Ariba Aligns With Ernst & Young In E-Commerce Deal

Ariba Inc. and Ernst & Young today announced an agreement to jointly offer E-commerce products and services.

Ernst & Young will become a Certified Ariba Systems Integrator partner and will gain access to Ariba Network, the company's platform for Internet business-to-business commerce. Ernst & Young will provide its clients with access to Ariba's online marketplace where businesses can purchase directly from preferred vendors at pre-negotiated volume prices.

Both companies say they will collaborate to provide E-commerce software, network services, and systems integration. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Jack Staff, chief Internet economist with Zona Research, says the deal is significant for Ariba, since it should give the company access to a range of new clients.

Increased attention is being focused on business-to-business online marketplaces as software suppliers and service companies see the huge potential for growth. Forrester Research predicts that business trading on the Internet will grow to $1.3 trillion in 2003, with the percentage of business trades moving to the Internet varying by industry, from a high of 20.3% for computing to 1.2% for industrial equipment.