Industry News
FileNet and Interwoven weave talents together
Partnership to address managing content from diverse sources
Taking aim at the insurance, financial services, healthcare, government, manufacturing, utilities and telecommunications sectors, FileNet and InterwovenInterwoven have formed a partnership to accelerate the rate at which enterprises can leverage their corporate content onto the Web.
The companies have begun joint product development efforts based on a comprehensive product integration road map. Both sales and marketing organizations will begin efforts to work together with customers and in key channels in the United States, Europe and Asia.
"The joint solution breaks down the barriers between corporate and Web-only content and allows customers to leverage all knowledge, regardless of type or source repository, into a competitive asset on the Web," said Martin Brauns, Interwoven president. "Getting timely and compelling corporate content to the Web remains a challenge for many companies. Customers will now have increased access to valued corporate assets with the integration of FileNet's products and Interwoven TeamSite."
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Under terms of a purchasing agreement, eGain will acquire Inference in exchange for common stock. The move is said to unite eGain's strength in Web-based, multichannel customer communications with Inference's customer profiling and contact center support capabilities.
Officials at eGain say the acquisition "represents another important step in eGain's strategy to extend its leadership in building customer-centric interactive enterprises for Global 2000 and emerging dot.com businesses." The move more than doubles the size of its global sales, integration and development organization and customer base and will dramatically expand its European business, and add critical new product and technology components to its powerful platform for customer communications and interaction.
The merger is valued at approximately $78.6 million based on the average closing price of eGain's common stock over the 20 trading days ending on March 15. Under the terms of the agreement, Inference shareholders will receive 0.1865 shares of eGain common stock for each share of Inference common stock. This exchange ratio is subject to adjustment if the average closing price of eGain's common stock is above or below specified ranges. Upon completion, Inference stockholders will own approximately 5.5% of eGain's fully diluted common stock. The merger is subject to Inference stockholder and government regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed within the next 90 days.
According to an International Data Corp.), the global customer call center service market will more than double by 2003, reaching an estimated $58.6 billion, including consulting, service and outsourcing. In addition, IDC estimates spending for e-support solutions will jump dramatically from under $2 billion in 1998 to over $14 billion in 2003.
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IMR and Captiva Software announce A strategic alliance and marketing agreement under which Captiva will use IMR's new Application Programming Interface (API) to integrate its FormWare software with IMR's Alchemy system. FormWare provides document scanning, image enhancement, image and data quality assurance, and data capture. IMR supplies image, storage retrieval and access systems for creating and managing databases.
The integrated system lets customers capture, index and retrieve business documents, forms, COLD reports and 250 types of electronic documens. Queries, using Windows clients or Web browsers, can use form fields and full-text searches to retrieve any document stored in the Alchemy database.
"Users will benefit from this pairing through easier implementation and one standard interface," says Tony Caputo, VP of sales at Captiva.
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Hewlett-Packard will bundle storage management software from Yosemite Technologies with its SureStore family of tape drives.
The deal gives Yosemite a chance to demonstrate TapeWare's benefits in storage devices from a leading manufacturer.
HP gains comprehensive backup technology and additional support for its new One-Button Disaster Recovery feature, which returns a server or desktop system to its normal operational state following a crash.
The software from Yosemite also provides SureStore customers with the ability to back up Linux servers and workstations.
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Management and human resources consulting firm Towers Perrin will implement Authoria's intercommunications product, Authoria HR. Authoria provides Web-ready knowledgebase applications to help employers communicate with employees via HR self-service and call centers. The partnership gives customers access to Towers Perrin's HR and benefits knowledge, as well as to its expertise in supporting corporate strategy through human resource re-engineering.
"The Web is the primary way companies reach out to their employees and share information," says Thomas Keebler, principal of Towers Perrin. "With Authoria HR, employers enter the 21st century by gaining a tool that allows them--from one central database-driven source--to support their internal HR service centers and automate employee communication without sacrificing personalized service."
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E-business solutions provider Xcelerate is using Intraspect's c-business technology to manage its corporate information. The company is using Intraspect Knowledge Server (IKS) worldwide to handle staff expertise, client histories and information on competitors and customers. Xcelerate also plans to extend IKS functionality to clients and partners.
"Rapid access to corporate knowledge and the easy exchange of timely information give us an edge over competitors," says Jim Butler, client partner at Xcelerate. "We save time and money by sharing and reusing information on best practices and ultimately deliver a higher quality of service to our customers."
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Creating opportunities beyond its traditional markets has led document service provider Altris Software to unveil a new business unit, DocDepo.com. Altris uses its new e-business product as the core software for DocDepo, which delivers documents over the Internet using the application service provider (ASP) model.
"The ASP market has emerged as one of the fastest growth segments in the IT industry," says Kenneth Chin, research director of Document Software Technologies for GartnerGroup. "As companies look to outsource their document and content management services, partnering with ASPs will provide organizations with significant benefits such as quicker applications deployment, more predictable cost structure and simplified maintenance."
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Agile Software announces a strategic partnership with SupplierMarket.com, an Internet marketplace for buying and selling custom manufactured products. The two will link MyAgile.com to SupplierMarket.com's online marketplace. MyAgile.com is a business portal offering e-services for manufacturing supply chain collaboration. The agreement with SupplierMarket.com enables MyAgile.com users to post product specifications for custom components in an Internet-based request for quote with one click.
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To expand its offerings in the mid-tier enterprise resource planning (ERP) market, MAPICS finalized plans to acquire Pivotpoint, a privately held applications and e-business solutions provider headquartered in Woburn, MA. MAPICS develops enterprise business applications for midsized manufacturers.
Terms of the acquisition include the purchase of all Pivotpoint shares and payment of debt for a total of $48 million in cash. MAPICS reported revenues of $134.7 million for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, while Pivotpoint estimates total revenues of more than $25 million for 1999.
FleetBoston Financial, through its subsidiary BankBoston, announced that it has provided $55 million in revolving and term loan credit to MAPICS to support its acquisition of Pivotpoint.
With the acquisition, MAPICS expands its offerings across multiple platforms, including Windows NT, Unix, Linux and AS/400. Pivotpoint gains access to MAPICS' worldwide network of affiliate sales organizations.
As part of the merger, Steve Haley, Pivotpoint's president and CEO, will assume the new position of chief operating officer of MAPICS.
"This is a smart strategic move for both companies," says Bruce Richardson, senior VP of AMR Research. "It combines two compatible cultures that have strong ERP products and e-business strategies. Each can leverage the other's sales channels and complementary vertical markets. This is clearly a case where the whole is stronger than the individual parts."
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Online grocery shopping company HomeRuns.com is using data management software from Ardent Software as a component of its customer service program. Ardent's DataStage data integration infrastructure allows HomeRuns.com to measure purchasing trends and respond by offering programs that better meet customer needs.
"DataStage enables us to analyze buying habits, which in turn allows us to better serve our customers," says Ray Giandrea, VP of IT for HomeRuns.com. "For instance, if we see an increased demand for a certain type of item, we can increase the variety of brands or introduce similar foods we think will interest customers."
HomeRuns.com delivers online grocery shopping through the company's Internet storefront or from a catalog containing more than 7,000 grocery items, including fresh meats, produce and dairy. Orders are placed via the Internet, phone or fax, and delivered the next day.
"The relationship between Ardent and HomeRuns.com is a good example of the convergence of data warehouse and business intelligence tools with Web technologies," says Pete Fiore, VP of Ardent Software.