Ariba, an SAP company, is set to close the books on another banner year, as companies around the world continue to plug in to the Ariba^® Network to enable new forms of collaboration and transform their business. More than 1.2 million companies in 190 countries are now connected to the Ariba Network. And they’re using it to transact and collaborate around more than half a trillion in commerce. That makes Ariba the largest and most global web-based trading community in the world.

“Bigger isn’t always better. But when it comes to networks, size definitely matters,” says Andrew Bartolini, Chief Research Officer for research and advisory firm Ardent Partners.

Why? Consider Facebook. Consumers use the social network to manage their personal connections because all of their friends are on it. When it comes to managing commerce, companies need a similar platform that allows them to connect and collaborate with all of their trading partners across business processes anytime, from any device, in any part of the world.

As Bartolini notes in his recent report Selecting the Right Network, “True business networks are many-to-many platforms that not only connect participants through a shared infrastructure, but also enable new collaboration and process types.” And he adds that “Standalone supplier portals are generally constrained from reaching an optimal level of value unless they are connected to a business network.”

With connected members from more than 190 countries, the Ariba Network is an open, global business network that supports the entire commerce process from source to settle and has business logic and workflow built in, so partners can execute collaborative processes in real-time.

Where the World Does Business

Companies around the globe continue to flock to the Ariba Network and leverage the cloud-based applications delivered on it to extend their existing systems and the value they deliver. During the third quarter of 2013, for instance, EMC selected SAP’s cloud solutions – including offerings from Ariba and SuccessFactors – to achieve better visibility and collaboration with its suppliers and attract and better retain and reward employees.

HGST Inc., a Western Digital Company, selected Ariba’s Collaborative Commerce package alongside SAP Supply Network Collaboration to increase compliance and controls with catalog spend and transform accounts payable processes.

And Sage Health Solutions, a small company in South Africa tapped into the Ariba Network to manage its business with the South African government, which uses Ariba as its procurement platform. Then it signed on to Ariba Discovery to fuel growth among hospitals and private sector organizations. And the results have been impressive.

According to Sage Health Solutions Marketing Director Ruwaydah Tambe, 80 percent of the company’s business now comes from Ariba. “Since we began working with Ariba and receiving and responding to all of our tenders via email, we have been able to grow our business from almost nothing to a multi-million rand venture.”

As the pace of business accelerates and markets become increasingly global and competitive, Bartolini expects more companies to join outfits like Sage Health Solutions in embracing the Networked Economy. “In today’s business climate, innovation and agility are how market leaders are creating and maintaining competitive advantage,” he says. “And business networks will play an important role in driving it.”

Click here to view the entire Ariba press release.

Download a complimentary copy of PayStream’s 2013 Electronic Invoice Benchmark report to learn more about Ariba’s solution functionality.