Software provider to the accounting profession Solution 6 last week launched a vertical internet portal focused on accountants.
Called eccountancy.com the portal offers accounting information, news feeds and opinion from a range of accounting industry commentators.
It also features online share trading, and a Web wizard so that organisations can create their own Web site using elements from eccountancy.com.
The site will generate revenue through subscriptions, advertising and sponsorship. So far, Solution 6 has secured sponsorship support from ANZ, IBM, IPAC, travel.com.au and Seek Communications.
"The primary aim of eccountancy.com is to create an informed business community using the internet as a vehicle," said David Maire, general manager, Internet commerce group, Solution 6.
"Eccountancy.com gives the accounting profession a single point of entry, from the desktop, to state-of-the-art applications, personalised content services and worldwide research tools."
The company will roll out the portal -- built using technology and services from Vignette, Sun, Oracle and Hartley Poynton -- initially in Australia, with overseas launches to follow.
Solution 6 plans to extend its portal strategy to its other target markets, including the legal profession, said Chris Tyler, CEO, Solution 6.
He said the portal was key to Solution 6's strategy going forward, adding that the company's 10 acquisitions over the last 12 months had been made with its internet-focused strategy in mind.
And the company is still on the acquisition trail, on the look out for opportunities in the financial services, tax and business applications spaces, Tyler said.
Meanwhile, Solution 6 continues to move forward with its application service provider (ASP) plans.
It aims to increase the number of beta sites testing its SAP R/3 application service provider offering, before launching the service next year. And it is also working to Web-enable Solution 6 applications, and bring recent acquisition Emphasys' applications to market via the Web.
Tyler said Telstra's recent purchase of a 15 per cent slice of the company, and its option to purchase a further 10 per cent, provides Solution 6 with a valuable distribution facility -- "we extend each other's model", he said.