Software makers form e-marketplace ties

Comergent will work with Commerce One to let suppliers and their partners use Comergent's Distributed E-Commerce System to connect to buyers using Commerce One Marketsite, which companies use to operate online marketplaces and exchanges.

Comergent builds software that allows companies to collaborate with buyers and lets them sell products across private networks and online marketplaces. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company will provide interactive selling, marketing and order-management capabilities to let suppliers interact with marketplaces built by Commerce One.

The deal reflects a growing push by business-to-business software providers to develop more collaboration between different e-commerce systems, which allows marketplace participants to have increased access to product information, pricing and availability.

"Some software makers are providing this collaboration between the two types of software by partnering, while others are doing it themselves and building their own," Meta Group analyst Gene Alvarez said. "Like Comergent, some are looking to partner with the big guys rather than having to spend time reinventing the wheel."

Upstart Comergent has used an aggressive partnering campaign to get its software out to a wider audience. In May, the company announced a deal with KPMG to jointly market and sell its products and services to companies. Later that same month, the company said it was teaming with Web portal services provider Bowstreet to market and sell Web portal software and services.

For Commerce One, the deal comes after the Pleasanton, Calif.-based company warned last month that second-quarter revenue would be below expectations.