Webex has introduced Webex Connect, a service aimed at helping knowledge workers collaborate better while working and performing their tasks.

The Santa Clara, California-based company announced the product at an event Monday evening in San Francisco. Webex Connect will enable users to integrate their collaboration tools with other software.

Webex is already a market leader in collaboration software with its web and audio-conferencing offerings but needs a second act to grow as a company. The company already has about 2 million registered users and 20,000 customers who use its products. Webex expects to leverage this user base to sell its new offering.

About a year ago, on-demand applications company Salesforce.com announced a similar product known as AppExchange, an eBay-like online exchange to bring different applications together under one roof (see Salesforce’s Web Exchange).

The Webex Connect platform will be available in early 2007. Webex has partnered with business software companies like Business Objects, BMC Software, Mindjet, and SugarCRM to make the platform stronger.

Essentially, workers will be able to work off a single Webex interface to manage several applications such as their customer relationship management software and their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for managing accounting and inventory, as well as use consumer applications such as email, instant messaging, and audio and video conferencing.

Webex has tapped the resources of Putten, Netherlands-based Cordys for the underlying infrastructure. Cordys is a startup created by Jan Baan, who founded the once-hot ERP company Baan & Co.

Strengthening the Platform

Although the product doesn’t come out until January, Webex has pre-announced it to strengthen the Webex Connect “ecosystem” and encourage more partners to join the platform.

Webex has previously partnered with AOL to integrate its instant messaging service into other Webex products (see AOL and Webex Offer Office IM). The company didn’t offer any details on pricing.

Webex CEO Subrah Iyar said customers end up doing most of their work through collaboration tools rather than other applications.

“In this high-velocity flattening world, the battle for productivity will be fought at the keyboards and touchpads of knowledge workers collaborating across geographical and company boundaries,” said Mr. Iyar, who co-founded the company 10 years ago.

IDC analyst Stephen Graham believes the product has potential and could benefit Webex in the long run.

“Webex is increasing the tools for the desktop and enabling roles and execution for the knowledge worker,” he said. “The most interesting thing is the positioning, where Webex is going beyond presentations and using IM as the core metaphor to set up collaboration groups.”

This move will certainly spur competition against Salesforce.com and Microsoft, which are also trying to build software around collaboration and role-based software. But Webex’s advantage, according to Mr. Graham, is that it doesn’t need to be used with any particular set of standards and can integrate into any standard.

Webex stock didn’t seem to benefit from the news. Shares declined $1.58, or nearly 4 percent, to $38.51 in recent trading.

Contact the writer:FBhuta@RedHerring.com

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