eBusiness Service is WM-data's strategic hub for electronic business. The service efficiently ties together different units operating on the market and manages the Swedish banks' e-invoicing solution, Swedish Post's eSkicka, combinatorial bid matching, insourcing, eHotel and many other services. Through eBusiness Services, WM-data takes on an overall perspective of the customer's business processes and its internal and external connections to various business events. "xTrade Business Communications Suite is the platform for our service. Around it we have built unique services to meet the demands which WM-data wants to offer their clients. The system handles all kinds of data flows, from the simplest of file transfers to total insourcing of internal and external systems that exchange information", says Lasse Asp, head of eBusiness Services at WM-data.

Gains on many levels
eBusiness Service's customers are primarily large companies, which exchange a lot of information with each other and with the end customers as well as out-of-the-box services with collaborative partners to meet the needs of the consumer market: "Our services result in direct cost reductions through, for example, lower purchase prices due to e-auctions and lower invoice costs. The VAN service also supplies increased availability towards the companies' customers. The companies get the advantages of the latest technology and access to the customer clientele that is already established in eBS", says Lasse Asp.

Less expensive and more advantageous to use an existing service
For a separate company it may get costly to build and maintain an infrastructure containing all the services needed for communication with partners and customers. It is better to connect the company to an already existing VAN service and thereby get access to services already up and running and also to other communicating companies. "By using WM-data eBusiness Services our customers can focus on their core activities. They can take advantage of our services and streamline their business processes", Lasse Asp continues. "We have received a lot of positive responses regarding our smorgasbord of complete services, which creates a complete service for the companies. The companies can start out using one service and then gradually add more services - all through the same channel."

The banks and the Swedish Post made available to their customers Together with Föreningssparbanken and Nordea WM-data eBusiness Services has created the concept e-faktura, which makes it possible for the banks' internet customers to get electronic invoices instead of invoices on paper. eBusiness Services constitutes the distribution and data-capturing channel of the solutions. The banks contribute the services towards the customers.

Another good alliance is the collaboration concerning the Swedish Post's eSkicka (eSend) where WM-data eBusiness Service´s distribution net mediates the Swedish Post's service for electronic invoice handling. It has created eSkicka mediated through WM-data eBusiness Service´s distribution net.

Entire concept for DHL (earlier Danzas)
For the logistics company DHL, WM-data has created an entire concept. All of DHL´s systems are connected through the WM-data net. WM-data also handles all of DHL´s integration, communication between internal systems as well as communication with external parties.

WM-data eBusiness Services chose xTrade Business Communications Suite
"When we were going to develop a hub for electronic business we had the choice of going for standard products or to choose a homogenous platform which we could easily adapt to suit our requirements. xTrade BCS provided performance, security, closeness to supplier and the possibility to keep the services that we had already developed. xTrade BCS is the platform around which we have built our own services. It is a strong platform, and the engine xTrade BCS is an integrated part of the solution", says Lasse Asp.

All kinds of data flows, from the simples of file transfers to total insourcing of internal and external systems that exchange information, are handled by WM-data eBusiness Services. The platform consists of clustered xTrade Business Hub Back-End servers that handle the processing functions of the system, and xTrade Business Hub Front-End servers, that manage the communication. On this platform WM-data has built its unique solutions for its customers.

Future prospects
"It is clear that the readiness for using electronic messaging has increased. Services that facilitate the customer's core operation are looking at a bright future. And the concepts security, availability and cost-effectiveness will always play a decisive role", Lasse Asp concludes.