Plumtree builds a bigger retailing foundation
Plumtree Software Inc., a developer of service-based portal applications that aggregate content and other business process information onto an integrated platform, is making a bigger play for the multi-channel retail market.
The company is forming a new retail market unit and committing more resources to research and developing portal applications for multi-channel merchants using web services.
The new retail solutions group will develop, market and sell portal applications to the retail industry and will concentrate on working with retail-focused services and software companies to build solutions for store performance management, associate productivity and retention and supplier collaboration.
"Plumtree’s new retail solutions group is part of a larger company initiative to deliver portal-based applications that solve specific business problems," says Plumtree CEO John Kunze. "Plumtree will continue to sell technology products to IT, but we believe our industry initiatives together with our applications focus can create exciting new opportunities for Plumtree to sell targeted solutions to line-of-business executives."
To enhance research and development of merchant applications, Plumtree is also announcing a retail focus to its Applications Incubator partner program, which offers qualified application partners such as other software or hardware companies engineering, marketing and sales support, with an engineering team dedicated to co-developing new Plumtree portal applications, subsidized marketing forums for approaching Plumtree’s installation base, and opportunities for joint sales with Plumtree’s sales force.
Plumtree sees growth in the retail market as retailers dedicate more resources to web services programs and combining disparate information databases and systems on to integrated web-based platforms.
The company’s portal, integration and collaboration software are already being utilized by Best Buy Co. Inc. and Groupe Casino, a leading food retailer in France and owner of the Smart & Final wholesale retail chain in the United States.
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