National Bank of Canada and COGNICASE, the Founding
Partners of Clic Commerce, Select RightWorks' Technology
to Power New Marketplace for Commercial Clients
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--DECEMBER 20, 2000 - 14:07 EST
National Bank of Canada and COGNICASE (NASDAQ:
"COGI") announced today that Clic Commerce, the joint enterprise
which they started last summer, has acquired a license to the
RightWorks Corporation suite of second-generation (2G) e-business
as the e-procurement application foundation for its new Clic
Commerce B2B Portal. RightWorks is a partner company in the
Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ: "ICGE") network. Powered by
RightWorks and integrated by COGNICASE, this new offering will
enable the bank's clients, businesses and government bodies in
Quebec and throughout Canada, to purchase goods and services
electronically, while enjoying improved efficiencies and increased
discounts from their usual suppliers. Beyond its license sale,
RightWorks joins Clic Commerce and its founders in a shared
long-term strategic initiative.
The Clic Commerce team will build upon the proven strengths of its
partners. The National Bank Group contributes its banking and
payment solutions and its strong network of business client
relationships. The business process re-engineering, the IT
integration and the hosting of the solution will be performed by
COGNICASE, a major e-commerce solutions provider who becomes an
integration partner of RightWorks. RightWorks offers proven
technology that powers a large number of marketplaces in North
America as well as in Europe, some of them being operated and
promoted by major banks.
"The Clic Commerce Portal represents a major milestone in National
Bank's delivery of its e-banking and e-commerce strategy towards
enabling business clients to grow their businesses through value
creating solutions in a new economy framework," said Réal Raymond,
president of Personal and Commercial Banking. "The combination of
RightWork's experience and proven success in the banking and
financial services sector, and the power of its second-generation
technology, were key factors in our decision to select RightWorks
for our business needs."
Clic Commerce's plan calls for a phased implementation, stage one
of which will enable e-procurement and sourcing for National
Bank's internal needs. In the second stage in April 2001, Clic
Commerce will extend the application to develop a private exchange
for the bank's community of commercial clients, offering
procurement services as well as emarketplace services such as
auctions and automated requests for quotations. National Bank of
Canada will ensure the secure financial settlement of electronic
transactions and will provide a seamless link to its suite of
e-banking services. The projected volume of purchase transactions
that will flow through the Clic Commerce B2B Portal is more than
$400 million in the first year of operation and is expected to
surpass $1 billion after the second year.
Ronald Brisebois, president and chief executive officer of
COGNICASE declared that"ClicCommerce is a strategic initiative for
COGNICASE. Based on a true many-to-many ASP model, it will
accelerate the pace at which the organizations of Quebec and
Canada will embrace transactional e-business. The agreement with
RightWorks will also be leveraged first in terms of integration of
their platform more particularly in the Toronto, Eastern U.S. and
Europe marketplaces, and second regarding sub-contracting
development work of their software in our Montreal international
software engineering development center."
"National Bank and COGNICASE, through Clic Commerce, are among the
frontrunners in the banking industry that are launching e-business
initiatives to harness the power of the Internet for competitive
advantage," said Jeff Carr, president of RightWorks. "In addition
to its leading 2G technology, RightWorks brings to Clic Commerce a
wealth of expertise in the banking arena, which will not only
provide an excellent foundation for successful implementation of
the application, but also will contribute to the bank's success in
achieving its strategic goals."
About National Bank of Canada
Ranking sixth among Canada's chartered banks, the National Bank
(www.nbc.ca) is the leading banking institution in Quebec and the
bank of choice for small and medium-sized enterprises. It has
branches in every province of the country. Through its
representative offices, subsidiaries and alliances, it is also
represented in the United States, Europe and elsewhere in the
world. Founded in 1859, National Bank of Canada is the product of
a series of mergers and acquisitions. It has assets of over 75
billion and, together with its subsidiaries, it employs over
16,600 people. The Bank's head office is in Montreal and its
shares are listed on the Toronto stock exchange.
About COGNICASE
COGNICASE (www.cognicase.com) is an innovative company specialized
in the development and integration of e-commerce solutions using
the Internet and Wireless technologies. Based on its
results-driven approach, software and technologies, as well as its
international Internet engineering, ASP applications development
and IT hosting center, COGNICASE offers innovative solutions that
contribute to the business success of its customers in the digital
economy. The Company is active in several countries, including
Canada, the United States, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands
and Australia.
About Rightworks Corporation
RightWorks Corporation (www.rightworks.com) is a leading provider
of second-generation e-business applications. Founded in 1996,
RightWorks is a privately held company backed by Internet Capital
Group and Sequoia Capital. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif.,
RightWorks' more than 350 employees are focused on delivering
customer value from locations in 10 countries in North America,
Asia, and throughout Europe.
With a customer base growing by more than 300% in the last six
months, RightWorks' customers include corporations such as CSC,
Fujitsu, Industrial America, Juniper Networks, Wells Fargo Bank
and others. RightWorks also powers leading e-marketplaces
including VerticalNet, Network Commerce, eMerge Interactive,
FacilityPro and others. |
