Citi to Offer Small-Business Courses on Web
NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc. has announced it will deliver training courses to small businesses and entrepreneurs through its Bizzed.com portal.The banking company is developing and presenting the curriculum in partnership with the Small Business Administration through the agency's classroom Web site. Coursework will be available starting March 31.
Proposed course content includes fundamentals on initial public offerings and running an Internet business One course will be conducted live.
Bizzed.com will also sponsor a series of workshops with the Small Business Administration.
Citigroup's portal was started in September 1999 is aimed at entrepreneurs and businesses with 100 or fewer employees. There are 25 million such companies in the United States.
EarthLink, OneCore.com in Services Deal
BEDFORD, Mass. - OneCore.com, a provider of financial services to small businesses, has signed an agreement with EarthLink, the country's second-largest Internet service provider.Atlanta-based EarthLink's 3.1 million members now can establish accounts with OneCore.com and have access to its services, including cash management, bill payment, payroll processing, 401(k) plans, credit leasing, and merchant card services.
"We believe EarthLink members will find exceptional value with OneCore.com's unique set of financial services," said Jack Littman-Quinn, OneCore.com president and chief executive officer.
As part of the partnership, OneCore.com is sponsoring a promotion that offers small-business EarthLink members one year of free EarthLink Sprint Internet access for opening a OneCore account.
IBM, i2, Ariba Strike B-to-B Web Alliance
ARMONK, N.Y. - International Business Machines Corp. has announced an alliance with i2 Technologies Inc. and Ariba Inc. to provide business-to-business electronic commerce software.The open architecture software, available now, lets users quickly create an electronic marketplace to automate interaction between trading partners. It facilitates payments, logistics, on-line auctions, and other collaborative projects.
IBM will create a sales team from all three companies, including IBM's global services division, which has 138,000 employees.
The alliance also calls for IBM to make minority equity investments in i2 and Ariba. The deal is subject to regulatory waiting periods.
"Companies that lead in the business-to-business marketplace will be those that get there first with the best solutions," said William A. Etherington, senior vice president and group executive in sales and distribution at IBM.
Business-to-business Internet transactions are expected to reach $3 trillion by 2003. IBM is connected to 1,300 b-to-b suppliers through its own trading network.
The alliance also calls for IBM to make minority equity investments in i2 and Ariba. The deal is subject to regulatory waiting periods.
Ariba, of Mountain View, Calif., and Dallas-based i2 provide business-to-business solutions to companies worldwide.
- Jennifer Weitzman
NCR Campaign Plugs Data Warehousing
DAYTON, Ohio - NCR Corp. has kicked off a multimillion-dollar international advertising campaign for its data warehousing technology.The company, best known as a maker of automated teller machines, said the campaign spotlights its Teradata Active Data Warehouse. The technology enables businesses, including retailers and banks, to detect patterns in customer transactions and in turn tailor their offers.
The "Do you know" campaign uses billboards, newspapers, and the Internet. Ads are slated to run in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.
