IntraNet Solutions and Zuno combine products

IntraNet Solutions (Eden Prairie, MN) and Zuno (Waltham, MA) have joined forces to offer a solution to companies looking to make a profit by publishing to the Web. Due out by Q3 '98, the combined product will include the Intra.doc Web-based document management software and Zuno's Z-commerce electronic commerce software. It's designed for companies who want to make their information available on the Web, or e-commerce enable their existing Web sites. "We believe that publishers are looking for easy and affordable ways to profit from selling their publications online," commented Bob Olsen, IntraNet Solutions president and CEO. "This combined technology offering will help them make the transition to e-commerce." Zuno GM Mark Ketzler says the product is aimed at publishers "who want to make a business of selling their publications on the Web."

According to The Delphi Group (Boston), the combination of Zuno's e-commerce software with IntraNet Solution's Web-based document management software will help publishers and businesses of all kinds to overcome some Web publishing hurdles. "An obstacle for many has been the price point and complexity of today's professional-grade e-commerce solutions. Another obstacle is the need to implement a true controlled document environment to support the development and especially maintenance of Web content." Another hurdle, of course, "is how to get paid." While this partnership follows a recent trend to combine e-commerce with traditional document and information management technologies (Optika's eMedia suite comes to mind), Delphi cautions that similar solutions may be aplenty by the time this partnership comes to fruition. "By Q3 '98, everyone from IBM to your local ISP will be trumpeting offerings that at least promise to do the same thing. This will turn into a buyers' market until vendors new and old fight out the functionality and mindshare battles we still need to go through to establish product categories and the new leaders in Web content/delivery management."

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