COGNICASE INTERNET INNOVATIONS (CII) Extends its
Technology Base in E-Business
FEBRUARY 10, 2000
MONTREAL, CANADA--
Cactus Communciations Internet and COGNICASE join forces to focus
on Convergence of Internet and Wireless Communication technologies
COGNICASE INTERNET INNOVATIONS (CII), a business unit of COGNICASE
Inc. (NASDAQ: COGI), is taking a participating interest in Cactus
Communications Internet, a company specialized in e-Business
solutions. A definitive agreement is expected to be concluded by
month-end.
Cactus is an e-commerce solution provider with a unique expertise
in the development and integration of the Internet and wireless
technology. According to industry experts, one of the most
important technological trends is the convergence of Internet and
wireless technologies, resulting in tremendous business
opportunities in the next 24 months.
"This strategic partnership with COGNICASE will provide Cactus
with new delivery capacity, access to COGNICASE's large customer
base and sales organization to help promote our offering," said
Antoine Normand, Chief Executive Officer of Cactus. "In Canada,
Cactus is already recognized as a leader in e-Business; and now,
in partnership with COGNICASE, we can target the American and
European markets to accelerate our growth."
Cactus derives most of its revenues from next-generation
transactional Internet applications. In addition, Cactus has
developed and is packaging an e-commerce Internet Framework which
will accelerate the time to develop and deploy e-commerce Business
to Consumer (B2C) or Business to Business (B2B) sites from an
average of 4 months down to 6 weeks. The current industry average
to develop and deploy large scale Internet applications is 4 to 6
months.
"COGNICASE is excited to partner with Cactus. Their leading-edge
expertise in Web and Wireless Integration will allow access to our
Portals from anywhere anytime, and their framework for
accelerating the rollout of Internet applications strengthens our
competitive edge in this market. First to market and Time to
market are key competitive factors in the success of Internet
sites," stated Tony Marinelli, Chief Operating Officer, COGNICASE
INTERNET INNOVATIONS (CII). "Their Internet technology know-how
and offering will be integrated into our overall e-Business
solutions offering."
Cactus is viewed as a strategic partner by Microsoft and is often
called upon by Microsoft to provide expert consultation for its
Internet products. Cactus clients include: Bank of Montreal,
Cebra/MERX, Mbanx, Harris Bank (US) and Microsoft.
COGNICASE is among the North American leaders in the
implementation of business solutions that leverage information
technology, with offices in several major North American and
European business centers. Based on its business results-driven
approach, Internet Software Technologies, international IT
engineering / hosting center and critical mass of business and
technology expertise, COGNICASE offers innovative solutions that
contribute to the success of its customers in the digital economy.
Our solutions include: implementation of turnkey e-business
solutions including portal development and evolution, e-services
software and solutions, re-engineering of existing applications
for e-business, technology configuration management, as well as
project management and business process improvement consulting
services.
COGNICASE INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES (CIT) mission is to deliver "smart
information on demand" by developing leading edge Internet and
wireless software solutions. It capitalizes on COGNICASE'S
Internet products, re-engineering technologies and search engine
based on rules and fuzzy logic, and using JAVA and XML.
COGNICASE INTERNET INNOVATIONS (CII) mission is to position
Cognicase at the top of the Internet Value Chain through the
innovation and creation of new e-businesses. CII will seek out,
create, incubate and promote Internet Portal initiatives. The end
result will be a network of interwoven Internet Portals targeting
both vertical markets and diverse communities and allow Cognicase
to take full advantage of the Internet economy.
The completion of the transaction described in this press release
is subject to certain factors including satisfactory due diligence
by COGNICASE Inc. and the negotiation and finalization of
definitive agreements. |
