E-Business Breakfast: Virtual Help Desk

The brains behind one of the first commercial business-to-government Web sites has signed a deal to move its customer service capabilities into cyberspace.

Under the pact, CeKA will use a service from iCommunicate to support resellers and customers participating in its procurement marketplace for the federal government as well as state and local agencies.

That site, dubbed SmallBizMall.gov, helps minority businesses compete with larger firms for federal IT contracts.

CeKA was the first commercial operation granted the right to use a .gov domain name.

For more information click here.

Good morning! That's the first course in your E-Business Breakfast for Friday, Feb. 16. Here are some other morsels to start your day:

Down Under

Exodus opened its second Internet Data Center in Australia, outside of the city of Sydney.

The hosting company now manages about 5.2 million square feet of data center space worldwide. It plans to reach 6.7 million square feet by year end.

"Companies in Asia Pacific have embraced hosting, and as their Internet operations become increasingly complex, we are expanding our [data center] network to provide the expertise and robust, scalable services that can support the incredible growth anticipated in the region," says Ellen Hancock, chairman and CEO of Exodus.

Market-research firm IDC sizes the Asia Pacific Web-hosting market at roughly $4.5 billion by 2004.

For more information click here.

Trading Around The Clock

DiamondCluster says it will begin deploying a new financial services platform developed by Aceva Technologies.

Under the deal, the Chicago-based e-business solution provider will work with customers to help automate various financial management processes associated with their e-business applications. For example, the technology would credit decision making, invoicing, payment processing or transaction reconciliation, according to the new strategic partners.

"Aceva's vision of enabling dynamic trading, combined with the strength of their vision, is unmatched in the market today," says Mike Connolly, DiamondCluster's partner in charge of the global MarketSpace Solutions practice. "Our alliance with Aceva provides clients with the technology, methodology and processes to conduct dynamic, collaborative trading with global partners."

Just For Men

And finally, for all you guys out there looking for a site as compelling as the ChannelWeb network.

A content site created by New York-based Web design firm The Chopping Block this week was nominated in the Best Design category of this year's South by Southwest interactive festival. The community site is dedicated entirely to content designed to pique the interest of males all over the world. Just goes to show that not all Web sites were created equal.

For more information click here.

That's your E-business Breakfast for Friday, Feb. 16. If your morning has been more eventful than mine, take a moment to send other interesting e-business news items via e-mail at hclancy@cmp.com.