EDS, Cisco and HP launch ebusiness dream team

NEWS EDS, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard (HP) have joined up to create a one-stop shop for electronic business solutions. The three companies will pool hardware, software and services at two centres - Stockley Park in the UK and Plano in the US - to test ebusiness solutions and personalise them for the individual customer. EDS will provide consulting and systems integration capabilities, Cisco will bring Internet networking hardware and HP will provide servers and software. The three companies first worked together to create a sales Web site for the 1998 World Cup, which offered tickets and merchandise to consumers across the world in multiple languages and 11 currencies, and received a record 74 million hits in one 24 hour period. The companies claim the alliance will provide business to business applications such as procurement, distribution and banking. They also plan to offer business to consumer software such as electronic storefronts for tickets and promotional offers. Paul Rudolph, president of the Electronic Business unit at EDS, hailed the alliance as the "dream team" of ebusiness. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed but the companies said additional partners could join the alliance at a later stage.