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Devon Johnson, EDI manager at frozen dough manufacturer Rhodes International Inc. in Salt Lake City, says about half of his EDI traffic comes through the Sterling Commerce value-added network (VAN).
In October, Rhodes switched from Sterling to ICC with the hope of reaping deep savings in its VAN charges. So when Sterling disclosed to customers that it would disconnect from New York-based ICC, Johnson began setting up an account with E-Com Systems Inc. in Hamilton, Bermuda, as his backup. "Although we don't expect this to cost a great deal financially, it is taking a lot of our time to take a precaution that shouldn't be necessary," he said.
Frank Kenney, an analyst at Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn., warned that part of the cost of doing business in the VAN world is that continuity of service isn't guaranteed.
"As fat-cattish as these [established] companies seem to be, they've invested millions upon millions upon hundreds of millions in their infrastructure," he said. "They're not a public utility."
Kenney added that users need to be aware of the state of the VAN industry. Peregrine Systems Inc. in San Diego is selling its 40,000-customer e-commerce unit, which could affect its interconnects.
If intra-industry tussles are too distracting, Kenney suggested that enterprise portals and private and public e-marketplaces offer an alternative.
"People may say, 'Hey, I'm going to start doing this myself,' " he said. "The technology's out there."
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