Selling and activating mobile phones via e-commerce is a complicated endeavor, and no one company can supply all of the links of the chain – ergo the new partnership between transaction management specialist Synchronoss Technologies and e-commerce player Art Technology Group (ATG).

Synchronoss provides transaction service to major carriers, highlighted by the Apple and AT&T partnership for the iPhone. But it needed a dedicated e-commerce partner to develop the full system that some customers demand, said Darren Post, vice president of products.

The initial partnership is purely a co-sales and co-marketing agreement, officials from both companies said. But the engineers on both sides are familiar with the API sets, “so there is a speed to market that we have experienced,” Post said.

Future plans may include a turnkey system, he added. But that will take some time and more experience for both sides to develop.