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A recent two-month summer study by Grainger Consulting Services, a division of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE: GWW) confirms that e-commerce procurement is a significant benefit to both buyer and seller. The study shows that buyers who made investments to acquire and implement e-procurement methods averaged a return on their investment of between 245 and 400 percent, while sellers showed gains of 10 to 15 percent. Sellers did, however, receive the additional average benefit of a 300 percent increase in sales...

House Policy Committee Chairman Christopher Cox (R-California) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) launched a bipartisan effort yesterday that calls upon the Clinton administration to support a permanent moratorium on global Internet e-commerce tariffs at November's World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, Washington Cox and Wyden, who have become...

Online broker E*Trade (Nasdaq: EGRP) and Japanese joint-venture partner Softbank announced the launch of E*Trade Japan today. The launch coincides with today's deregulation of Japanese trading commission rates, which will enable brokers to determine commissions for securities trades E*Trade Japan has already acquired Japanese brokerage Osawa Securi...

Security solutions provider Diversinet Corp. (Nasdaq: DVNT) has announced a $1 million (US$) common stock deal to acquire the operating assets of Ubiq Communications Inc., and to accelerate its presence in the wireless e-commerce arena. The companies will collectively focus on a wireless trading initiative in collaboration with financial institutions...

This week, Linux-based hardware solutions vendor VA Linux Systems moved to support startup Web portal LinuxNewbie.com (LNC), a site aimed at introducing the public to the increasingly popular open-source operating system (OS) "LNC will, we hope, provide a source of news, information and guidance to the many new Linux users out there," commented sit...

A new report by Forrester Research, Inc. found that despite growing consumer comfort with online credit purchasing, the fear of using plastic on the Internet is still the largest obstacle to e-commerce According to the report, consumer worries about credit card security have been dropping since early 1998. Forrester examined this trend through thre...

Microsoft Corp. has announced that is joining forces with 35 media and technology companies in an effort to prod consumers into adopting broadband Internet connections High-speed access will enable consumers to more quickly receive multimedia content over the Internet, including full-motion video. Mass deployment of broadband access will also facil...

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) and SoftCom, Inc. announced a joint marketing agreement yesterday that will aim to make streaming video a source of revenue on the Internet and on TV The companies agreed to market SoftCom's patent-pending interactive video technology to owners of video footage and to technology companies who use Sun's Java lan...

Tokyo-based Sega Enterprises announced yesterday that it has forged an agreement with brokerage firm Nomura to add share trading to its roster of online games. The announcement is Sega's latest attempt to bring e-commerce onto its cheap Internet access platform Beginning next month, Nomura will provide Japanese users of Sega's Dreamcast gaming gear...

IT and network solutions provider Fujitsu Ltd. (Nasdaq: TMIC) has entered into a strategic alliance with Caldera Systems, Inc. to distribute OpenLinux. The deal marks Fujitsu's official entrance into the increasingly popular world of the Linux open-source operating system (OS) Fujitsu will factory-install OpenLinux 2.3 and future versions of Calder...

Anti-virus solutions provider Trend Micro, Inc. (Nasdaq: TMIC) has entered into a strategic alliance with WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: WGRD) to push its InterScan VirusWall product WatchGuard, a provider of Internet broadcast security solutions, will add InterScan VirusWall to the services offered through a new channel of its LiveSecurity...

Lycos, Inc. announced that it has launched a new Web site for kids in an attempt to make the Internet a more family-friendly place to surf Located at www.lycoszone.com, the new site is designed for children ages 3 to 12, and features online education and entertainment from 16 different providers. One of the services it offers is comprehensive help ...

Destination site AltaVista announced today that it has entered into a $65 million (US$) strategic alliance with healthcare content and e-commerce provider HealthCentral.com. Under the terms of the three-year deal, HealthCentral.com will be the exclusive healthcare content provider for the upcoming AltaVista Health Channel, subject to certain conditions the companies did not disclose...

Healthcare portal WebMd, Inc., and sporting goods e-tailer Global Sports, Inc., announced today that they have joined forces to create a sports medicine and fitness e-commerce channel The deal will leverage WebMD's relevant content with Global Sports' e-commerce sporting goods infrastructure, which includes more than 200 brick-and-mortar locations ...

Media/portal company Excite@Home (Nasdaq: ATHM) announced today that it has launched Work.com, a service for business professionals and their companies. Excite@Home says the new site is the first part of a major initiative to develop a business portal that features vertical industry content, communities, business applications and services that can be customized to business user's needs...

Last week, Sun Microsystems, Inc. claimed that it gave away nearly 500,000 copies of its new office software in a matter of two weeks Scott McNealy, Sun's chief executive, even bragged that 40,000 copies of the software suite -- which includes word-processing and spreadsheet programs -- are being downloaded every day from Sun's Web site.

Software vendor Corel Corp. (Nasdaq: CORL) and systems manufacturer EBIZ Enterprises, Inc. (OTC BB: EBIZ) have announced a strategic distribution agreement that is designed to help push the Linux open-source operating system (OS) into the consumer arena The agreement calls for EBIZ to load their low-end Element-L computer system series and Personal...

OrderTrust, a privately-held order processing/management services company, announced today that it has closed back-to-back rounds of funding for more than $33 million (US$). The funding was led by Federated-owned Fingerhut, the direct marketer/online retailer Additional financing was received from venture capital firm Far West Capital Management an...

Online business developer idealab! has launched OpenSales, Inc., a new open-source software venture that will offer free e-commerce service, software and support The software, known as OpenMerchant, taps into the power and flexibility of the increasingly popular Linux operating system (OS) -- along with Perl and Apache -- to bring distributed and s...

Foundry Networks, Inc. surprised Wall Street yesterday by closing up 525 percent and grabbing the number two spot for all-time first day IPO percentage gainers. The Sunnyvale, California-based company produces switches that make the Internet and e-commerce more efficient Industry analysts from the Monument Internet Fund and others attributed Foundr...