Industry Heavyweights Form Global E-Commerce Alliance

GE Capital, Global Commerce Systems, Inc., Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW), and Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE:TSS) have set their aim high in announcing Wednesday the formation of a global e-commerce alliance.

“Any $1 billion-plus (US$) company looking to ‘dot-com’ their business will be interested in this solution, particularly when the are looking to integrate existing legacy business systems, processes and supply-chain management programs with Internet commerce solutions,” said Masood Jabbar, president of computer systems at Sun Microsystems.

The four are obviously not talking Mom and Pop Web site operations. The aim is clearly on the big-ticket e-commerce ventures, such as securities and capital markets. The companies said they will work together over the next three years to package and jointly market a co-branded suite of turnkey products aimed at large companies and their e-commerce goals.

The end product will facilitate online buying, selling, bill presentment and payment, target marketing and customer self-service and will offer a new generation of business information products, the companies said.

Bringing Skills To The Table

A cursory look at the roster of companies in the announced alliance shows a cherry-picked lineup that brings a select skill to the group.

Sun Microsystems will bring its Java technology and its patented “Write Once, Run Anywhere” platform and SunConnect architecture to the venture. GE Capital lays out its corporate purchasing and card services to facilitate payment and settlement transactions.

Global Commerce Systems offers its Internet commerce software and its focus on the financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications industries. Total System Services, Inc. brings its data transaction and payment services and its capability to process Internet transactions for more than 188 million credit card holders.

Like NATO and its propensity to accept new partners when it’s expedient, this alliance is not cast in stone.

“The Global Commerce Alliance is about combining the core competencies of Internet commerce technology, business and service industry leaders to meet the needs of large businesses to more efficiently manage their trade cycle activities and practices over the Internet,” said Global Commerce System CEO, Geoffrey Shaw. “We look forward to adding Alliance members as we move forward.”

The financial considerations of the alliance were not disclosed.