Foster MacCallum, a privately held company providing channel development consulting services, today announced it has launched SCORE, a global online networking service for companies in the IT and communications sectors. SCORE is a Web-based portal that provides an independent eco-system where ISVs, VARs, systems integrators, consultants and distributors can find each other on demand and develop collaboration partnerships to fulfill customers' product and service requirements.

"We recognized the need for companies to promote themselves and find each other for the development of their businesses using cost effective social networking concepts," said George Dziedzic, CEO of Foster MacCallum. "As companies develop and grow, finding partners to increase their geographic coverage or address gaps in technology offerings on a short or longer term basis, becomes ever more important. SCORE's independent eco-system of more than 100,000 companies, provides a service where companies can profile their own businesses and find companies that match their specific needs. SCORE can be used to promote a company's products and services, so that others can find them, and also to help them find companies with specific products and services."

"We see this primarily being used by VARs, Consultants and Systems Integrators looking to partner with each other, whether that's on a project-by-project or longer term basis," Dziedzic says, adding that often, when these companies win larger contracts, they struggle to fulfill part of the deal themselves, either technologically or geographically, and this is where SCORE can help them. "Vendor partner eco-systems are limited because they only allow their partner companies to find other companies within that vendors' eco-system and not companies with alternative skills related to other vendors," Dziedzic says. "This service is totally independent and covers the spectrum of products and services and the companies that supply them."

Dziedzic says SCORE also has a range of other uses, such as helping vendors looking to find channel partners with certain skills, and also for companies on the acquisition trail. "This can be used as a preliminary screening tool for M&A projects and will give companies an initial level of due diligence," he adds.

SCORE membership is free, and when companies get matches to their needs search, they can download the company profiles for $350 each. Companies can upgrade to SCORE's Membership+ service, which costs $2,000 per year and includes 20 company profile downloads of their choice. Companies can join the SCORE service by going to http://www.score-fm.com/.

About Foster MacCallum International Ltd.

Foster MacCallum International Ltd. has been enabling IT and communications suppliers, their channel partners, and the investment community to build and manage productive business to business relationships since 2003. Foster MacCallum's objective channel development and recruiting methodology, combined with its SCORE Web Portal, (containing over 100,000 profiles of companies around the world), provides the basis on which quality Channel Partners can be identified and matched quickly and cost effectively. Foster MacCallum's experience and understanding of the channel, channel partners, and the needs of vendors such as IBM, SAP, Brocade, Apple, VMware, ACOM, BMC and Progress are all applied to ensure successful delivery of channel development projects. For more information please call +44 (0)1256 825830; e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; or view our Web site@ www.foster-maccallum.com.