DBS launches B2B portal to push its Internet solutions business

NEW DELHI: DBS Internet Services has launched a B2B e-commerce portal called enterpriseB2B.com. The portal will cover issues relevant to B2B e-commerce such as business models, white papers, online interactive features like chat rooms and discussion groups that will enable corporates to draw a blueprint for B2B implementations. The intent of the site is to promote business-to-business e-commerce concept and gain visibility for itself. DBS offers Internet solutions and has so far implemented Internet based solutions for companies such as Samsung Electronics, National Stock Exchange and

HCL.

DBS is in the process of getting itself evaluated for going public. Though no further details were provided on this issue, the company is said to be working out the details. Present at the launch were IDC President Ravi Sangal and Microsoft India Managing Director Sanjay Mirchandani. Mr Sangal provided data on the exploding e-commerce transaction market. He said worldwide transaction would reach $3 trillion by 2003 as against $50 billion during 1998. Of this, B2B transaction, which currently stood at $27 billion, would go to $978 billion in 2003. Business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions, which is more now, will experience slower growth. 

Closer home too the e-commerce market is tilted favourably towards B2C, he said. Of the Rs 40 crore e-commerce transactions during 1999, 17 per cent came from B2B whereas 83 per cent came from B2C. This figure is expected to grow dramatically to Rs 6,830 crore in 2003 with 56 per cent coming from B2B and 44 per cent from B2C. However, the buying pattern will be determined by factors like logistics, security, awareness and cultural factors like buying behavior, etc, he said.

Mr Mirchandani, who formally launched the site by logging onto the site, outlined the three Ps which would propel the growth of e-commerce: platform, partnership and portal. Platforms to bring together prospective business partners together, he said, were an undeniable part of e-commerce. "It is almost inconceivable to do B2B business without partnerships. The success of an online business is dependent on the brand equity of the company in which partnerships are inevitable. And thirdly, portals are a must for e-commerce transactions to take off."

DBS, launched in 1996 to provide Internet solutions, has its won servers in the US utilizing the bandwidth of its partner Web Professionals. DBSi currently owns two servers at these premises, one in Sun Sparc with Solaris as its OS and the other a Windows NT server. The company is working towards setting up an independent research center by 2001.