Ceva has taken on Sterling Commerce’s Integrator software to support its communications system, Ceva Connect.
The operator had used disparate solutions for its business to business transactions at different locations in the world, but has now taken Sterling for a globally unified platform. The Sterling Integrator has already been deployed in the US, with Europe next.
Ceva Connect manages information that supports the movement of goods from one location to another, providing updates and managing documents such as load tenders, package order status, shipping notices, proofs of delivery and receipts.
Sterling’s technical platform will facilitate greater document visibility, secure and auditable data exchange, and will allow more transactions to be processed. It reckons it will handle up to three million messages daily.
IBM completed its acquisition of Sterling Commerce in August for around $1.4 billion in cash.
Joel Reed, senior vice president of product management and marketing for Sterling Commerce, said the move has been “synergistic” as the company’s technology complements IBM’s middleware portfolio.
“In the near term Sterling Commerce will continue to operate as Sterling Commerce an IBM company. We are going to see nice synergies both in terms of integration and on the fulfilment side.”
Reed added that the move will allow Sterling Commerce to extend its international reach. The company is currently present in 30 to 35 countries, with its focus on six main areas including Germany, France and the UK.
“The sheer scope and scope of IBM – it is present in more than 170 countries – means we will have the ability to enter new markets… we will prioritise and will focus broadly on Europe, but we will have more access to Asia Pacific than we did before. IBM is huge in Japan and China.
“The biggest change for us is the ability to move into new geographies that we couldn’t do ourselves. Overall our product investment has stayed the same but the move has helped us advance this from an international standpoint.
“We are looking to expand our product suite to enhance our customer offering. The acquisition is consistent with what we are doing.”
