C&W Optus is nominating itself as the Australian representative in the Global Trading Web Association (GTW), a worldwide e-marketplace comprising 24 leading companies.
The GTW will create rules, standards, guidelines, policies and processes to enable seamless buying and selling globally over the Web. It is the world's first international organisation focused on the commercial development and expansion of an international B2B exchange.
David Stokes-McKeon, director of e-solutions C&W Optus, said that C&W Optus "will represent the interests of Australian businesses as the online environment breaks down traditional geographical boundaries".
"Only a uniform open platform allows businesses, buyers and suppliers, to get maximum cost saving benefits and efficiencies from international electronic trade," said Stokes-McKeon.
C&W Optus established the Australia-New Zealand B2B exchange, CWO Marketsite, which allows buyers and suppliers to transact in real time. It now plans to connect the CWO marketsite into GTW, allowing Australian and NZ businesses to sell goods online to businesses overseas as well as source goods at competitive prices from international markets.
"The GWT will create an international trading directory to allow businesses to reach new buyers," said Stokes-McKeon.
The GWT deal is in line with C&W Optus' focus on telecommunications outsourcing for mega-corporations. The outsourcer of choice for the Australian Department of Defence, CSC and several state government departments, C&W Optus is urging companies to outsource IT&T in anticipation of a surge in data network services expenditure over the next 12 months.