Hank et al-
Firstwave and Breakaway Announce Strategic Relationship
- Full Service Provider is First to Offer 'Remote Hosting &
Strategic Systems Integration to Netgain Customers - - 2Bridge Software to Purchase Netgain Sales; Will Host Through Breakaway -
ATLANTA, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Firstwave Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSTW) and Breakaway Solutions Inc. of Boston, MA announced today an alliance that positions Breakaway, a Full Service Provider (FSP), as the first company to offer remote hosting and strategic systems integration to customers of Netgain(TM) Enterprise. This partnership provides Firstwave with enhanced integration capabilities for new customers and allows this leading web-based CRM provider to offer new and existing Netgain customers an application hosting option. Netgain Enterprise provides Internet-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) capabilities that enable companies to leverage the power of the Internet to understand and meet the needs of customers and prospects.
"In our relationship with Breakaway, we address the challenges that have plagued the successful implementation of Customer Relationship Management systems," said Richard Brock, President and CEO of Firstwave. "The first challenge addressed is the cost and time efficient implementation of these systems where Breakaway's CRM focus and Solution Lab approach provide the answer. The second challenge is the ongoing support of a distributed sales organization which Breakaway solves through remote application hosting."
"We believe Firstwave's customization tools are among the best and easiest to use in the industry," said Gordon Brooks, CEO of Breakaway. "This, together with the true web-centric architecture and rich feature set of sales functions, will be a powerful solution we can offer to our customers who seek a rapidly deployed, cost efficient CRM solution."
Firstwave also announced today that 2Bridge Software is purchasing Netgain Sales and will be the first Netgain customer to utilize Breakaway's application hosting capabilities. 2Bridge Software, the pioneers of enterprise information portals, provides companies with browser-based software that enables the creation of a customized enterprise portal -- a single Internet site where all of a company's employees, vendors, suppliers and customers can go for real-time information. 2Bridge Software's primary product, 2Share, is the first packaged application that combines knowledge sharing with content management and enterprise publishing for end-to-end control of information from creation to consumption.
"As a dynamic new Internet company, we needed a cost effective CRM application that would keep up with our rapid growth, could be rapidly deployed and easily maintained," said Eileen Arbues, Chief Marketing Officer of 2Bridge. "With Firstwave's Netgain Sales and Breakaway's remote application hosting, we obtained the solution we were seeking. Breakaway's services relieves us from providing ongoing administration for the Netgain application."
Breakaway offers Firstwave and its Netgain customers a full suite of front office services including IT and Business Strategies, application integration with best practices, Internet solutions, and application hosting. Utilizing their Solution Labs and Breakthrough(TM) methodology, Breakaway is able to reduce the time and cost of solutions to clients. The Solution Labs leverage Breakaway's "A" Team across all client projects, ensuring high quality and sustainable value.
Application hosting services provided through Breakaway relieves Firstwave customers of requirements to dedicate Netgain administration personnel and to implement and maintain additional hardware and software, allowing them to focus on other business issues. Breakaway's service delivery platform offers guaranteed uptime, high performance and scalability, a five-layer security model, high capacity backbones with Internet peering and multiple data centers positioned globally. In addition to a substantial cost savings compared to implementation of solutions internally, benefits of the application hosting option are improved application performance, reduced implementation cycle time and quick application upgrades.
Under this strategic alliance, Firstwave and Breakaway will engage in joint marketing initiatives that offer exposure for each company in the other company's markets. Additionally, Breakaway will offer Firstwave's Netgain Enterprise to those existing customers and prospects seeking a CRM solution.
About Firstwave
Firstwave Technologies, Inc., based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a leading provider of web-based customer relationship management systems. NetgainO Enterprise is a revolutionary suite of Internet products created to improve the way companies generate revenues and manage relationships. The Netgain suite runs on industry standard Internet and Microsoft technologies. Netgain Sales, the first application of this suite, uses the Internet to empower sales teams within enterprises and across distributed channels. Firstwave's experience in customer relationship management systems has been developed working with over 20,000 installed users at 200 companies in more than 20 countries. A tour of Netgain is available on the web site at www.firstwave.net .
About Breakaway Solutions
Breakaway Solutions Inc. is the only Full Service Provider (FSP) for e-business, leading the industry with Hosting (ASP), consulting and systems integration services for growing enterprises, which have been under-served by traditional IT solutions providers. Breakaway offers a complete range of services, from strategy through implementation, in a unique, cost-effective way that allows a single source consulting partner to clients in the emerging, high growth market. Breakaway specializes in commerce, portals, customer service, order management, sales force automation and enterprise marketing solutions, enabling businesses to gain competitive advantages by better serving their customers. Breakaway can be reached at 617/960-3400 or at www.breakaway.com .
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Of course Sledge knew this was coming and, for some reason which he will be glad to explain, it means nothing, but....hey, I'm excited! Things are happening and FSTW's credibility is growing. I think things are getting pretty interesting.... |
