GTE launches e-commerce platform for ASPs

With the application hosting market gaining momentum, GTE is introducing a network commerce platform that boosts its hosting service. GTE's NCP provides a scalable network infrastructure for applications from systems integrators, software manufacturers and application service providers.

"We see this as an opportunity to offer services such as billing, [electronic data interchange], security, customer service, credit card processing, electronic payment and online bill presentment," said Dev Head, director of the network commerce platform at GTE.

GTE is backing its service by partnering with e-commerce leaders. The Sun/Netscape Alliance, Tradex Technologies and Trilogy Software are early NCP adopters.

The Tradex Commerce Center lets communities create digital marketplaces for online buying and selling. By putting the Commerce Center on GTE's NCP, companies can create trading communities in GTE's hosting environment. "Our customers won't have to invest in infrastructure, support or security," said Howard Frankel, vice president of business development at Tradex. "Now, companies can create global e-business portals."

Trilogy, will use GTE's NCP to support its corporate purchasing portal for its 150 suppliers and 20 million products.

"We're seeing a new wave of how applications reach the corporate customer. Traditionally, it's been a client/server environment, but now customers want to move their equipment and its maintenance to carriers like GTE," said Rob Lilleness, vice president of the buying chain division at Trilogy.

Although GTE is hosting e-commerce applications on the NCP, plans are underway to add other applications such as relationship management, sales force automation and financial applications.