VeriSign and eccelerate.com, a Dun & Bradstreet Company, to Enable Trusted Online
Business-to-Business Transactions
PR Newswire, Tuesday, November 02, 1999 at 12:38
Millions of Businesses in D&B Business Database Prequalified for Online
Commerce Using Digital Certificates
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., and NEW YORK, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- VeriSign, Inc.
(NASDAQ:VRSN), the world's leading provider of Internet trust services, and Dun & Bradstreet's
(NYSE:DNB) new e-commerce company, eccelerate.com, today announced a strategic alliance to
enable business-to-business communities to enhance the security, reliability and trustworthiness of
online transactions.
As part of the agreement, the two companies are introducing a range of services for online
business-to-business exchanges, including digital certificates for corporate users and Web sites;
real-time business verification and certificate validation services; and application enablement services
to accelerate the growth of high-value transactions conducted via the Internet. Digital certificates are
electronic credentials used to identify entities on the Internet and enable secure, verifiable online
transactions and communications.
"The alliance between VeriSign and eccelerate.com will empower online buyers and sellers to
conduct business-to-business commerce by delivering the information required to complete
transactions with confidence," said Guy Creese, senior analyst, Aberdeen Group.
Through the alliance, VeriSign -- which provides digital certificate services to tens of thousands
of businesses and millions of individuals worldwide -- and eccelerate.com, will be able to prequalify the
more than tens of millions of public and private companies in the D&B database for secure online
commerce through the use of digital certificates. When issued, the certificates, which will contain a
company's globally recognized D&B D-U-N-S NumberR, will enable companies and their authorized
individuals to conduct transactions at a range of business exchanges, online auctions and
procurement portals. This ability to digitally identify and validate e-commerce partners inserts an
additional layer of trust between buyers and sellers and also enables non-repudiable transactions
through the use of corresponding digital signatures.
"As online business-to-business communities proliferate, the verification of individuals'
identities, their purchasing privileges and their companies' profiles have grown in importance," said
Stratton Sclavos, president and chief executive officer of VeriSign. "The integration of Dun &
Bradstreet's powerful database with our digital certificate and validation services will deliver
unparalleled benefits to online exchanges, enabling buyers and sellers to conduct high-value
transactions with confidence over the Internet."
How It Works
To identify buyers and sellers, an online trading community or marketplace will distribute D&B
D-U-N-SR Number-embedded certificates to end-users using VeriSign's OnSite(SM) managed service.
When a buyer and a seller are ready to conduct a transaction, the online exchange prompts them to
identify themselves by presenting their respective digital certificates. The site instantly conducts a
real-time check of the certificate's status using VeriSign's validation services (based on the OCSP
standard) and the D&B online data base, which compares the potential trading partner's business
performance record against levels established by the individual buyer or seller.
The D&B D-U-N-SR Number serves as the link between the VeriSign digital certificates in use
and the performance information contained within the D&B database.
Business-to-business exchanges can also leverage eccelerate.com's customized rules engine
to report the buyer's or seller's type of business, risk profile and credit-worthiness, making each
transaction even more secure and trustworthy.
"By combining VeriSign's proven digital certification with eccelerate.com's advanced solution,
relying on the D&B database, we are enabling e-commerce communities to execute local and global
trade transactions in a more secure and trusted environment. The implementation of these capabilities
will lead to a new standard for secure B2B e-commerce," said Andre Dahan, president of Dun &
Bradstreet, North America and president of eccelerate.com.
About eccelerate.com
eccelerate.com, a company of the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, delivers objective business
credentials on buyers and sellers, allowing online trading communities the ability to process
e-commerce transactions utilizing objective information. eccelerate.com is dedicated to providing the
tools and information required to power secure, reliable business-to-business e-commerce
transactions by leveraging the D&B global database of 57 million companies and the D&B D-U-N-SR
Number. For additional information, please visit the Company's web site at www.eccelerate.com.
About Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet, a company of The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, is the world's leading
provider of business-to-business credit, marketing and purchasing information and receivables
management services. Companies of all sizes in all industries around the world use D&B information
in their supply and demand chains. By integrating D&B information into business systems and
processes, companies can better manage their customers and suppliers and achieve a direct and
seamless link between back-office and front-office operations. The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation,
which also includes Moody's Investors Service, is headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., and employs
approximately 12,500 people in 41 countries with reported 1998 revenue from continuing operations of
$1.93 billion.
About VeriSign, Inc.
VeriSign, Inc. is the leading provider of Internet trust services and digital certificate solutions
needed by Web sites, enterprises, and individuals in order to conduct trusted and secure electronic
commerce and communications over IP networks. VeriSign's digital certificate services for Web sites
and consumers are available through the company's Web site at www.verisign.com and a growing
number of ISPs and Web hosting companies. The Company's digital certificate services for
enterprises and electronic commerce service providers are available through regional account
representatives, resellers, and global affiliates.
NOTE: VeriSign is a registered trademark exclusively licensed to VeriSign, Inc. D-U-N-S is a
registered trademark of the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. All other trademarks are properties of their
respective owners.
SOURCE VeriSign, Inc.
-0- 11/02/1999
/CONTACT: Mary Ann Gallo, mary_ann_gallo@edelman.com, or Jennifer Haas,
jennifer_haas@edelman.com, both of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, 650-968-4033, for
VeriSign; or Kristin Harlan of Miller/Shandwick Technologies, 212-591-9855, or
kharlan@shandwick.com, for eccelerate.com/
/Web site: verisign.com
/Web site: eccelerate.com |
