Major HP/BVSN alliance. Bullish implications for OMKT?
Could HP/BVSN deal put OMKT in play?
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Hewlett-Packard to Spend $35 Mln on Alliance With Broadvision
Palo Alto, April 25 (Bloomberg) - Hewlett-Packard Co., the
world's No. 2 computer company, will announce an agreement
tomorrow to spend $35 million on a three-and-a-half year alliance
with BroadVision Inc., a maker of electronic-commerce software.
H-P's sales force will sell BroadVision software along with
other H-P products. BroadVision's software lets web surfers
customize sites that they use to buy airline tickets and other
goods and services. Companies buy the software to give their
customers that ability.
By joining with BroadVision, H-P is trying to get a complete
set of software products to sell to companies that want to do
business online. It's racing with rivals Sun Microsystems Inc.
and International Business Machines Corp. to provide a full range
of products for companies seeking to get on the Internet.
''The goal is to have a completely integrated'' product,
said Nigel Ball, general manager of H-P's new E-services
division.
H-P took Redwood City, California-based BroadVision as a
partner because customizing Web sites is crucial, Ball said. AMR
Corp.'s American Airlines, one of BroadVision's customers, uses
the company's software so that travelers can set up the site to
automatically get fare information for the city were they live.
The agreement boosts the number of sales people representing
BroadVision. H-P plans to offer the software with its e-commerce
software and its server computers, the machines that run Internet
sites.
Teaming with BroadVision is part of H-P's effort to make
more money from Internet computing. Executives at the Palo Alto,
California-based company admit that they missed much of the early
opportunity in the Internet and have vowed to be bigger players.
''We think we can go head to head and beat Sun'' in sales of
Internet products to companies, Ball said.
H-P already is BroadVision's biggest customer. It uses
BroadVision software to let users customize H-P Internet sites.
H-P shares rose 1/2 to 77 1/8 on Friday. Broadvision rose
3 7/8 to 64 3/8.
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