'Only our enemies can save us', says Clarus

NEWS Arch rivals Commerce One and IBM hold the key to Clarus' future, with the niche B2B player hoping that an alliance with its enemies will help restore its fortunes. The recent shake out in the B2B market, which has seen the demise of rivals Metiom, Ventro and VerticalNet, means that Clarus can now collaborate with its traditional enemies, according to chief executive Steve Jeffries. "We would welcome partnerships with companies that were previously seen as competitors," he told silicon.com. And he was specific on the B2B leaders Clarus will be targeting. "Commerce One has reasonably positioned itself as a marketplace provider. Their approach has been flawed by the transaction-based model, but they could be a potential partner," he said. IBM's new websphere offering also got the thumbs up. "We would not see IBM as a direct competitor. We would look to work with them as a best of breed application provider," Jeffries admitted. Such partnerships would add weight to Clarus' current deal with software giant Microsoft. All Clarus applications are developed for a Microsoft platform. Commerce One remained non-commital on the proposal. Patrick Meyer, director of corporate communications at Commerce One, said: "In terms of our partnership programme, we are open to multi-platform vendors. We don't rule it out. We respect what Clarus do." But Eduardo Gonzales, analyst with Frost and Sullivan, believes Commerce One and Clarus are not compatible bedfellows. "They are competitors, going for different markets. Just as we don't see Ariba and Commerce One partnering, I don't see a partnership between Clarus and Commerce One," he said. A potential partnership with IBM, however, got approval. "A partnership with IBM's websphere would be a major achievement for Clarus," Gonzales claimed.