SAN MATEO (02/10/2000) - A new breed of technology suppliers are feeding off the proliferation of dot-com startups.
New companies such as Xtime, FaceTime, Notharvard.com, and GlobalCommerceZone are provisioning e-commerce sites with additional services that allow startups to hold down their own development costs and speed time to market.
These provisioners are not merely licensing their technology, or being linked to a Web site. Instead they are wired directly and invisibly into the e-commerce site although hidden behind the facade of the storefront.
Xtime, in San Mateo, Calif., offers dot-coms a scheduling platform for time-based inventory management to track reservations and appointments.
Midas Muffler, for example, is able to give its customers round-the-clock scheduling at its Web site using Xtime. However, when the appointment icon is clicked, the customer is routed across the network to the Xtime site.
Other sites using Xtime include Foodline.com, a restaurant reservation site.
Using Xtime, regular foodline.com customers can be queried via e-mail if the system detects that they have not made their regular dinner reservation.
NotHarvard.com builds online courses to augment Web sites with training.
NotHarvard developed its FreeSchool EduCommerce software suite, which includes message boards, chat, calendar, and notebook capabilities.
In January the company created a C++ course for Metrowerks' CodeWarriorU.com site. Metrowerks is a division of Motorola Company.
Global CommerceZone offers itself to e-tailers as a gateway for order fulfillment for international business.
When a consumer clicks the buy button for a purchase being fulfilled across national borders, the Global CommerceZone service completes the transaction, configuring the final cost based on value added taxes, local currency, customs, and other regulations.
FaceTime Communications offers business to business solutions through its instant messaging service for customer service and help desks.
The company includes instant messaging, chat, e-mail management, customer support, and collaboration services. FaceTime Instant Customer starts at $500 per month, based on usage and features.
FaceTime Communications Inc., in Foster City, Calif., can be reached at http://www.facetime.net. GlobalCommerceZone, in Chicago, is at http://www.gczone.com. NotHarvard.com, in Austin, Texas, is at http://www.notharvard.com.
Xtime Inc., in San Mateo, Calif., is at http://www.xtime.com.
InfoWorld Editor at Large Ephraim Schwartz is based in San Francisco.