ROSSLYN, Va. - Off-Site Solutions, a leading EDI hosting provider for wholesale distributors, and the Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA), an industry-owned e-commerce service provider, have announced an agreement that will allow both companies to exchange electronic business documents between their respective and future customers.

Connecting the Industry Data Exchange (IDX2) network and the Off-Site Solutions network hub will enable customers of each service to exchange business documents without having to route documents to trading partners through more expensive paths such as Value Added Networks, say the companies. The agreement also allows Off-Site customers to get fee-based access to the IDW2 database and gives Off-Site users the ability to use IDEA's Van Gateway provided by Sterling Commerce to route business documents to trading partners using other services.

"The agreement between IDEA and Off-Site Solutions makes good business sense for both organizations," stated IDEA's president Mike Rioux. "The network interconnection will make it easier for trading partners to engage in e-commerce without having to migrate to a new service or implement new business system programs."