Compiled by Emily DiFilippo
An International WAP Messenger Service
Tiaxa, Latin America's leading Internet service provider, has released the new "Tx-Mensajero," the first ever international WAP messenger service. Users will be able to send and receive text messages instantly via cell phone across international borders all over the Western Hemisphere. The service is free and will help break down cyberspace boundaries between the US and Latin America. See www.tiaxa.com for details.
Microsoft to Roll out BizTalk Server 2000
Microsoft announced that it will introduce its BizTalk Server 2000 software at conferences in Reno (July 27) and Santa Cruz (August 17). The visual, graphic-based program is designed to facilitate e-commerce by allowing organizations to integrate and manage business processes by constructing workflow solutions and exchanging documents between applications within or across organizational boundaries. You can register at the conferences at http://www.microsoft.com/norcal.
APS: EAP from PWI
Portal Wave, Inc, developer of enterprise application portal (EAP) technology, has introduced a new Java-based package called the Portal Wave Application Portal Server 1.0 (APS). APS uses EAP technology to integrate various business processes into one e-business platform with a single Web interface. Priced at $67,500, the package includes a user interface generator, a personalization engine, a workflow engine, a program for portal administration, a Portal Wave tool kit, and a Portal Wave Application Starter kit. Go to www.portalwave.com for further details.
A New Form of Authentication
It's incredibly easy to be anonymous in cyberspace. Methods of identification for e-commerce have at times been as eccentric as fingerprint and retina scans, but credit-reporting agency Equifax has thought of a much simpler way that is almost as accurate. Equifax plans to work in conjunction with online bill-paying service Checkfree. If you want to sign up with Checkfree, you enter your name, address, date of birth, and
Social Security number in to their authentication engine. The information is then forwarded to Equifax, who pulls up your credit report and sends you a multiple-choice quiz on your credit history. Requested information includes things like the name of the bank that financed your car loan. This way, Checkfree customers don't even have to enter credit information because Equifax already knows it. In addition, the system is secure because information sent is encrypted and only shared between the user and Equifax. The system remains science fiction for the moment, but the details are being worked out.
Penton Introduces M-Commerce Pubs
Penton Business Media Ltd., a London media company, sees m-commerce, or wireless Internet transactions, as the natural evolution of Internet technology. The group's current goal is "to connect buyers and sellers and create productive information, networking and transaction channels" for m-commerce. To do this, the company plans to reach the public through a printed publication, an event, and a website. Its new magazine, M-commerce World, will be printed monthly and will include pan-European Internet news. On February 6-8, 2001, Penton will host the M-Commerce World 2001 conference in London. This will include discussions, lectures, exhibitions, and networking and social events. The company's Web portal will be available at m-CommerceSource.com in October 2000. The site will feature news, technical information, e-mail newsletters, discussion forums and other interactive opportunities, as well as e-commerce.
A Marketplace for Business Services
At OutsourceDesk.com, companies and individuals can acquire a number of business services free of charge. Over 350 pre-screened and approved vendors are represented on the website, offering such services as telemarketing, market research, consulting and printing. Companies such as Southwestern Bell and Nortel have searched the Outsource Desk. The website makes revenue by charging a commission from vendors when they do work with someone who found them on the site. Basically, it's an effective virtual marketplace.