E-business and personalization vendor Blue Martini Software isexpected to unveil today new software designed to help companies more effectively sell B-to-B. Blue Martini is extending its Customer Interaction System--which until now has been aimed at B-to-C companies--to include new features that let companies personalize content for their buyers and business partners, the company said Monday to an audience of IT execs at the InformationWeek Fall Conference in Tucson, Ariz. Blue Martini will also add account-management tools to its lineup so companies can better understand and manage buyer relationships.

Blue Martini is also expected to detail a partnership is has developed with Ariba Inc. to develop software called adapters. Suppliers and other companies can use the software to differentiate themselves when participating in online marketplaces. The adapters, developed using APIs in Ariba's E-business software, will let sellers develop ready-made catalogs that can be accessed from an online marketplace built with Ariba software.

Blue Martini software, says Monte Zweben, CEO of the company, will help raise sellers above the noise in marketplaces. For example, when buyers enters a marketplace to make purchases, they will be able to click a link directly back to a seller's site, where they will find product data (aggregated using Blue Martini's software). The seller and buyer can even fill out purchase orders and determine prices. From there, the buyer can click back to the marketplace to complete the purchase.

These moves could also allay growing anxiety about marketplaces themselves. "Suppliers are currently dissatisfied with online marketplaces. There's a great fear that with these marketplaces, their products will be commoditized," says Jeetu Patel, VP of research and chief technology officer of research firm Doculabs. All of the new products are expected to ship by year's end.