Cisco Systems Inc has formed an alliance with e-commerce software vendor InterWorld which will see the two companies offering a joint e-commerce package aimed at large manufacturers, distributors and retailers on the internet. To seal the partnership, Cisco said it has made a minority investment in InterWorld, but would not reveal its value. The package combines InterWorld’s Commerce Exchange software suite with Cisco’s Local Director router. The companies said the partnership also involves joint marketing and sales activities.
Michael Donahue, chairman and founder of InterWorld, said the integration of the two products means that, in order to gain the greatest advantage from InterWorld’s load balancing software, users must now also implement Cisco’s router. Nevertheless, InterWorld’s software is compatible with the networks of other vendors – such as Bay Networks and newlyweds Ascend and Lucent – and InterWorld says it will look to make similar partnerships with these companies in the future.
