VERBUND's www.austrian-power.com wins "e-Oscar"

28.03.2001Wien

VERBUND's e-commerce platform has won the "e-Oscar 2001" in the "Business-To-Business" category at the ongoing CeBIT computer show in Hannover. VERBUND and the IT-service provider Twenty Four Seven realized www.austrian-power.com jointly. www.austrian-power.com is considered to be the first genuine e-commerce platform in the industry for selling electricity to business customers; it has made a forward-looking distribution channel marketable.

The "e-Oscar" is awarded annually on the occasion of the CeBIT by Intershop in the categories "Business-To-Business", "Business-To-Consumer" and "Internet-Market Places". All companies whose e-commerce solutions are based on Intershop Enfinity, the international base platform for e-business solutions, are eligible. The e-business solution www.austrian-power.com of the Austrian market leader in the electricity business was able to prevail against keen international competition. The "e-Oscar" is awarded by a high-calibre jury including Hewlett-Packard, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Handelsblatt.

www.austrian-power.com is an Internet platform via which the business customers have been able to buy 100 % hydropower-generated electricity from VERBUND quickly, easily and cost-effectively since the beginning of October 2000. Thus the open power market has an adequate distribution channel through which big customers can cover their electricity demand efficiently and economically. Focal points of the solution are the integration of the energy supplier’s existing workflow and the complete risk management, so price fluctuations can be reacted to within a matter of seconds.

The concept of www.austrian-power.com was convincing to the jury because, for the first time, standardized products can be put together, priced and ordered according to individual requirements in a sector which was extremely service-intensive in the past.

www.austrian-power.com plays an important role in the VERBUND's market strategy. "In the future, a major part of the power business will be handled via the Internet. Companies that utilize the chances offered by the World Wide Web in time will have a competitive edge", Mr. Johann Sereinig, VERBUND Marketing and Sales Manager, emphasised the Internet's importance for Austria's biggest power supplier.

Österreichische Elektrizitätswirtschafts-AG (VERBUND) is Austria's biggest electricity producer and the cleanest large-scale producer in the EU. VERBUND owns 71 hydropower plants, in which renewable energy carriers generate electricity in an environmentally sound and economical way. VERBUND utilizes its decades of experience in international power business for innovative solutions in the liberalized electricity market.

www.austrian-power.com is based on the innovative e-business solution "24power" by Twenty Four Seven. Twenty Four Seven eConsulting & sSolutions GmbH was established at the end of 1999 as subsidiary of Schrack BusinessCom (stake: 74 %) under the management of Andreas Jahn. Its activities include e.Business and e.CRM solutions. Schrack BusinessCom was established at the beginning of 1999 in the course of a management buyout from Ericsson Austria AG. As independent systems integrator it ranks among the leading companies for communication solutions in Austria. In the framework of a strategic alliance, Schrack BusinessCom will pursue a joint path with Kapsch AG starting April. The new company will continue to act under the name of Schrack BusinessCom and to expand its product portfolio in the sense of a comprehensive service- and technology partner.