Alibaba launches Alisoft ecommerce software division

[mandy]

Alibaba Group has launched Alisoft, an online business-software provider serving small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in China. Alibaba named Oliver Wang General Manager of the new company and said Alisoft will also assume responsibility for Alibaba's instant messaging services...

Alisoft's online, on-demand business services can be accessed through its website (Alisoft.com). It is currently offering five different on-demand applications:

    * Customer relationship management (CRM)
    * Inventory management
    * Sales force management
    * Financial tools
    * Marketing information management
...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m01/i09/s03

eBay would typically be reluctant to allow a competitor access to its API (Application Programming Interface) - the technology that helps third-parties launch listings to eBay, for example. But China is anything but typical, and it will be interesting to see if the new joint venture between eBay and Tom Online will support Alisoft as a developer while its parent remains a competitor. The fact that the joint venture will not be integrated with the eBay global platform may make it easier for eBay to cooperate with Alisoft...

full article: http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blo...54613.html