Webb Interactive Services announced a licensing agreement of the AccelX commerce solution with VetConnect.com, a comprehensive B2B portal targeting more than 20,000 veterinary clinics and animal hospitals worldwide. With AccelX VetConnect will target more than 20,000 veterinary clinics and animal hospitals worldwide.
Through advanced XML and communication technologies, Webb's AccelX solutions will help VetConnect clients communicate and build relationships with their customers as well as suppliers. Veterinarians will be able to create low-cost Websites, generate e-mail leads and learn customer demographics through AccelX, available as an ASP or through a license agreement.
AccelX will help VetConnect, a subsidiary of Idexx Laboratories, Inc., to facilitate information flow and build e-relationships between veterinarians, their customers and suppliers. Through its relationship with Idexx and other leading veterinary product and service providers, VetConnect is designed to service more than 80 percent of the veterinary practices and hospitals in the U.S. and internationally.
VetConnect.com is a prime example of the type of Internet vertical portals that are expected to increase exponentially in the next few years. According to a recent Gartner Group estimate, 300 Internet-based marketplaces were launched in the first half of 1999, serving industries such as chemicals, electronics, food services, office supplies and steel. Gartner's research estimates that number will jump to 10,000 within a two year period with the worldwide B2B market forecasted to grow from $145 billion in 1999 to $7.29 trillion in 2004.
