More sophisticated online services,often linked to a payment system, created virtual marketplaces in sectors such as textiles, electronics, auto parts, even energy and bandwidth trading. While these players had less potential for growth, and were sometimes just extensions of existing offline businesses, they represented the transactional revenue streams that Alibaba was eager to tap. Alibaba managers did not expect online transactions for another 18-24 months, and instead expected other revenue streams to sustain the firm. Players such as Bexcom.com and Portnportals.com focused on the technology-backed services that vertical exchanges were trying to integrate into their sites. Alibaba managers knew that the way in which the transactions and logistics market developed would seriously affect the viability of revenue models of vertical exchanges.