Cobalt Networks Inc is to bundle e-commerce software from Germany’s OpenShop Internet Software GmbH in the next version of its web servers. The announcement will be made by OpenShop at the Internet World conference in New York in early October.
Cobalt will bundle the Munich-based company’s OpenShop Hosting software, which enables internet service providers to offer their SME customers the chance to create online shops that can be easily tied to back-end ERP systems. Three year-old OpenShop positions this product against ePages from rival German software house Intershop AG. Although confirmation from Cobalt did not arrive by press time, it is expected that the bundling will be with its Linux-based RaQ 2 series of servers, which are targeted at ISPs.
OpenShop provides a range of products that allow businesses to market and sell products on the web. The core technology, the Page Generator, is an application integration hub that ties multiple back-end databases and enterprise resource planning systems to multiple web sites.
‘Lite’, ‘Professional’ and ‘Business’ versions are available to cope with small, medium and large enterprises. A ‘Mall’ version allows product information from multiple organizations to be assembled via an affiliate network to create a mall-style shopping experience. The Hosting version enables ISPs to sell OpenShop Business to corporate customers as a value-added service.
