Compaq Partners With CGMI To Advance E-business

Compaq furthered its Internet business strategy today with a partnership with Internet marketing tools vendor Engage Technologies, Inc., and an extension of its relationship with CMGI, the new owner of the AltaVista search engine.

Under the arrangement with Engage, Compaq will be using Engage's Precision Profiling and Accipiter AdManager products that profile Internet customer information and present personalized Web content, banner ads, and special offers throughout Compaq's Web site. Compaq says the deal is part of its overall strategy to improve the company's one-to-one customer relationships and create more targeted and measurable marketing programs. Compaq also announced today that it has taken a minority stake in Engage. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Engage is a subsidiary of CMGI, Inc., the Internet operating company that today completed an 83% equity purchase of Compaq's search engine, AltaVista. Compaq in return received the equivalent of 18 million common shares of CMGI, making the PC vendor a majority shareholder in the company. The two companies have formed an extended partnership under which CMGI will work with Compaq's research labs and business groups to develop new Internet technologies and products.

By working with CMGI and Engage, Compaq will obtain technologies to use in the development of Compaq.com, as well as in the company's NonStop eBusiness line of products and services.