at the end of 2003 worldwide B2B revenue is forecast to
reach $3.95 trillion.
No. 509, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo
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