News on 25 October 2000
Two of the world's leading providers of Internet services to the engineering
and building industries are to merge. The combination of Bidcom and Cephren,
to be known as Citadon, will have over 30,000 subscribers, and a global
portfolio of 1,200 projects worth more than $110bn.
The new company combines Bidcom’s expertise in managing business
processes with Cephren’s experience in project management and collaborative
commerce applications. Citadon’s customer base will include large
owner/operators and leading engineering and construction firms including:
Bechtel Group, Fluor Daniel, Marriott, American Airlines, DaimlerChrysler
and GE Power Systems.
The merger partners believe Citadon will be well positioned to accelerate
product development, increase customer and revenue growth, and work toward
the creation of a standard platform for communication, collaboration and
collaborative commerce within the engineering and building industry.
"The ultimate beneficiaries of this merger are the end users, who
can now get all the services they need to manage their projects on one
platform," said Kent Allen, senior e-commerce analyst with the Aberdeen
Group. "With hundreds of e-Business technology suppliers offering
point solutions to the engineering and building industry, many large companies
within this sector have been waiting on the sidelines to see how the market
for technology evolves. By bringing two very complementary technologies
together in one integrated, scaleable solution that stands out from the
competition, Citadon will give these companies a reason to get into the
game."
