Ariba Network gets bigger, more global

SUNNYVALE, USA: Ariba, an SAP company, is set to close the books on another banner year, as companies around the world continue to plug in to the Ariba Network to enable new forms of collaboration and transform their business. More than 1.2 million companies in 190 countries are now connected to the Ariba Network. And they're using it to transact and collaborate around more than half a trillion in commerce. That makes Ariba the largest and most global web-based trading community in the world.

Says Andrew Bartolini, chief research officer for research and advisory firm Ardent Partners: "Bigger isn't always better. But when it comes to networks, size definitely matters."

 Why? Consider Facebook. Consumers use the social network to manage their personal connections because all of their friends are on it. When it comes to managing commerce, companies need a similar platform that allows them to connect and collaborate with all of their trading partners across business processes anytime, from any device, in any part of the world.

As Bartolini notes in his recent report Selecting the Right Network, "True business networks are many-to-many platforms that not only connect participants through a shared infrastructure, but also enable new collaboration and process types." And he adds that "Standalone supplier portals are generally constrained from reaching an optimal level of value unless they are connected to a business network."

With connected members from more than 190 countries, the Ariba Network is an open, global business network that supports the entire commerce process from source to settle and has business logic and workflow built in, so partners can execute collaborative processes in real-time.