Computacenter signs up Intertrust

Computacenter is surging ahead with the development of its e-business arm, announcing its first technology partnership with Intertrust Technologies in the US.

The UK's largest reseller formed the partnership as part of its e-business development. Computacenter recently passed its online sales target of #2 million per day, representing more than 40 per cent of total sales. According to Simon Scott, general manager of Computacenter's e-business division, this places the company at about sixth in the world's top 10 online businesses, chasing the likes of Amazon.com and Dell.

The alliance is Intertrust's first move into the UK with its Metatrust products for establishing secure trading and rule systems for e-commerce and enterprise systems. Intertrust has already teamed up with NatWest bank to launch its e-commerce products (PC Dealer, 9 September 1998).

Computacenter's e-business division is now 50-strong. Scott added: 'The partnership is part of a long-term strategy. The products will allow us to put in place a level of infrastructure for e-business and secure enterprise systems. This utility is very flexible and has a wide range of applications.'

Joseph Jennings, senior vice-president of marketing at Intertrust, said: 'Pilot projects will be launched over the next 90 days, followed by fully operational sites by the end of the year. There will be a lot of deployment by the fourth quarter.'

According to Forrester Research, UK internet sales hit $257 million in 1998. Sales will soar to $12.9 billion by 2001, mostly coming from the business-to-business sector.