Got some time to spare? Trade a few hours of your IT expertise for an Argentine Tango social dance lesson or a custom-made pistol and rifle case. According to The International Reciprocal Trade Association, a Chicago-based group that promotes barter, the barter business is on the rise, with 1.2 million businesses expected to swap goods and services in North America within a decade. That’s four times the 300,000 companies that barter goods and services today. Online barter companies, which have emerged in recent years, can take some credit for this boost. Take All Business Barter, the online barter company backed by American Express. The San Francisco-based company claims 75,000 members. “Barter is the oldest business in the world,” says Bippy Siegal, CEO of All Business Barter. “It used to be that if you wanted to participate in barter, you needed to be part of a local exchange or hook up with a broker. But the Internet creates an instant catalog.” Other barter sites include Isolve.com and Targetbarter.com.Companies and individuals post goods and services online, attributing a specific “trade dollar” amount to them (one U.S. dollar is equivalent to one trade dollar). Once a sale is made, barter companies take a percentage and credit the seller with trade dollars, which must be re-deemed on the site. Then the barter company simply subtracts the appropriate trade dollars from the seller’s account when he purchases something. Companies barter largely to save cash, says Siegal, who anticipates that the economic downturn will bring new customers. Other reasons to barter include acquiring new customers and obtaining hard-to-find items (for example, custom-flavored gum and interactive clock repair books, both All Business Barter items up for grabs). Moin Ghatala, CEO and owner of the San Fran-cisco-based computer and software sales company A&M Computers, used All Business Barter’s services to move five laser printers that had been collecting dust in the company warehouse for six months. He posted the printers on the All Business Barter website and sold all of them in less than a week. He’s used his trade dollars for restaurant vouchers and toner cartridges, with some cash left to spend on the site. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP What goes well with Viña Concha y Toro wines? Meat, fish, poultry, and SAP Viña Concha y Toro, a wine producer that distributes to more than 140 countries worldwide, paired its operation with the SAP Business Technology Platform to enhance its operation and product. By Tom Caldecott, SAP Contributor Dec 04, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by Azul How to maximize ROI by choosing the right Java partner for your organization Choosing the right Java provider is a critical decision that can have a significant impact on your organization’s success. By asking the right questions and considering the total cost of ownership, you can ensure that you choose the best Java p By Scott Sellers Dec 04, 2023 5 mins Application Management brandpost Sponsored by DataStax Ask yourself: How can genAI put your content to work? Generative AI applications can readily be built against the documents, emails, meeting transcripts, and other content that knowledge workers produce as a matter of course. By Bryan Kirschner Dec 04, 2023 5 mins Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence feature The CIO’s new role: Orchestrator-in-chief CIOs have unique insight into everything that happens in a company. Some are using that insight to take on a more strategic role. By Minda Zetlin Dec 04, 2023 12 mins CIO C-Suite Business IT Alignment Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe