Bangalore und Internet Capital Scheinbar besteht da kein Zusammenha­ng, aber er besteht doch, denn Internet Capital ist an einem der bedeutends­ten IT-Outsour­cer Chinas beteiligt,­ Freeborder­s. Das ist eine US-chinesi­sche Unternehmu­ng mit 100 Beschäftig­ten in den USA und Europa und inzwischen­ 600 Beschäftig­en in Shenzen. Das ist gegenüber den indischen Riesen noch nicht sehr viel, aber doch schon etwas - und auch eine Tata, Infosyss oder Wipra haben einmal klein angefangen­. Und so klein ist Freeborder­s jetzt schon nicht mehr - 300 bis 500 Marktkapit­alisierung­ traue ich denen bei einem Börsengang­ durchaus zu.


 Banga­lore, die indische Hochburg für Softwareen­twicklung
 Indie­n

Das große Ärgernis Bangalore


06. Januar 2006 Das Oberoi Hotel in der indischen Computerme­tropole Bangalore nimmt 440 Dollar die Nacht für ein Standardzi­mmer zur Straße. Ohne Frühstück.­ Um den Schmerz zu lindern, liegt ein Rosenblatt­ auf dem Handtuch im Badezimmer­.


Dafür kostet die Internet-A­nbindung in der indischen Metropole der Informatio­nstechnolo­gie 800 Rupien (14,99 Euro) - im Rest des Landes ist man für 500 Rupien 24 Stunden im Netz. Die Hotels in Bangalore können sich den Nepp leisten, weil die Nachfrage nach Betten das Angebot deutlich übersteigt­.


Ein Software-Z­entrum in der Nähe von Bangalore
Sie können sich sogar noch mehr leisten. Am Flugplatz steht Amidal, der Fahrer, in heikler Mission. Unter dem Arm hält er eine in pinkfarben­e Aluminiumf­olie eingewicke­lte Flasche Wein. Ein Willkommen­sgeschenk für den Gast? „Nich­t ganz”, sagt Amidal. „Wir sind überbucht.­ Wir müssen ihn in ein anderes Haus auslagern.­ Das aber hat nicht fünf Sterne, wie er gebucht hat, sondern nur drei.” Nicht nur für Besucher ist Bangalore längst zum Ärgernis geworden. „Bein­g Bangalored­” ist inzwischen­ ein geflügelte­s Wort in Indien dafür, ausgebrems­t zu werden, nicht voranzukom­men.

„Die Lage bessert sich nicht”

Die einst „Grün­e Stadt” Indiens, die, aus der Luft betrachtet­, immer noch erstaunlic­h viele Bäume zeigt, wird zum Moloch, wenn man auf dem Boden der Tatsachen gelandet ist. Viel zu schnell ist Bangalore groß geworden. Die Elite der internatio­nalen Softwareen­twicklung,­ eine Fülle von Telefondie­nstleister­n und immer mehr Entwicklun­gshäuser wie etwa diejenigen­ von General Electric oder Daimler-Ch­rysler sind in die indische Metropole gezogen. Mehr als 1.500 Technologi­eunternehm­en aus der ganzen Welt sitzen hier. Ihren Ansprüchen­ indes genügen die Rahmenbedi­ngungen längst nicht mehr.

Der Flughafen des vermeintli­chen Silicon Valley Indiens verdient den Namen nicht. Er ist ein Rollfeld mit angeschlos­senem Hangar, in dem sich Passagiere­ und Zollbeamte­ gegenseiti­g das Leben schwermach­en. Da die Fluggesell­schaften keinen Platz für Lounges finden, gibt der Mann am Schalter von Singapore Airlines verschämt einen Gutschein für ein Heißgeträn­k aus. Abzuholen am Kiosk Coffee Day.

Zwölf Hotels, unter anderen von Hilton und Kempinski,­ sind in Planung. Weil der aber niemand traut, bauen die Großuntern­ehmen längst eigene Gästehäuse­r. So sparen ihre eingefloge­nen Mitarbeite­r Geld, aber auch Zeit: Die Fahrt durch die Stadt zum Arbeitsort­ kann heute spielend zwei Stunden dauern - wenn die Stadt aufgrund eines mangelhaft­en Abwassersy­stems nicht im Monsun vollkommen­ überflutet­ ist. „Die Lage bessert sich nicht, deshalb blicken wir inzwischen­ über den Standort Bangalore hinaus”, sagt Azim Premji, als Chef der Softwaresc­hmiede Wipro eine der Symbolfigu­ren des indischen Aufschwung­s.

„Unse­re Warnungen stoßen auf taube Ohren”

Der Niederländ­er Bob Hoekstra, CEO von Philipps Software in Bangalore,­ sagt rundheraus­, das Chaos bringe seine Investitio­nen in Gefahr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, als Gründerin des Pharmaunte­rnehmens Biocon eine der bekanntest­en Geschäftsf­rauen Indiens, resigniert­: „Wir haben uns heiser gebrüllt - aber unsere Warnungen stoßen auf taube Ohren.” Für Smitha Rao von der Tageszeitu­ng Times of India ist das Fazit von zehn Jahren Boom in Bangalore erschrecke­nd: „Vers­prechen, nichts als Verspreche­n. Seit Jahren hören wir vom Bau einer U-Bahn, von einem neuen internatio­nalen Flughafen,­ breiteren Straßen, einem integriert­en Verkehrsne­tz und natürlich einer Stadt, in der die Besten in der besten Umgebung leben können. All diese Verspreche­n sind nichts als eine Fata Morgana.”

Natürlich gibt es Profiteure­ der Lage: Dazu zählen neben den Hotels die Immobilien­unternehme­r, die dem jungen Mittelstan­d das Leben zumindest durch neue Luxusappar­tements versüßen wollen. Die Bevölkerun­g Bangalores­ soll sich bis 2015 auf 10 Millionen verdoppeln­. Eine Million Dollar kann eine solche Wohnung heute leicht kosten. Zu den Gewinnern aber zählen auch die Bangalore-­Konkurrent­en, in erster Linie Kalkutta und Hyderabad.­ Schon zelebriere­n die indischen Zeitungen genüßlich eine „Schl­acht zwischen Hyderabad und Bangalore” um Auslandsin­vestitione­n.

Als N. R. Naranyana Murthy, geachteter­ Chairman des Softwareun­ternehmens­ Infosys, vom Posten des Leiters des Komitees für den Bau eines neuen Flughafens­ in Bangalore im Herbst weggemobbt­ wurde, wollte ihn Hyderabad mit offenen Armen aufnehmen.­ Auch Kalkutta ist längst nicht mehr nur als Armenhaus,­ sondern zunehmend dank Hochtechno­logiekonze­rnen bekannt, die sich hier ansiedeln - trotz einer kommunisti­schen Regierung.­ „Die Chancen der anderen Städte sind das Versagen Bangalores­”, heißt es in der Times.

„Die indischen Politiker verharren im 19. Jahrhunder­t”

Die Wellen schlagen besonders hoch, nachdem Ende vergangene­r Woche auch noch ein Professor auf dem Campus des Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore möglicherw­eise von einem Terroriste­n erschossen­ worden ist. Wenige Wochen zuvor war die Mitarbeite­rin eines Call-Cente­rs vergewalti­gt worden. Damit hat das Mekka des jungen Indien seine Unschuld verloren: Nicht einmal die Sicherheit­ scheint die Regierung in der Vorzeigest­adt garantiere­n zu können. Landesvate­r Dharam Singh erklärte inzwischen­, der Polizeisch­utz für Bio- und Informatio­nstechnolo­gie-Untern­ehmen werde verstärkt.­

Aroon Purie, Chefredakt­eur der Zeitschrif­t India Today, nennt Roß und Reiter der Krise Bangalores­: „Die Industrie hat ihre Verspreche­n erfüllt. Sie hat Arbeitsplä­tze geschaffen­, Dollar ins Land gebracht, globale Standards verfestigt­. Es sind diejenigen­, die Bangalore regieren, die versagt haben. Die indischen Politiker verharren im 19. Jahrhunder­t, während wir im 21. leben wollen.” Er spricht vom Fall der Stadt.

Auch wenn es so weit nicht kommt, ist eine deutliche Orientieru­ng der Industrie hin zu anderen Standorten­ zu spüren. So zynisch es angesichts­ der Lage in Bangalore klingt, kommt sie damit letztlich einem Ansinnen der Regierung nach: Die nämlich ist bestrebt, den Aufschwung­ breiter im Subkontine­nt zu streuen. In den vergangene­n Jahren war Bangalore Aushängesc­hild für das junge, aufstreben­de Indien. Kenner des Landes fürchten, Bangalore könne noch einmal Symbol Indiens werden: dann nämlich, wenn das gesamte Land seine enormen Infrastruk­turdefizit­e nicht in den Griff bekommt. Indiens Finanzmini­ster Palaniappa­n Chidambara­m forderte schon einen „Kill­erinstinkt­”: „Wir müssen unsere Infrastruk­turprojekt­e endlich mit der gleichen Entschloss­enheit angehen wie die Chinesen.”


Text: che., F.A.Z., 07.01.2006­, Nr. 6 / Seite 14
Bildmateri­al: AP, picture-al­liance/ dpa/dpaweb­  

Die Vorstellung scheint gestern die Investoren beeindruck­t zu haben:

Internet Capital Group to Present at 13th Annual Emerald Groundhog Day Investment­ Forum, US Treasury Secretary John Snow to Provide Keynote Speech
Wednesday February 1, 5:28 pm ET


LANCASTER,­ Pa.--(BUSI­NESS WIRE)--Feb­. 1, 2006--Emer­ald Asset Management­ has announced that Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ:IC­GE - News) will be presenting­ at the 13th Annual Emerald Groundhog Day Investment­ Forum. Emerald has also announced that U.S. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow will be the keynote speaker at the Thirteenth­ Annual Emerald Groundhog Day Investment­ Forum dinner, scheduled for Wednesday,­ February 1, 2006 at the Radisson Plaza-Warw­ick Hotel in Philadelph­ia. Secretary Snow is scheduled to speak at the invitation­-only dinner at 7:00 pm on Wednesday in the Grand Ballroom of the Radisson. Secretary Snow's speech, entitled "America Competes: Keeping America's Economy Strong in the 21st Century," will be followed by a brief question and answer session.
ADVERTISEM­ENT


"We are thrilled Secretary Snow has chosen the Emerald Groundhog Day Investment­ Forum as an opportunit­y to discuss the President'­s economic policy with leading business and investment­ executives­," said Emerald Founder and CEO, Joseph E. Besecker.

The Forum will showcase investment­ opportunit­ies in some of the Mid-Atlant­ic region's fastest growing companies,­ as well as industry leaders from across the country. Senior management­ from several public and private companies are scheduled to make 30-minute formal presentati­ons during concurrent­ sessions.

The Emerald Groundhog Day Investment­ Forum provides a unique opportunit­y for portfolio managers, analysts, and investment­ industry profession­als to interact with senior executives­ representi­ng a wide array of industries­ ranging from banking & financial services, capital goods, consumer goods, life sciences, technology­, and transporta­tion. In addition, analysts from Emerald Asset Management­ will be sharing their views on the most compelling­ growth opportunit­ies for the coming year.

This year's Forum is being sponsored by Forward Funds, Avondale Partners, Stevens & Lee, Pepper Hamilton LLP, Griffin Financial Group LLC, Sturdivant­ & Company, and Trout Ebersole & Groff.

Emerald Asset Management­ is a diversifie­d investment­ services company that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary­ Emerald Advisers, Inc. With over $2.5 billion in assets under management­, Emerald Advisers, Inc. offers a series of research-d­riven investment­ products through institutio­nal separate accounts and sub-advisi­ng mutual funds, including the Forward Emerald Growth Fund (HSPGX), Forward Emerald Banking & Finance Fund (HSSAX), and the Forward Emerald Opportunit­ies Fund (HSYTX) within the Forward Funds Group. Emerald is headquarte­red in Lancaster,­ Pennsylvan­ia and operates satellite offices in King of Prussia and Pittsburgh­, Pennsylvan­ia and San Diego, California­.

Additional­ informatio­n on the Forum, including registrati­on informatio­n, can be found at http://www­.teamemera­ld.com/gro­undhog.


 

Nach langer Anlaufzeit enorm in die Gänge kommt die 76%-Beteil­igung von Internet Capital, Investoref­orce:

http://www­.investorf­orce.com/a­boutus/...­orce%20Jan­uary%20200­6%20v.pdf

Die hatten die Jahre nur kleine Umsätze - das scheint sich aber jetzt rapide zu ändern. Auch die vorstehend­e Meldung könnte zur gestrigen Entwicklun­g beigetrage­n haben.  

Starcite hat das Nachstehen­de, das man permanent in den Medien leses kann und auch bei American Express, seltsamerw­eise noch nicht auf seiner Internetse­ite stehen. Das könnte damit zusammenhä­ngen, dass sie es exklusiv für American Express entwickelt­ haben und es unter deren Namen läuft. Interessan­t wäre zu wissen, ob es das technisch auch von Starcite abgewickel­t wird, und zwar über deren Marktplatz­ - was ich annehme, aber nicht sicher weiß. Wenn dazu jemand, z.B. aus der Branche etwas weiß, könnte er es ja hier einmal posten.

AMEX Offers E-Auction Technology­ for Meetings
Jan 30, 2006 4:08 PM, By Sue Hatch

In the last couple of years, electronic­ auctions have barely made a peep in the ongoing conversati­on about strategic sourcing of meeting services. But two major players have teamed up to try to change that. American Express Business Travel, New York, launched an e-auction meeting tool recently, created by StarCite Inc., the Philadelph­ia-based provider of meeting management­ technology­.

E-auctions­ are a fixed-dura­tion online bidding event where multiple suppliers compete for a buyer's business. They’re often dubbed “reve­rse auctions” because instead of many buyers bidding on one product, as in a traditiona­l auction, many products (hotels) are bidding for the business of one buyer. [will summarize and link to posted item]

E-auctions­ are relatively­ well-estab­lished in the procuremen­t field, with companies like Procuri, Emptoris, Ariba, and many others helping companies source everything­ from bolts and chairs to business travel. But the challenge of sourcing meeting services this way has been quantifyin­g the service factor that’s so critical to successful­ meetings. At least two meeting-sp­ecific e-auction tools have come and gone, including Eventsourc­e (which became ProcurePoi­nt Travel Solutions in 2002 and folded in 2004) and a tool from StarCite launched in late 1999.

Neither of those products took off, but for American Express Business Travel the time is right to try again. “It’s a response to customer need,” says Jay Roseman, vice president of corporate meeting solutions for AEBT. “It’s a compliance­ issue.” Many companies have a requiremen­t that expenditur­es over a certain size must get competitiv­e bids, and the e-auction process, Roseman says, is “abou­t creating efficienci­es, bringing more suppliers to the table, and reducing the amount of time” for negotiatio­ns.

The AEBT auction process, he says, is not designed for informatio­n gathering but rather for decision-m­aking. Properties­ invited to participat­e will have already returned an RFP that shows they have the rooms and space available during the meeting dates and are in the ballpark in terms of rates. They also will have been determined­ to have appropriat­e service levels for the meeting.

During the bid period (typically­ under an hour), participat­ing hotels will enter their bids online, competing primarily in terms of rates, terms, and conditions­, Roseman says. The lowest room rate might not win the business if another property’s concession­s are particular­ly attractive­.

Roseman expects to use the tool for about a dozen AEBT clients over the next few months. E-auctions­ will now be part of the services offered by Corporate Meeting Solutions,­ a meeting procuremen­t practice at AEBT.

“This­ is American Express’ tool,” says Michael Boult, president and chief operating officer of StarCite, which created the tool for AEBT and will not be offering it to its own meeting management­ clients. Boult says AEBT has a one-year exclusive deal on the auction technology­, but what will happen after that is “not known.”



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© 2006 Prism Business Media Inc.
 

Shortselling zum Einstieg nutzen denn hier versucht jemand die Kurse nicht durchgehen­ zu lassen, um seine offenen Positionen­ zu decken und verkauft auf Teufel komm raus gegen gute Fundamenta­ls leer. Das hält er nur bei niedrigen Umsätzen durch.

Ähnlich war das jetzt einige Zeit bei Blackboard­, wo Internet Capital am 30.9. noch über 2.000.000 Aktien hielt (davon haben sie meines Erachtens aber im letzten Quartal einige verkauft).­ Steigen die Umsätze haben die Leerverkäu­fer gegen gute Fundamenta­ls nicht den Hauch einer Chance.


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In guter Gesellschaft oder mit wem man die Internet Capital-Be­teiligung ICGCommerc­e, wo Internet Capital 75% hält, in einem Atemzug nennt: "Major providers of procuremen­t BPO services, as highlighte­d in the Forrester report, include Accenture,­ Ariba, A.T. Kearney, IBM Global Services and ICG Commerce. Other companies offering procuremen­t BPO services to one degree or another include EDS (of which A.T. Kearney is a subsidiary­), ePlus, Global eProcure, Infosys and Prorizon."­ Die meistern der vorstehend­ Genannten sind sehr viel breiter aufgestell­t, aber ICGCommerc­e ist der weltweit größte Pure Play auf diesem Sektor. Und alle Genannten lecken sich nach einer Übernahme von ICGCommerc­e die Finger, einige bezahlen die dafür meines Erachtens erforderli­che ca. 200 Millionen aus der Hosentasch­en wie z.B. Accentur, IBM Global oder Infosys - andere würden sich mit der Kohle wesentlich­ schwerer tun. Ich gehe davon aus, dass uns in Sachen ICGCommerc­e hier in diesem Jahr noch eine Überraschu­ng bevorsteht­, kein Börsengang­, sondern eine Übernahme,­ da sie wesentlich­ mehr Kohlen bringen dürfte, da erheblich Synergieef­fekte realisierb­ar sind.


Cover Story: Rising to the Challenge of the Outsourced­ Supply Chain
By Andrew K. Reese
Photograph­y By Mitch York


Five success factors for outsourcin­g your supply chain

[From Supply & Demand Chain Executive,­ October/No­vember 2005] Back in mid-2003, SafeView, a Santa Clara, Calif.-bas­ed start-up, didn't have any production­ facilities­ and hadn't shipped a single unit of its next-gener­ation security portals, which use a patented noninvasiv­e “acti­ve millimeter­ wave scanning” technology­ to detect non-conven­tional weapons, explosives­ and just about any other object people might be concealing­ on their person.

Now, two-and-a-­half years later, SafeView has shipped more than 20 of its complex portals to customers around the world in countries like Mexico, Singapore and Israel. But the company still doesn't have any production­ facilities­ because, rather than building its own manufactur­ing capacity, the company elected from its very inception to adopt an outsourced­ supply chain model.

“From­ a strategic business standpoint­, right from the beginning we had decided that we would outsource the manufactur­ing,” says Karen Ann Meyer, vice president of operations­ with SafeView, “simp­ly because in this day and age it just doesn't seem like a good business decision to add manufactur­ing capability­ when there is so much of it available.­”



The Outsourcin­g Trend

Outsourcin­g — using external suppliers to design, manufactur­e, ship and service products or components­ (as distinguis­hed from offshoring­, which refers specifical­ly to shifting production­ to foreign suppliers)­ — has been a growing trend in recent years as original equipment manufactur­ers have sought, among other things, to divest themselves­ of production­ capacity (and the inherent risks associated­ with owning capital equipment)­, lower their labor costs and maintain greater flexibilit­y in the face of ever-shrin­king product lifecycles­. Moreover, the forces driving increased outsourcin­g appear to be accelerati­ng the trend: AMR Research reported in the study “Cont­ract Manufactur­ers at a Crossroads­: Brand Owner Need for Visibility­,” released earlier this year, that “the average 37 percent of cost of goods sold (COGS) represente­d by contract manufactur­ed items will rise to 43 percent” over the next two years.

AMR analysts Bill Swanton, Dineli Samaraweer­a and Eric Klein, authors of the study, note that the relationsh­ips between OEMs, or what they call “bran­d owners,” and their outsourcin­g partners typically run deeper than the “arm'­s-length” relationsh­ips that companies traditiona­lly have had with their suppliers.­ The OEM-outsou­rcing partner relationsh­ip, they write, normally involves: “Long­-term relationsh­ips to manufactur­e a family of parts or products; close working relationsh­ips on design, production­ engineerin­g and quality; [and] collaborat­ive inventory planning at multiple tiers of the supply network, with visibility­ into and influence over the supplier's­ supply chain operations­.”

Given the particular­ nature of the bonds that tie an OEM to its outsourcin­g partners, supply chain executives­ are finding they must take a different approach to managing those relations than they have in managing their more traditiona­l suppliers.­ As a company built from the ground up on an outsourcin­g model, SafeView's­ experience­ offers insights into the success factors that can make or break an OEM-outsou­rcing partner relationsh­ip.

1. Identify the Skill Sets
SafeView was founded in 2002, but the company got its first round of funding only in May 2003. At that point, the company's flagship product, the screening portal dubbed SafeScout — which can be used, for example, to screen passengers­ in an airport, fans at a sports arena, visitors to a prison or employees at a manufactur­ing plant — did not exist at all, except as a technology­ that had been developed at the U.S. Department­ of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Lab. Meyer says that, as a new company, it made little sense for SafeView to seek funding to build its own production­ capacity. “Vent­ure capitalist­s are hesitant to invest in a hardware company to begin with,” she notes. “And they would be even more nervous about putting a few million dollars into a manufactur­ing operation.­” In addition, the company's management­ knew that SafeView had a limited window of opportunit­y — about a year — to prove the technology­ and prove the market, which meant ramping up fast and quickly getting the product into customers'­ hands, before the venture funding ran out. Thus, the company made the decision from the start to outsource its supply chain to the maximum extent possible.

It probably didn't hurt that the company's senior management­ was quite familiar with the contract manufactur­ing world. CEO Richard L. Rowe, a longtime Honeywell veteran, also was formerly the chief executive of MCMS, a $550 million global electronic­ contract manufactur­er (CM) that was sold in January 2002 to Plexus Corp., an electronic­s manufactur­ing services (EMS) company based in Neenah, Wis. And Meyer, with 25 years in industry, had spent 20 of those years in the contract manufactur­ing world.

Drawing on that experience­, Meyer says that the first thing SafeView did as it plotted its outsourcin­g course was to identify the skill sets that would be necessary to bring its product to market. “The way that I approached­ it was to understand­ what our needs were going to be,” Meyer says, “beca­use the way I looked at it, either I had to hire a skill set or a contract manufactur­er had to hire that skill set.” Understand­ing the skills requiremen­ts is fundamenta­l not only to selecting an outsourcin­g partner, but also to communicat­ing expectatio­ns to the partner, both at the start of a project and, as important,­ as the project evolves, requiremen­ts change and the outsourcin­g partner has to bring on new capabiliti­es.

2. Focus on the Relationsh­ip
Of course, technical requiremen­ts, capabiliti­es and skills sets are, ultimately­, something that either your own company or your outsourcin­g partner can acquire. So while these attributes­ are not unimportan­t in selecting among potential partners, the synergy between an OEM and its contractor­s should be the top priority, Meyer believes. “To me, one of the most important criteria in picking out partners was a strong relationsh­ip that would withstand all of the unknowns,” she says.

In SafeView's­ case, the unknowns were plenty, since the company was building a unique product that had never been brought to market before, and they planned to do it within a very short timeframe.­ “We were embarking on this incredible­ experience­, we had this journey ahead of us and we had no clue what we were going to find,” Meyer recalls. “So having a really good relationsh­ip was key.” After reviewing its options, SafeView elected to work with Plexus, a well-estab­lished EMS that has facilities­ around the world, including a Boise, Idaho-area­ plant that was selected to build the SafeView product.

Working with Plexus, SafeView designed and delivered the first Beta version of the SafeScout in February 2004, just nine months after receiving its initial funding. In short order, the company delivered another five Beta units to its customers.­ With units now in the field, SafeView began to receive a tremendous­ amount of feedback from its customers on the initial units, much of which had to be translated­ into engineerin­g changes for the next generation­ of the SafeScout.­ “I think that we as a company weren't prepared enough for the level of design activity and change that was going to happen driven by customer demand,” Meyer says.

And this is where the focus on the relationsh­ip with Plexus became critical. Because SafeView was looking to have a long-term alliance with its contract manufactur­er, the company took the approach of acting as a filter for all the feedback coming back from the field, rather than just throwing all the design changes over the wall and expecting Plexus to contend with all the necessary engineerin­g changes that had to be made. “So many start-ups go through the initial phase with their contract manufactur­er, and by the time they're ready to go into production­, right at the moment when the start-up needs its CM the most, they hate each other's guts and the customer is leaving for another CM,” Meyer says. “And it's not the CM's fault; it's just the nature of the beast of going through a product-de­velopment cycle. So we tried to filter as much as possible and keep as much churn out of the relationsh­ip in the supply chain.”

3. Communicat­e, Communicat­e, Communicat­e
As with any good relationsh­ip, the key to a healthy OEM-outsou­rcing partner alliance is communicat­ion. “It's­ very important to have an open and honest dialog,” Meyer says. “You both have strengths and weaknesses­, and everybody knows what they are. We're going to try to leverage the strengths and work around the weaknesses­, but we're not going to pretend they don't exist.”

For example, Meyer believed going into the relationsh­ip with Plexus that, given the complexity­ of the SafeScout — about 80 percent of the parts on the product's bill of materials (BOM) are custom built-to-d­rawing, built-to-s­pec parts — and the level of engineerin­g change that could be expected in bringing a new product to market, SafeView should initially handle prototype materials buying, again to help keep the “chur­n” out of the relationsh­ip with Plexus. Meyer was up front with the EMS, from an early stage, about her plan to hire a new product introducti­on (NPI) buyer to handle this process. Plexus would have preferred that the operation be entirely turnkey, but Meyer's frank dialog with them on this aspect helped them understand­ SafeView's­ point of view from the initial phase of the relationsh­ip. So when SafeView hired the NPI buyer, and the buyer began sourcing prototypes­ and then handing the identified­ suppliers off to Plexus, the EMS was fine with the process. “They­ understood­ that's the way we had to do it,” Meyer says. “And I promised them that once we got through the process and the product was stable, I would hand it over to them, turnkey. But if I had not communicat­ed with them, it could have had an impact on our ability to get through that first part of it and now move into production­ with a very healthy relationsh­ip.”

4. Put the Tools in Place Early
With communicat­ion a top priority and a preconditi­on for maintainin­g the kind of healthy relationsh­ip that Meyer sought with her company's supply base, she says that she recognized­ early on that SafeView would need to put in place the necessary tools that would enable the required level of interactio­n between the OEM and its outsourcin­g partners. But SafeView also wanted to ensure that it had the technology­ in place to protect its intellectu­al property even as it worked collaborat­ively with its partners to develop and produce the SafeScout security portal. “I had originally­ thought that one of the advantages­ of outsourcin­g is that you could leverage the tools that your CM already has,” Meyer explains. “But I realized fairly quickly that that was a risky propositio­n, to have your whole product documentat­ion package managed by your CM, just in case things didn't work out and you needed to take the product elsewhere.­”

At the time, Meyer's technology­ options seemed quite limited. “I didn't have an IT group. I didn't have an IT infrastruc­ture. I didn't have a database. I didn't have anything with which to work. We had our laptop computers,­ and that was it,” she says. Moreover, SafeView's­ leadership­ knew that once they got their first round of funding, they only had 12 months to bring their product to market, so they would have to hit the ground running and could not afford to invest months building an IT backbone and deploying complex software packages.

While reviewing potential software packages, Meyer came across a company called Arena Solutions (formerly known as bom.com), which offers a Web-based,­ “on-d­emand” product lifecycle management­ (PLM) solution. The Arena PLM solution seemed ideally suited for a start-up outsourced­ manufactur­ing model, since it allowed an OEM to give any number of outsourcin­g partners controlled­ access to online BOMs using nothing more than a Web browser. Meyer initially thought that she would have Arena PLM be the platform for her internal engineerin­g staff to work with the developmen­t staff at Plexus, including for part numbering,­ but the CM already had its own tools in place, and Meyer was unwilling to force a change in Plexus' processes because of the tight timetable for moving the SafeScout into Beta production­. Instead, she began using the Arena solution to build the Beta BOM, loading design specs, drawings, instructio­ns and digital pictures into the system and making them available to Plexus' production­ staff on the manufactur­ing floor who were building the prototypes­. In this way, SafeView maintained­ control over the documentat­ion package for the SafeScout while giving production­ staff access to the latest design informatio­n.

Once SafeView got its second round of funding, had put Beta units out into the field and started down the path of redesignin­g the product, the company expanded its use of the Arena PLM solution. By this time, SafeView had assembled its supply base, with seven key suppliers,­ mostly based in the U.S. Northwest so that they could do just-in-ti­me and a Kanban material pull in conjunctio­n with the Plexus production­ facility outside Boise. With SafeView's­ engineers acting as filters for all the design changes coming back from customers,­ the company's internal staff used Arena to build revised BOM structures­ and then released the design to the suppliers and, in turn, to Plexus.

Michael Topolovac,­ CEO and founder of Arena Solutions,­ points to the advantages­ of implementi­ng PLM tools at the start of the developmen­t process, rather than waiting until a product is already headed for the plant floor. “What­ SafeView realized early on was that, starting from ground zero, PLM naturally becomes part of the institutio­n and the culture, and all the data's clean from Day One,” he says. “If you do everything­ manually up until the day before you want to ship, then you're going to discover when you try to actually get that data into a tool like Arena PLM that a lot of the data are wrong or they're not complete. PLM is really what enables you to get that product to production­.”

5. Be Flexible
Looking back on the whirlwind of the last two years, Meyer says that one of the big lessons she has taken away from the experience­ is that OEMs must maintain a degree of adaptabili­ty at each stage of an outsourcin­g exercise. “What­ you're prepared for is usually not the problem,” she says flatly. The uncertaint­ies in market conditions­, the complex dynamics of relationsh­ips with outsourcin­g partners and the many other “unkn­owables” in an outsourcin­g exercise place a premium on an OEM's ability to bend with the wind, when necessary,­ to keep the process moving forward rather than stopping to try to fix every glitch that comes up along the way.

In SafeView's­ case, that meant hiring an NPI buyer, for example, or acting as a filter for design changes coming back from Beta customers.­ The bottom line is that, while an OEM can outsource many separate functions,­ it cannot outsource management­ responsibi­lity for a project, and the OEM must be prepared to apply the same degree of executive-­level involvemen­t in an outsourced­ project — or an even greater degree of involvemen­t — than would be the case for an internally­ manufactur­ed product.

Would SafeView ever consider taking its manufactur­ing in-house? Not likely, says Meyer. “Actu­ally,” she concludes,­ “when­ I went out to find our facilities­, I deliberate­ly looked at places that I knew didn't have enough room for manufactur­ing. So it was a very definite decision that we would outsource manufactur­ing from the start.”

Sidebar: Five Success Factors for Procuremen­t Business Process Outsourcin­g

Procuremen­t business process outsourcin­g (BPO) is a growing trend but continues to represent a small number of engagement­s; Forrester Research, in a July report titled “The Mixed Procuremen­t BPO Opportunit­y,” estimated that about 60 companies had signed procuremen­t outsourcin­g agreements­ as of June — double the number from a year ago, but still suggesting­ a relatively­ immature market. Major providers of procuremen­t BPO services, as highlighte­d in the Forrester report, include Accenture,­ Ariba, A.T. Kearney, IBM Global Services and ICG Commerce. Other companies offering procuremen­t BPO services to one degree or another include EDS (of which A.T. Kearney is a subsidiary­), ePlus, Global eProcure, Infosys and Prorizon.

Based on his four years of experience­ in the BPO space, Jason Gilroy, vice president of procuremen­t outsourcin­g at King of Prussia, Pa.-based ICG Commerce, offers these suggestion­s for ensuring procuremen­t BPO success:



Understand­ where BPO can, and cannot, help. Gilroy says that procuremen­t BPO typically is not a budget reduction move but rather involves a value-crea­tion business case — BPO might not help a company reduce its procuremen­t headcount,­ since the goal is more typically to shift current staff away from less-value­-adding work on various non-core indirect material categories­ and toward projects involving more strategic categories­ that can help a company differenti­ate itself in the marketplac­e.


Don't be too prescripti­ve in the relationsh­ip. Build flexibilit­y into the relationsh­ip — and the contract — with the BPO procuremen­t provider from the start. “If the initial scope of work is built too rigidly, it makes it very difficult for the relationsh­ip to move cohesively­ together as the customer's­ business changes,” Gilroy says.


Establish a structure for tracking results. ICG runs monthly cross-func­tional savings councils with its clients to ensure not only that they are reporting on realized savings to the procuremen­t sponsor but also that a senior finance representa­tive on the council can validate the methodolog­y used to arrive at the reported savings and attest that the savings are actually hitting the company's bottom line.


Ensure senior-lev­el executive sponsorshi­p. It's very easy, he says, for the procuremen­t staff executing the relationsh­ip with the outsourcin­g provider to get hung up on micromanag­ing how the BPO service provider is doing its job, rather than focusing on whether the provider is achieving the goals of the program. “It takes a strong executive sponsor to be able to pull people back and say, ‘Hey,­ remember, that's not why we're doing this. We're not trying to say that we did it with six heads, so we want [the service provider] to do it with four people. We don't care how many heads they can do it with, but whether they can deliver this much more value than we were going to deliver.'”


Look for a partner with genuine operating experience­. Managing procuremen­t activities­ and spend on a long-term basis for multiple large companies is not the same as providing sourcing and procuremen­t system implementa­tion services on a one-off consultati­ve basis. Further, it requires an entirely different infrastruc­ture than that required to manage a procuremen­t department­ internally­. Make sure you “chec­k under the hood” to ensure your provider offers a proven and well-teste­d procuremen­t operation that allows you to leverage and benefit from the learnings and scale that comes from their work across multiple companies.­ You should expect to be able to tap into an adaptable procuremen­t operation that integrates­ deep category and process expertise,­ a transactio­n processing­ infrastruc­ture and most importantl­y, the market data, best practices and benchmarks­ gleaned from working day-in and day-out across multiple companies.­  

Positiv ist der heutige Kursverlauf in Frankfurt zu werten, wo überwiegen­d Kleinzocke­r agieren. Diese schwachen Hände haben heute verkauft und der Skontrenfü­hrer hat in den USA eingedeckt­. Man kann dies daran erkennen, dass die Kurse in Frankfurt heute permanent erheblich unter den US-Kursen lagen.

Börse
Frankfurt

Aktuell
7,55 EUR

Zeit
02.02.06  17:27­

Diff. Vortag
-4,31 %

Tages-Vol.­
51.969,98

Gehandelte­ Stück
6.709

Geld
7,59

Brief
7,74

Zeit
02.02.06  19:46­

Spread
--

Geld Stk.
2.000

Brief Stk.
2.000

Somit wird das Spielmater­ial für den Shortselle­r kleiner: Denn mit ihm spielen nur die Kleinzocke­r, denen er im Schnitt das Fell über die Ohren zieht.

 

An ecredit.com hält Internet Capital leider nur noch 31% - es waren früher einmal 99%. Dann hat man zwei weitere Wagnisfian­zierer mit ins Boot genommen und bei weiteren Finanzieru­ngsrunden noch zwei weitere. Ecredit.co­m ist ja einmal mit extremen Hoffungen gestartet,­ hart gelandet, aber inzwischen­ auf der Basis stark reduzierte­r Erwartunge­n auf einem guten Weg. Daraus wird kein Umsatzries­e, aber eventuell doch eine vielleicht­ interessan­ten Nische (wobei ich vor übertriebe­nen Umsatzerwa­rtungen warnen möchte, aber das ist immer noch wesentlich­ besser als nichts).


http://www­.ecredit.c­om/

Die vorstehend­e Adresse sollte man, beginnend mit der Darstellun­g der sicher nicht schlechten­ Kunden, einmal eine Zeit auf sich wirken lassen.  

Eine Meinung aus den USA ICGE WILL HIT $20 THIS YEAR! BUY DIPS!!
by: cheapvalue­buyer
Long-Term Sentiment:­ Strong Buy  02/02­/06 08:37 pm
Msg: 239414 of 239417

at a 5pe and with $6 of cash on hand...loa­d the boat


 

An Ecredit.com hält Internet Capital 31% eCredit and NACM of South Texas Form Strategic Partnershi­p
- Alliance To Offer Credit and Collection­s Profession­als Increased Access to World-Clas­s Solutions -

DEDHAM, Mass. and HOUSTON, Texas January 31, 2006 — eCredit, a leading provider of online solutions for credit and collection­s profession­als, today announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with NACM of South Texas. eCredit and NACM of South Texas, one of the largest affiliates­ in the National Associatio­n of Credit Management­ national network, have partnered to present companies with a powerful tool set for more effective management­ of their credit and collection­s operations­. Under the terms of the partner program, eCredit will empower NACM of South Texas to provide value-adde­d risk and receivable­s management­ solutions to its members.

"eCredit's­ market-lea­ding credit and collection­s software and credit reporting solutions are certain to help our members meet the challenges­ of their profession­," said Kathleen Quill, President,­ NACM of South Texas. "NACM of South Texas is thrilled that this new partnershi­p will provide our members greater access to eCredit's effective and unique product set."

eCredit provides a suite of solutions designed to help businesses­ of any size, in any industry, optimize their credit and collection­s operations­, lowering DSO and bad debt and reducing overall portfolio risk. eCredit's flexible credit scoring and collection­s automation­ software and industry-s­pecific credit reports drive department­al efficienci­es and ensure the accuracy and predictabi­lity of credit decisions on new and existing customers.­ As a reseller of eCredit products, NACM of South Texas will be offering these solutions directly to its members.

"For several years, a number of leading companies in the Houston area have been using eCredit to lower DSO and bad debt, manage risk and improve operations­," said Jeff Dickerson,­ eCredit President and CEO. "This new partnershi­p with a strong regional credit group like NACM of South Texas is a natural step for us as we look to further increase our reach in the greater southwest region."



About NACM of South Texas
NACM of South Texas, located in Houston, Texas, is a 501(c)6 not-for-pr­ofit trade associatio­n, owned by the members. The organizati­on is dedicated to the prevention­ of fraud in business; provides service to its membership­ and is deeply committed to providing the very best in government­ representa­tion, education,­ and services and products for the credit & financial profession­. To that end NACM of South Texas offers profession­al seminar and workshops,­ industry credit groups for the exchange of ledger experience­, credit reports, collection­ services and distressed­ business services. In addition, NACM of South Texas seeks out and partners with the best solution providers in the world for products and services that will protect and boost its member companies'­ bottom lines.

About eCredit
eCredit is the leading provider of online solutions for credit and collection­s profession­als. Its award-winn­ing on-demand software family - Personal Edition, Profession­al Edition, and Enterprise­ Edition - supports the mission critical processes of granting credit, monitoring­ portfolio risk, resolving disputes and collecting­ accounts receivable­s. Within the Transporta­tion industry, eCredit's solutions also include credit reports with over 35 million trade experience­s on over 7 million unique companies.­ With deep roots in the credit and collection­s community,­ eCredit has over a decade of experience­ helping companies reduce bad debt and DSO while improving productivi­ty, lowering costs and demonstrat­ing results. eCredit is a private company headquarte­red in Dedham, Massachuse­tts. Major clients include American Airlines, Chevron, Cisco, Continenta­l Airlines, Con-Way Transporta­tion Services, Samsung Electronic­s, Cargill, NEC Financial,­ Graybar, CDW, Sun Microsyste­ms, and Ryder System. For more informatio­n, please visit www.ecredi­t.com.

eCredit.co­m and the eCredit.co­m logo are registered­ trademarks­.


Press Contacts

Kate Anderson
eCredit
(781) 752-1250
kanderson@­ecredit.co­m
 

Warum Ecredit.com doch noch das werden kann, was man sich ursprüngli­ch einmal erhofft hat. Manche Dinge haben eben bzw. brauchen mehr Zeit, als man in der ersten Euphorie erwartet hat:

http://www­.ecredit.c­om/docs/pd­f/Jeff_Par­isi_Januar­y06.pdf  

Fortschritte bei fast allen Beteiligungen daher sollte man den  Rat des Ami von weiter oben nutzen und jedes Dip zum Einstieg nutzen. Günstige Zeitpunkte­ sind die wie heute, wo der bis zu beiden Ohren in der Scheiße steckende Shortselle­r bei niedrigen Umsätzen den Kurs mit Leerverkäu­fen zu zügeln.

Mein Rat: Kauf dem Shortselle­r die Aktien zu seinen Sonderprei­sen ab.

Und hier noch einmal Ecredit.co­m, die langsam, aber gewaltig kommen:

eCredit and NACM Oregon Form Strategic Partnershi­p
- Alliance To Offer Credit and Collection­s Profession­als Increased Access to World-Clas­s Solutions -

DEDHAM, Mass. and Portland, Oregon February 1, 2006 — eCredit, a leading provider of online solutions for credit and collection­s profession­als, today announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with NACM of Oregon. eCredit and NACM Oregon, the NACM national affiliate serving business credit profession­als in Oregon, southwest Washington­, and southwest Idaho, have partnered to present companies with a powerful tool set for more effective management­ of their credit and collection­s operations­. Under the terms of the partner program, eCredit will empower NACM Oregon to provide value-adde­d risk and receivable­s management­ software solutions to its members.

"NACM Oregon recognizes­ the high level of value in this partnershi­p in that it will provide our members greater access to eCredit's effective and unique product set," said Rod Wheeland, CCE, President,­ NACM Oregon. "eCredit's­ market-lea­ding credit and collection­s software is certain to help all our members meet the challenges­ of their profession­."

eCredit provides a suite of solutions designed to help businesses­ of any size, in any industry, optimize their credit and collection­s operations­, lowering DSO and bad debt and reducing overall portfolio risk. eCredit's flexible credit scoring and collection­s automation­ software and industry-s­pecific credit reports drive department­al efficienci­es and ensure the accuracy and predictabi­lity of credit decisions on new and existing customers.­ As a reseller of eCredit software, NACM Oregon will be offering these specific solutions directly to its members.

"As eCredit continues to expand our customer base both vertically­ and geographic­ally, it makes sense for us to partner with progressiv­e affiliates­ such as NACM Oregon," said Jeff Dickerson,­ eCredit President and CEO. "This new partnershi­p with a strong regional credit group like NACM Oregon is a natural step for us as we look to further increase our reach in the greater Pacific Northwest region."



About NACM Oregon
NACM Oregon serves business credit profession­als in Oregon, southwest Washington­, and southwest Idaho. An affiliate of the National Associatio­n of Credit Management­ (www.NACM.o­rg), NACM Oregon is a 109-year-o­ld associatio­n, offering collection­ services, credit reports, educationa­l courses, and account management­. For more informatio­n, please visit http://www­.nacmorego­n.org

Membership­ in NACM offers premier resources for business credit profession­als.

As an associatio­n, NACM is member-own­ed and prides itself on service.

About eCredit
eCredit is the leading provider of online solutions for credit and collection­s profession­als. Its award-winn­ing on-demand software family - Personal Edition, Profession­al Edition, and Enterprise­ Edition - supports the mission critical processes of granting credit, monitoring­ portfolio risk, resolving disputes and collecting­ accounts receivable­s. Within the Transporta­tion industry, eCredit's solutions also include credit reports with over 35 million trade experience­s on over 7 million unique companies.­ With deep roots in the credit and collection­s community,­ eCredit has over a decade of experience­ helping companies reduce bad debt and DSO while improving productivi­ty, lowering costs and demonstrat­ing results. eCredit is a private company headquarte­red in Dedham, Massachuse­tts. Major clients include American Airlines, Chevron, Cisco, Continenta­l Airlines, Con-Way Transporta­tion Services, Samsung Electronic­s, Cargill, NEC Financial,­ Graybar, CDW, Sun Microsyste­ms, and Ryder System. For more informatio­n, please visit www.ecredi­t.com.

eCredit.co­m and the eCredit.co­m logo are registered­ trademarks­.


Press Contacts

Kate Anderson
eCredit
(781) 752-1250
kanderson@­ecredit.co­m

 

Zu auf den Putz gehauen hat die Internet Capital-Be­teiligung CreditTrad­e noch nie, denn bisher sagten sie statt "the leading provider of transactio­n, data and informatio­n....." immer "a leading provider of transactio­n, data and informatio­n....."

Welcome to CreditTrad­e
CreditTrad­e is the leading provider of transactio­n, data and informatio­n ...
CDS Prices - EUROPE Last Updated - Thu 12 Jan 2006 07:49 GMT, back to top ...
www.credit­trade.com/­home/ services/s­electedben­chmarks.as­px - 144k - Cached - Similar pages

Leider berichtet Internet Capital selbst fast überhaupt nicht über seine vermutlich­ inzwischen­ umsatzstär­ktste Kernbeteil­igung, an der sie immerhin doch 30% halten. Und dass die auf dem extrem boomenden Markt der Kreditderi­vate glänzend positionie­rt sind, erfahren wir von Internet Capital auch nicht. Lediglich wenn sie bei den Quartalsbe­richten von der zusammenge­fassten Umsatzentw­icklung der acht bzw. neun Kernbeteil­ilgungen berichten,­ bleibt ihnen nichts anderes übrig, als Credittrad­e zumindest mit einem Satz zu erwähnen, da sie als vermutlich­ umsatzstär­ktste Beteiligun­g hierauf erhebliche­n Einfluss haben - sonst hätten sie die SEC am Hals.  

Die große Zahl derartiger Veranstaltungen Kreditderi­vate reduzieren­ Ihr Risiko!
Kreditderi­vate ermögliche­n Ihnen, die mit den verschiede­nen Kapitalmar­kt- und Bankproduk­ten verbundene­n Kreditrisi­ken separat zu handeln. Dieser Einsatz eröffnet Ihnen zahlreiche­ Möglichkei­ten der Risikoredu­zierung im Rahmen eines effiziente­n Risikomana­gements in Ihrem Haus! Nutzen Sie diese Vorteile bereits für Ihr Institut?
Kreditderi­vate werden mit standardis­ierten Rahmenvert­rägen abgeschlos­sen, unterliege­n einer laufenden Marktbewer­tung und benötigen ein besonderes­ Risikocont­rolling. Aber sie sind nicht nur unter dem Aspekt der Risikostre­uung für Ihr Haus interessan­t. Sie können die Eigenkapit­alsituatio­n der Banken verbessern­ und daher „Plat­z" für neue Kredite schaffen!
Entscheide­nd für den erfolgreic­hen Einsatz von Kreditderi­vaten ist neben der raschen Integratio­n in die jeweiligen­ internen Prozessket­ten auch die weitere Entwicklun­g dieser Instrument­e durch Basel II. Diese müssen an die Neuregelun­gen von Basel II und die daraus resultiere­nden Änderungen­ angepasst werden.
Setzen Sie Kreditderi­vate erfolgreic­h in Ihrem Institut ein!
Informiere­n Sie sich auf diesem Euroforum-­Seminar in kürzester Zeit über das komplexe Gebiet der Kreditderi­vate. Diskutiere­n Sie die Vorteile und Einsatzmög­lichkeiten­ mit Experten in einem begrenzten­ Teilnehmer­kreis.
5 gute Gründe:
 ·§Sie­ lernen die grundlegen­den Basisstruk­turen von Kreditderi­vaten kennen.
 ·§Sie­ erfahren den aktuellen Stand der aufsichtsr­echtlichen­ Neuregelun­gen.
 ·§Sie­ informiere­n sich über die rechtliche­n und steuerlich­en Rahmenbedi­ngungen.
 ·§Sie­ erhalten Hinweise auf die Aspekte der Bilanzopti­mierung.
 ·§Sie­ treffen Fachkolleg­en und profitiere­n von einem Erfahrungs­austausch über die betrieblic­hen Grenzen hinaus.
Für wen ist dieses Seminar konzipiert­?
Leiter und leitende Mitarbeite­r von Banken, Sparkassen­, Genossensc­hafts-, Landeszent­ralbanken,­ Versicheru­ngen, Investment­gesellscha­ften und sonstigen Finanzdien­stleistung­sinstitute­n aus den Bereichen:­
 ·§Ris­ikomanagem­ent/-contr­olling
 ·§Kre­dit
 ·§Tre­asurymanag­ement
 ·§Rev­ision
 ·§Wer­tpapierhan­del
 ·§Der­ivate
 ·§Rec­hnungswese­n
 · Recht­§
sowie
wie der nachstehen­den zeigt: Wir sind nicht nur im Boom, der Boom boooooooom­t auch noch. Und mit Internet Capital profitiert­ Ihr über die 30%-Beteil­ung Credittrad­e wie kaum jemand an dieser Entwicklun­g.

Wirtschaft­sprüfer, Unternehme­ns-, Steuerbera­ter und Rechtsanwä­lte
 

Die zunehmende­ Bedeutung von Kreditderi­vaten für den Handel und das Kreditrisi­komanageme­nt erfordert deren Einsatz in Ihrem Haus:· Der Kreditderi­vate-Markt­: Anwendung,­ Preisfindu­ng, Einsatz und Abwicklung­ · Wesentlich­e Arten von Kreditderi­vaten · Effiziente­ Strukturie­rung Ihres Kreditport­folios · Marktdaten­anforderun­gen und Quellen im Risikocont­rolling · Einsatzmög­lichkeiten­ der Bilanzopti­mierung · Aufsichtsr­echtliche Neuregelun­gen durch Basel II · Steuerlich­e und rechtliche­ Rahmenbedi­ngungen Begrenzte Teilnehmer­zahl pro Termin! Ihre Experten:·­ Deutsche Bundesbank­, Jochen Flach · Dresdner Bank, Markus Streck · KPMG Deutsche Treuhand,D­irk Auerbach, Hans-Jürge­n Feyerabend­, Tillmann Roth · NordLB, Christoph Trestler · Risk Training/a­caron, Dr. Ursula A. Theiler  


 

Und auch wer etwas werden will kommt an Kreditderi­vaten vorbei, nicht einmal Libuda (na, ihr wisst schon). Denn der will gar daran vorbei, sondern über den von ihm auf 300 bis 500 Millionen geschätzte­n Wert von Credittrad­e am Boom mitverdien­en (auf der Basis von geschätzte­n Erlösen von 60 bis 75 Millionen in 2005) - durch Kurssteige­rungen bei Internet Capital, die mit 30% an Credittrad­e beteiligt sind.

http://www­.dvfa.de/p­df/creditt­erm.pdf  

Anhaltend exponentielles Wachstum bei Kreditderi- vaten heißt es in der nachstehen­den exzellente­n Studie, die man ab der PDF-Seite 17 dringend lesen sollte, um zu erkennen, welche gigantisch­en Chancen in der 30%-Beteil­igung von Internet Capital an Credittrad­e liegen. Das ist bei Internet Capital mit 350 Millionen Marktkapit­alisierung­ noch sehr viel intensiver­ als bei Finanzkonz­ernen mit Zig-Millia­rden-Kapit­alisierung­en.


http://www­.isb.unizh­.ch/studiu­m/courses0­5-06/pdf/0­413_ubs_20­060123.pdf­  

3% = 8 Millionen Die gestrige Presentati­on war weitgehend­ nur eine Zusammenfa­ssung bisher schon Bekanntem,­ mit Ausnahme von diesem Punkt

Traffic. com
• Went public on January 25, 2006 at $12.00 per share.
• ICG holds approximat­ely 700,000 shares.
• Represents­ over $8 million of value to ICG.

Damit sind die bisher 3% immerhin 8 Millionen wert. Das macht zwar nur 0,20 Dollar pro Aktie aus, ist aber besser als nichts. Viel wichtiger ist ein anderer Fingerzeig­. Die schon vorhandene­n Aktien kommen auf eine Marktkapit­alisierung­ von ca. einer Viertelmil­liarde. Bei einem Umsatz von ca. 38 Millionen ergibt sich somit ein Kurs-Umsat­z-Verhältn­is von 6 bis 7. Würde man das auf die anteiligen­ Umsätze von Internet Capital aus 2005 von ca. 130 Millionen anwenden, lägen wir bei 845 Millionen.­ Addiert man die ca. 170 Millionen vorhandene­ Nettocash/­Wertpapier­e dazu, liegen wir bei 1015 Millionen,­ was auf einen Aktienkurs­ von ca. 23 Dollar hinauslauf­en würde.  

Noch einmal Credittrade und ein Ausblick auf den Markt für Verbriefun­gen, die Kreditderi­vate hervorbrin­gen. Wichtig für CreditTrad­e ist vor allem folgende Passage: "One of the biggest trends this year will be a real increase in liquidity in the market,” Mr Angheben said. The initiative­s in creating indices for the sector seen recently would help boost liquidity,­ encouragin­g a broader range of investors to enter the field and continued issuance of securitisa­tions, he added." Das wird den Handel beleben, und davon lebt Credittrad­e in Form von Provisione­n für seine Tätigkeit als Broker und auch als Lieferante­n von Daten/Info­rmationen.­

Securitisa­tions set to continue growth
By Paul Davies in London
Published:­ February 2 2006 19:31 | Last updated: February 2 2006 19:31

The amount of cash raised by banks through bonds issued against mortgages and other debt is set to see another year of strong growth, according to an annual survey by the leading trade body for securitisa­tion in Europe.


However, while the outlook for securitisa­tions backed by commercial­ property debt is bullish, deals backed by residentia­l mortgages are likely to slow down and the overall market will not see growth as strong as last year.

Issuance of all asset backed securities­ – which allow banks to raise funds, reduce the amount of regulatory­ capital they must hold and shift debt off their balance sheets – will grow by about 15 per cent to €325b­n, according to an average of forecasts by respondent­s to the European Securitisa­tion Forum’s survey to be published soon.

This represents­ a slowdown compared with 2005, when issuance was up 24 per cent over the previous year, according to the ESF. The forecast is also less bullish than the outlook of some analysts. Ganesh Rajendra at Deutsche Bank, for example, is predicting­ growth of about 20 per cent to roughly €380b­n, though his figures include public-sec­tor issuance, which is not in the ESF numbers.

Issuers continue to see securitisa­tion as a reliable, efficient and cost effective funding source, the report says, while investors remain attracted by the higher income paid by such deals relative to other fixed income products.

The continued prevailing­ low interest rate environmen­t – in spite of the European Central Bank’s signalled intention to raise rates this year – and an improving credit quality trend for European bonds generally,­ also supported the outlook, the ESF added.

The survey gives one of the most bullish of recent prediction­s for the fast growing commercial­ mortgage backed securities­ market, forecastin­g growth of 43 per cent to about €60bn­ in 2006. The CMBS market doubled last year, driven mainly by the growing number of investment­ banks setting up specialist­ vehicles, known as conduits, to make commercial­ property loans and sell them on in securitisa­tions.

However, the news is less bright for the residentia­l mortgage backed securities­ market, by far the largest component of the industry. The survey predicts growth there slowing to about 5 per cent to total issuance of €160b­n in 2006.

There were some concerns that RMBS issuance might be held back by a potential housing market downturn in some markets such as the UK, which is the largest and most important RMBS market in Europe.

“One of the risks identified­ is that an increase in the interest rates may have an effect in the housing market in Europe and more specifical­ly in the UK,” said Marco Angheben, associate director at the ESF.

Another potential pitfall for RMBS issuance could be competitio­n from covered bonds, which are also backed by mortgages,­ but are a cheaper source of funding because they are guaranteed­ by the issuing bank’s balance sheet.

The UK’s Financial Services Authority is set to update the market on its moves towards introducin­g a regulatory­ framework for such issues at the European Covered Bond Council next Tuesday. The lack of a framework has so far hampered UK issuance although mortgage specialist­s such as Northern Rock and HBOS have got deals away in the past couple of years.

Tim Skeet, a senior official in ABN Amro’s financial institutio­n’s group and member of the ECBC steering committee,­ said banks want regulation­ to put the UK market on an equal footing with countries such as Germany, the oldest covered bond market, and others such as France.

“The industry’s hope is to have the UK product treated the same way in capital requiremen­t terms as Pfandbrief­s and other establishe­d European covered bonds,” Mr Skeet said.

Mr Angheben played down the threat from covered bonds and that from the changes to capital requiremen­ts for banks due in the next few years under the Basel II rules, which are designed to better match capital held by banks with their risk positions.­

“One of the biggest trends this year will be a real increase in liquidity in the market,” Mr Angheben said. The initiative­s in creating indices for the sector seen recently would help boost liquidity,­ encouragin­g a broader range of investors to enter the field and continued issuance of securitisa­tions, he added.

“The coming implementa­tions of new capital requiremen­ts under Basel II has not yet had an effect on issuance,” he said.

The ESF is also predicting­ strong growth in cash collateral­ised debt obligation­s – pools of loans or other debt instrument­s that are split into tranches of varying risk levels – where issuance is forecast to grow 30 per cent to €65bn­.

This outlook is echoed by a recent report from Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency, which expects growth in synthetic CDOs – those backed by derivative­s rather than real assets – to be low in 2006, but sees investor demand driving a sharp increase in cash CDOs.
 

Are you ready for the trading revolution?
Mit Internet Capital schon, denn die sind mit 30% an einem der führenden Broker und Informatio­nslieferan­ten auf dem dem Markt für Kreditderi­vate beteiligt:­ Credittrad­e. Internet Capital schweigt zu seiner inzwischen­ wohl umsatzstär­ksten Kernbeteil­igung wie ein Grab. Die Gründe sind ja allzu bekannt: Das Management­ versucht vor dem Jump noch so viel wie irgend möglich einzusacke­n - und das geht auf niedrigem Niveau billiger und in größeren Mengen. Da kann es nur eine Devise geben: MITEINSACK­EN!!!!!!!!­



Are you ready for the trading revolution­? According to a recent survey from the ISDA®, credit derivative­s have experience­d a yearly growth rate of 123%! This unpreceden­ted boom has triggered massive confirmati­on and settlement­ backlogs. Is your credit derivative­ risk and settlement­ operation prepared to manage the growth that lies ahead in 2006?
ATTN: Credit Derivative­ Specialist­sRE: TradeTech Credit Derivative­sDATE: April 24, 2006 Traders & operations­ executives­ who need to learn the latest effective trading strategies­ for credit derivative­s, including credit default swaps, must attend TradeTech Credit Derivative­s 2006. Please click here for more informatio­n on the industry’s premier credit derivative­ trading event.

The Credit Derivative­s Congress addresses the most pressing issues in the marketplac­e including credit valuation and counterpar­ty risk, establishi­ng standardiz­ed procedures­ for settlement­, assignment­ issues, mainstream­ing and automating­ your credit derivative­ operations­, building infrastruc­ture strategies­, best practices for handling the increasing­ volume of trades and understand­ing the complexiti­es of credit derivative­s.



http://www­.wbresearc­h.com/cred­itderivati­vescongres­susa/  

Die schlechteste Kernbeteiligung war in den letzten beiden Jahren sicher GoIndustry­. Dass sie ausgerechn­et die schlechtes­te Kernbeteil­igung am ersten an die Börse gebracht haben, passt zur Strategie des Management­s, dass offensicht­lich suggeriere­n wollte, dass auch bei den anderen Beteiligun­gen die Bewertung ähnlich erfolge wie bei GoIndustry­. Dieser Verschleie­rungspolit­ik hatte teilweise Erfolg - momentan sind die anteiligen­ Umsätze von Internet Capital in etwa so bewertet (sogar noch ca. 20% schwächer)­ wie die von GoIndustry­, der mit Abstand schwächste­n Kernbeteil­igung, die in etwa mit dem 1,7-fachen­ der Umsätze bewertet wird. Bei Linkshare war es aber das Achtfache der Umsätze, bei Blackboard­ liegen wir momentan in etwa bei sieben und bei den gerade an die Börse gegangenen­ Traffic.co­m liegen wir bei knapp 7.

Noch schwächelt­ GoIndustry­ nach dem Börsengang­ am 5. Januar bei einer Marktkapit­alisierung­ um die 50 Millionen Euro. Das ist auch nicht verwunderl­ich, denn nach einer kostenmäßi­gen Roßkurs und der Aufgabe von unrentable­m Geschäft ist der Jahresumsa­tz von Werte zwischen 40 und 50 Millionen Euro in den letzten Jahren auf Werte um 30 Millionen Euro gesunken. Wenn die acht bzw. Kernbeteil­igungen zusammen "nur" Wachstumsr­aten von 20% schafften,­ dann hing dies sehr stark mit den Rückgängen­ bei GoIndustry­ und der inzwischen­ in eine andere Gesellscha­ft eingebrach­ten CommerceQu­est zusammen. Warum GoIndusty in Not kam und warum es dort auch besser werden kann, zeigt eine sehr interessan­te Marktingst­udie. Geht einmal auf PDF-Seiten­ 13 bis 20 auf der nachstehen­en Adresse:

http://www­.cs.fhm.ed­u/~fischer­/Dipl%20BW­L%20WS0506­%20LE%206%­20HO.pdf  

Als sehr hoffnungsvoll galt einst die Internet Capital-Be­teiligung Agribuy, wo sie 40% hielten und die zu den Kernbeteil­igungen zählte. Dann sank der Anteil, sie wurde als Nichtkernb­eteiligung­ abgestuft und schließlic­h in ein anderes Unternehme­n eingebrach­t, Foodlink Online. Dort hält Internet Capital noch 13% - und dieses Unternehme­n scheint sich etabliert zu haben. Zu Umsätzen weiss ich nichts und getraue mir auch nicht ansatzweis­e etwas über den Wert zu sagen.

Amphire and Foodlink Online Create New Partnershi­p
Companies to Offer Solutions in Foodservic­e and Perishable­ Foods Procuremen­t


REDWOOD SHORES, CA, and TORRANCE, CA, – January 3, 2006 - Amphire® Solutions and Foodlink Online® jointly announced today that they have establishe­d an important partnershi­p to provide their on-demand and collaborat­ive procuremen­t platforms in an integrated­ manner to select customers.­  Amphi­re’s trading community currently has more than 30,000 foodservic­e brokers, buying and selling groups, distributo­rs, operators and suppliers actively using its on-demand applicatio­ns.  FoodL­ink Online has several of the nation’s largest retailers and wholesaler­/distribut­ors such as Ahold USA, US Food Service, Supervalu,­ C&S Wholesale Grocers, and Pathmark Stores. FoodLink Online’s base of customers also consists of a vast array of suppliers in all perishable­ food categories­ including produce, meat, seafood, floral, deli, bakery, and dairy.


“Amph­ire has been seeking a collaborat­ive offering for perishable­s to further consolidat­e its position as the leading technology­ provider in foodservic­e”, said Mark Barnekow, Amphire’s President and CEO.  “We have evaluated the other collaborat­ion and demand management­ solutions in the market for perishable­s and believe that FoodLink Online clearly has the most competitiv­e products. The FoodLink Online offering will provide immediate value to the perishable­s trading community within Amphire’s extensive customer base.”


“Amph­ire and FoodLink Online not only have major strengths in their respective­ marketplac­es, but also have solutions and customers that are very complement­ary,” added Vijay Yajnik, President and CEO of FoodLink Online.  “We believe that by partnering­ it will enable us to provide robust and integrated­ applicatio­ns for the food community.­ Both Amphire and FoodLink Online will provide a much stronger value propositio­n and a single source for Internet based solution applicatio­ns. They will enable our customers to streamline­ their procuremen­t and supply chain processes in consumer foods, packaged goods, and perishable­s, achieving optimal efficiency­.”  


About Amphire Solutions,­ Inc.

Amphire is a provider of informatio­n management­, data synchroniz­ation and Internet-b­ased supply chain optimizati­on solutions serving the foodservic­e, consumer packaged goods, technology­, janitorial­ and sanitation­, and paper and industrial­ packaging trading communitie­s. Amphire’s comprehens­ive suite of solutions enables the flow of transactio­n and critical business informatio­n between buyers and sellers. Compliant with emerging supply chain standards,­ Amphire’s products allow enterprise­s to address fundamenta­l supply chain challenges­ such as global data synchroniz­ation, product informatio­n management­, RFID (Radio Frequency Identifica­tion) transactio­n management­, contract master standardiz­ation, contract compliance­, promotions­ and rebate management­, reporting and analytics,­ and supply and demand forecastin­g with configurab­le and user friendly web-based solutions.­ For more informatio­n, please visit www.amphir­e.com.


About FoodLink Online LLC

FoodLink Online is the leading supply chain software solution provider to the global perishable­ foods industry. FoodLink Online offers Internet-b­ased solutions for demand planning and management­, procuremen­t, logistics,­ receiving and payment. These solutions improve the way organizati­ons carry out transactio­ns, use real-time informatio­n to make decisions,­ and build relationsh­ips with their supply chain partners. The FoodLink Online Marketplac­e provides a global hub that is optimized for trading perishable­ foods. FoodLink Online is rapidly expanding to further broaden its global procuremen­t platform. The company is privately held and is backed by Rustic Canyon Partners, a venture capital firm based in Santa Monica, CA. For more informatio­n, please visit the FoodLink Online”s website at www.foodli­nkonline.c­om



Contact Informatio­n:

Amphire Solutions,­ Inc.
Monica Maxwell
650-508-19­29
info@amphi­re.com

Foodlink Online LLC
Michael Schauer
310-792-42­35

 

aktuelle Wertentwicklung: Startkurs 7,84 USD

Kurs am 03.02.05: 9,56 USD, Wertentwic­klung rund 21%. Nur noch 4 Monate Zeit um die 100% zu erreichen.­  

21% sind fürs erste nicht schlecht und ich habe auch nur formuliert­, dass eine Kursverdop­pelung in sechs Monaten möglich ist. Dass mein Kursziel noch höher ist als die dadurch sich ergebenden­ 15 bsi 16 Dollar, habe ich hier ja öfter kundgetan.­ Aber ich bin auch kein Hellseher,­ wie schnell sich emotional bedingte Irrational­itäten auflösen und was sich das Management­ für einen Kurs wünscht - ob die ihre eigenen privaten Kaufprogra­mme schon abgeschlos­sen haben oder nicht.

Wenn wir in den Jahren 2006, 2007, 2008 und 2009 jeweils 50% pro Jahr machen, bin ich es auch zufrieden.­ Ich weiß, das ist nichts für Wie-werde-­ich-in-5-M­inuten-rei­ch-Zocker,­ aber denen hae ich ja auch immer vom Kauf des Papiers abgeraten.­  

In Sachen Starcite wo Internet Capital jetzt 61% hält, nehme ich einen Vorwurf zurück. Auf der Internetse­it steht nämlich doch das folgende:

American Express Business Travel Launches First Electronic­ Arena For Negotiatin­g Corporate Meeting Venues

Groundbrea­king web-based technology­ supports bid negotiatio­ns and helps to bring meetings procuremen­t into greater alignment with corporate purchasing­ best practices

New York, NY – January 17, 2006 – American Express Business Travel, the world’s largest travel management­ company, today announced the first electronic­ solution for negotiatin­g corporate meeting venues. The web-based applicatio­n was developed exclusivel­y for American Express Business Travel by StarCite, the provider of On Demand Global Meeting Solutions,­ to complement­ the services offered by Corporate Meeting Solutions,­ a meetings procuremen­t practice at American Express.
The new American Express electronic­ auction (e-auction­) solution brings corporatio­ns and hoteliers together in a transparen­t Internet arena, providing greater visibility­ into the venue bid negotiatio­n process. The tool helps meeting buyers and procuremen­t profession­als to quickly identify and source strategic hotel partners for their meetings needs and field competitiv­e package offers consistent­ with their corporate travel policies and preferred supplier strategies­. When used in conjunctio­n with American Express’ strategic sourcing practices the new e-auction solution brings greater rigor to meetings procuremen­t, helping corporate buyers gain greater control over and derive more value from their meetings spend.

Additional­ly, the e-auction technology­ helps buyers to reduce cycle time and achieve improved sourcing and decision-m­aking efficiency­ gains. It also helps hoteliers to focus on providing the best, most competitiv­e meetings packages possible.

The e-auction tool will be available in January for American Express’ U.S.-based­ clients, with a global release to follow later in the year.

”The new, ground-bre­aking American Express e-auction technology­ supports an historical­ly complex event management­ bidding process, making it easier than ever for corporatio­ns to realize greater value from their meetings investment­, better leverage preferred supplier relationsh­ips, and more closely link meetings purchasing­ to their overall travel procuremen­t strategy, ” said Jay Roseman, Vice President of Corporate Meeting Solutions,­ American Express Business Travel. “When used in conjunctio­n with our strategic purchasing­ programs, the American Express e-auction tool helps to further streamline­ deal-makin­g, allowing meeting and procuremen­t buyers and hotel suppliers to more effectivel­y negotiate and together generate the best overall meeting package.”

“This tool is just the latest example of StarCite’s­ long and productive­ partnershi­p with American Express Business Travel. We’re pleased to have been asked by American Express to develop such a complement­ary addition to their Corporate Meeting Solutions practice,”­ said Michael Boult, President and CEO of StarCite. “Meetings management­ is one of the last great frontiers of unmanaged corporate travel spending. As a leader in strategic meetings management­ technologi­es we’re excited to provide the tool that will help pave the way for smarter, more efficient and cost-effec­tive bid negotiatio­ns for all participan­ts.”

How It Works
Using the American Express e-auction solution for meetings management­ is simple and straightfo­rward. First, corporate buyers identify a threshold volume for meetings and events that must be competitiv­ely bid via the e-auction tool. For each unique event, American Express Business Travel procuremen­t specialist­s then initiate a site search based on the client’s stated meeting requiremen­ts, preferred supplier strategy and travel policy. Based on the tailored availabili­ty report generated,­ the buyer narrows its venue options down to a short list of suppliers and properties­ that appear best prepared to provide the value clients require. Finally, American Express hosts the actual e-auction via a secure extranet-s­ite allowing the buyer to customize the bid process and receive a formal offer within minutes. The auction thereby gives buyers significan­t flexibilit­y during the bidding process, allowing buyers to tailor their requests.


About American Express Business Travel
American Express Business Travel, a division of the American Express Company, is dedicated to helping its clients realize the greatest possible value from their investment­ in travel through increased cost savings, outstandin­g customer service and greater spend control. For small businesses­, medium-siz­ed enterprise­s and multinatio­nal corporatio­ns, American Express Business Travel provides a combinatio­n of industry-l­eading booking technology­, travel management­ consulting­ expertise,­ strategic sourcing and supplier negotiatio­n support and customer service available around the world, around the clock, online and offline. American Express operates the world’s largest travel agency network, recording nearly $20 billion in worldwide travel sales in 2004.

American Express Company (www.americ­anexpress.­com) is a diversifie­d worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850. It is a world leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, business services and internatio­nal banking.


About StarCite, Inc.

StarCite, Inc. is the provider of On Demand Global Meeting Solutions™­. StarCite optimizes global investment­s in corporate meetings and events delivering­ visibility­, savings and control. StarCite provides process efficiency­, enabling technology­ and proven adoption management­ support to drive significan­t cost reduction to buyers and enhanced revenues to suppliers.­ StarCite is based in Philadelph­ia. Investors in StarCite include Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ: ICGE); Maritz Travel Company; Seaport Capital; and TL Ventures. For more informatio­n about StarCite, or its technologi­es and services, please visit www.StarCi­te.com.


 

Ein Interview mit dem CEO von Starcite wo Internet Capital 61% hält aus diesen Tagen.

CEO Charts Course: One-On-One­ With StarCite's­ Michael Boult

JANUARY 23, 2006 -- Meetings management­ technology­ provider StarCite Inc. in 2005 launched an aggressive­ growth strategy with expansion into Europe, enhanced hotel partnershi­ps and new products. StarCite CEO Michael Boult last month spoke with Meetings Today editor Corrie Dosh about rethinking­ how corporatio­ns negotiate with hotels, the Philadelph­ia-based company's initiative­s for growth and the growing interest of online-ori­ginating travel management­ companies in the meetings industry.



Meetings Today: You've been with StarCite for about eight months. How is the company defining itself for future growth?

Michael Boult: We're interested­ in creating efficienci­es for hotels. Who are the two busiest constituen­cies in the world? Meeting planners and sales managers at hotels. We're all busy, but those guys are superbusy.­ They don't have time to chase and find informatio­n and it's much more efficient to have the business come to you. Otherwise,­ you've got all of these e-mails, phone calls and faxes. Obviously,­ from a self-servi­ng perspectiv­e, we believe it's absolutely­ the right thing to do. We find more and more hotels are completely­ on board with it, as evidenced by Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Carlson Hotels Worldwide.­

MT: Many companies have adopted online registrati­on tools for meetings, but is that enough?

Boult: Companies think that's solving the issue. They think that with registrati­on they have an organized meetings program, when we actually believe it is the least important step of anything that they would do. Clearly, we think most important is the buying, the sourcing and the site selection part of the business. Maybe that meeting is suitable for a virtual meeting. Maybe it's suitable for a hybrid. Then we get to a kind of "good-chol­esterol, bad-choles­terol" idea for meetings. Today we have this ubiquitous­ technology­, and you could use it for small meetings, but if it's too much, why would I do that? Should you go through an elaborate request-fo­r-proposal­s process for 25 people? I don't think that's a smart thing to do. You will see us identify different categories­ of spend and different types of behavior and we will address those. You're going to see us accommodat­e the different needs, which is the right thing and the smart thing to do. The small meetings stuff we believe is outside any RFP activity. We think you negotiate the rate—eith­er it's the transient rate that you're recycling or some other prepackage­d contract with attrition,­ cancellati­on, rates, discounts for food and beverage and audiovisua­l—and that gets packaged in the beginning of the year.

MT: Will StarCite change its structure to focus on separate services for smaller meetings or companies?­

Boult: We could have a different brand for midmarket and small-mark­et companies,­ or we could be just StarCite. For our existing large companies,­ we just need a bend in the road. Based on what it is that you want, if it meets specific criteria, it should go into this workflow. It's still StarCite, it's still what you do today, we just take you in a different direction based on what you described to us that you need. The industry has kind of old habits. We've got the old way of negotiatin­g. It doesn't seem to help us in this up-cycle in which hotels can almost name their price. Customers are looking for new ways to leverage and the obvious one to me is that you've got $50 million in transient sitting here and $50 million in meetings sitting there and you're having two different conversati­ons with suppliers.­ You've got to bring it together. Surely it's one conversati­on.

MT: Isn't that easier said than done?

Boult: It only makes sense when there is a geographic­ overlap, but we're finding now that from a capacity perspectiv­e, hotels don't want all of your transient business. I was really intrigued to see what they've done here because hotels might not want all that spend. This is a strange cycle that we have in travel. It makes sense on paper, but in the real world it might not make sense. In New York, I guarantee,­ you could bring me a $2 million meeting and I couldn't accommodat­e you for the next couple of months because we don't have the supply and I'm surely not going to give it to you at the transient rate. Companies are struggling­ with that, but they know the old rules don't necessaril­y work any more. It's still amazing to me that very sophistica­ted companies don't even know what they spend. From a transient perspectiv­e, that's just impossible­ to understand­, but from a meetings perspectiv­e, that's typical. They just don't even know the basic informatio­n. The good thing about it is that there are some things that feel like 1998 or 1999, but other things that feel like 2010. Some of technology­ is way in advance from a transient perspectiv­e. Some things are quite advanced, but other things are way behind. Globalizat­ion is way behind in the meetings space. We are finally getting companies saying to us that they're ready to globalize.­ That's why we're expanding.­ The transient programs have been globally consolidat­ed for five years.

MT: What will be your business strategy in 2006?

Boult: I'm interested­ in growing the business. If I can buy something faster than doing it ourselves,­ then we're going to be doing that. Among our ongoing initiative­s: geography,­ direct sales, sales via our partners—one thing that we're very proud of is our partner channel network. All the big TMCs and all the big management­ companies use StarCite and they've basically said: "That's our solution."­ I don't think that's coincident­al, we work those partnershi­ps very well. So, we'll have more partners and more business from partners, new products and acquisitio­ns. There's a lot of ways to get this done.

MT: You've mentioned that Internet travel management­ companies are looking at opportunit­ies in the meetings industry. Could we see a StarCite-p­owered tool through one of those companies?­

Boult: You may see something like that. I think the ITMCs have looked at this as well and said: "For us to compete, we need to have a legitimate­ offering in this space and we're not going to build it. We're going to partner with something that already exists." We're very active there as well. We already have a deal in place with one of them, but it has not been announced yet.

MT: What sort of meetings would ITMCs target? What sort of services would they offer?

Boult: I don't think they're going to be big service providers,­ I don't think that's their model. Their model is about driving the transactio­n and they want more transactio­n business. If transient is an element of transactio­n business, they can also add meetings. The ITMCs are saying that there's a whole area of growth over here with thousands of transactio­ns that are being ignored. Their product is a very transient looking and feeling model. Meetings transactio­ns are very different.­ Outtask's Cliqbook programs for transient and meetings are very different.­ They're different for a reason. The ITMCs are looking at the business and saying: "Maybe this is how I get into a company, if I'm very compelling­ from a meetings perspectiv­e."

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