Rome, ITALY June 28, 2001 EC-Gate and IBM today announced a services and technology agreement to collaborate on providing wireless private e-marketplace solutions to customers of both companies throughout Europe and North America.
As part of the agreement, EC-Gate will integrate Marketplace Suite, their "out of the box" e-marketplace trading platform, with IBM's consulting and systems integration capabilities, e-hosting services and hardware and software products to create a combined offering to medium-sized businesses in several selected industries such as Construction, Food/Perishables and Food related Services.
"Companies around the world are facing increasing demands for real-time communication and more efficient ways to do business. Wireless is a unique capability that is transforming online marketplaces and the business landscape. Enabling companies to connect with their buyers and suppliers in seamless online communities through mobile devices reduces cost, increases efficiencies, extends market reach and delivers bottom line savings throughout the supply chain," said John Kirby, vice president, IBM Global Wireless e-business Services. "The IBM and EC-Gate agreement will provide integrated, tailored, end-to-end e-marketplace solutions to customers that support their business needs. This cooperation significantly enhances our capability to deliver a broad suite of wired and wireless products and services offerings allowing companies to get connected quickly, affordably, with low risk and quick time to benefit."
"IBM is an extremely strong partner for EC-Gate and will provide support in every facet of delivering our Marketplace Suite solution to the market, including middleware, systems integration and eHosting," said Sebastian Kuntz, CEO of EC-Gate. "Over a year ago, EC-Gate added wireless capabilities to EC-Bouw, an integrated supply chain for the Dutch construction industry, via Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). In the second half of this year, EC-Gate, IBM and a number of telco's will roll out a fully operational General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Customers will be able to unite the power of the Internet with the continuous reach and versatility of wireless communications to do business in real-time."
