VERTICALNET TEAMS UP WITH BIZTRO TO HELP SMALL BUSINESS USERS SAVE MONEY AND MANAGE THEIR BUSINESSES MORE EFFECTIVELY
HORSHAM, Pa. and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb 22, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
VerticalNet to Launch Small Business Operations Center
VerticalNet, Inc. (NASDAQ: VERT), the Internet's leading portfolio of
business-to-business trading communities, announced today that it has joined
forces with Biztro(TM), Inc. ("Biztro"), (www.biztro.com), a pioneer in
e-commerce services for small businesses, to develop a small business operations
solution for VerticalNet(R) customers. The alliance enables VerticalNet's small
business customers to increase their buying power and to improve their back
office productivity.
In order to provide the core services to help its users run a small business,
VerticalNet will implement a Small Business Operations Center, powered by
Biztro, and accessible through multiple avenues in each of VerticalNet's
communities.
VerticalNet's co-branded Operations Center will consist of three core segments:
The Business Management System(TM), The Marketplace and The Backbone. Each
feature contains high-quality tools and services necessary to run a small
business efficiently.
The small business owner who is looking for ways to better manage HR functions
will find the necessary tools for the task in the Business Management System.
The System also contains applications to support financial tasks and employee
self-service applications. While keeping HR and financial functions in check,
VerticalNet users will also be assisted in meeting their e-commerce needs
through The Marketplace - a shared, integrated back-end infrastructure allowing
VerticalNet to assimilate its services with Biztro. Finally, VerticalNet's small
business users will reap the benefits of improved communication technology
through The Backbone - a workflow-based communication vehicle integrating the
elements of Biztro's Business Operations Platform with VerticalNet. This feature
also includes bizMail(TM) messaging system, which provides intelligent task
management capabilities in turn enabling varying degrees of business process
enforcement throughout VerticalNet's Small Business Operations Center.
"We believe our relationship with Biztro will help VerticalNet supply small
business managers with a valuable, easy to adopt toolset that offers more
cost-effective operations," said Mike Hagan COO and co-founder. "Our Small
Business Operations Center is designed to save our small business users money,
make it easier to run their business and help them successfully manage rapid
growth."
"Biztro represents a powerful value proposition for service providers and
channel partners who join the Biztro Ecosystem," said Navin Chaddha, chairman
and CEO of Biztro. "VerticalNet will be able to offer its own customized version
of Biztro throughout all of its trading communities, thereby improving their
attractiveness to small business operators and gaining new sources of shared
e-commerce revenues."
About VerticalNet, Inc.
VerticalNet, Inc. (www.verticalnet.com), owns and operates 55 industry-specific
Web sites designed as online business-to-business communities, known as vertical
trade communities. These vertical trade communities provide users with
comprehensive sources of information, interaction and e-commerce. They are
grouped into the following industry sectors: ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES,
COMMUNICATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL, FOOD AND PACKAGING, FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY,
HEALTHCARE/SCIENCE, MANUFACTURING AND METALS, PROCESS, PUBLIC SECTOR, SERVICE,
TEXTILES AND APPAREL.
Additionally, VerticalNet provides auctions, catalogs, bookstores, career
services and other e-commerce capabilities horizontally across its communities
with sites like Industry Deals.com, IT CareerHub.com, LabX.com, Professional
Store.com. VerticalNet's NECX Exchange provides an exchange for the electronic
components industry.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties, including statements relating to the expected benefits of the
alliance as well as statements that are preceded by, followed by or include the
words "believes," "plans," "intends," "expects," "anticipates," or similar
expressions. For such statements, VerticalNet claims the protection of the safe
harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from the
results predicted, and reported results should not be considered as an
indication of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include the
inability of the alliance to attract interest as well as those factors set forth
in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31,
1998 and the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 1999, both of which have been filed with the SEC.
VerticalNet is the registered trademark of VerticalNet, Inc. All other names are
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
About Biztro, Inc.
Biztro, Inc.,(www.biztro.com) headquartered in Santa Clara, Ca., was founded in
March 1999 to address the fastest-growing segment of the business-to-business
e-commerce and e-services marketplace: small business. Biztro is transforming
the way small businesses run their operations by integrating leading service
providers into its powerful Business Operations Platform to dramatically
increase small business buying power and improve back-office administration.
Biztro distributes its Business Operations Platform through a network of channel
partners. Biztro supplier partners, key to the Biztro business model, include
best-in-class companies in various industries that service the small business
market. Biztro is funded by leading organizations including SOFTBANK Venture
Capital and Marsh & McLennan Capitals.
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