Compiled by Kevin Smith
A New Advertising Solution
Two leaders in the multimedia arena announced a partnership this week that will offer customers a technology solution for targeted and integrated advertising and promotional campaigns. Internet On2.com Inc., a leading broadband technology and services company specializing in providing television-quality
streaming video over the Internet, and Traffix, Inc., a database marketing and management company are teaming up. The new solution, which combines On2's TV-quality video with Traffix's vast consumer database, will be marketed to potential customers immediately. The agreement calls for the two companies to co-develop a marketing solution that enables customers to seamlessly marry their print, broadcast and promotional campaigns.
Internet Billing and Customer Service for the Telecommunication Industry
San Francisco-based Avolent, Inc. has teamed with Portal Software, Inc. to deliver Internet billing and customer care services to the telecommunications industry. Through the partnership, Avolent said it plans to extend its services' reach to the wireline, wireless, Internet/IP, broadband and telecom industries. The company specializes in software for electronic billing and electronic invoicing. The alliance is also aimed at enhancing Portal's business-to-business and business-to-consumer services, Avolent said.
Palm Expands Services Again
Palm, Inc. now provides another wireless Internet option for personal digital assistant owners. The new MyPalm portal, accessible both via the Internet and by using MyPalm's Web clipping software, will offer outlets to numerous websites. Portal services as well as Web clipping software are available free of charge to PDA owners.
ISP Infrastructure Providers, Others to Meet in February
The Fourth Annual Next Generation Internet Conference and Exhibition NGI eXecutive Summit is scheduled for February 11-12, 2001. The conference has become the definitive networking and information forum for ISPs, infrastructure providers, telecom companies, cable companies and end users with an interest in the Next Generation Internet. Panel sessions will offer timely updates on the convergence of voice, video and data over the Internet. Tomorrow's business models, partnerships and technologies are discussed in detail. The industry's most influential CEOs will discuss the opportunities and threats, as well as proactive strategies, for integrating this market information into planning.
'Click-to-Buy' Option coming to Mobile Devices
Qpass and SkyGo have announced a partnership that they say will enable companies to extend the "click-to-buy" Internet shopping cart model to mobile devices. The agreement will provide wireless promotions delivered through the SkyGo network with mobile commerce services provided by Qpass. The joint venture is designed to tap into the revenue potential of the wireless Web by offering an end-to-end wireless application to direct consumers to product offerings and facilitate transactions and payments.
Help on the Privacy Front
Metavante Corporation, a provider of technology products for financial services companies, has expanded its relationship with Bankers Systems, Inc. (BSI), a provider of privacy compliance tools for the financial services industry. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will work together to deliver tailored financial privacy disclosure programs that meet a myriad of U.S. federal and state regulations. The end products will help companies comply with a number of stringent laws banning the release of consumers' financial information, the companies said.
NaviSite Launches Customer Data Measuring Service
Web hosting and application service provider NaviSite has launched a new service that allows companies to measure online customer data. NaviSite is offering the e-Metric service on an ASP basis, either as a dedicated managed system or a shared service. NaviSite developed the offering by integrating the E-Metrics Solutions Suite from NetGenesis into its managed ASP environment.
Customized Web Stores
Application service provider Interliant, Inc. announced it has expanded its Web hosting offerings to allow customers to quickly and easily build customized Web stores. The company is targeting e-commerce customers who host their Web sites on a single server or who wish to host multiple e-commerce sites. Based on Cobalt servers from Sun Microsystems the new package combines Miva Empresa, Miva Merchant and an integrated installer for storefront setup. Miva Merchant lets users develop and manage online storefronts using standard Internet browser software, while Miva Empresa enables store customization.
NASA Becomes eTrue's First Customer
eTrue, the first biometrics authentication service that is out-sourced over the Internet, announced that it has launched the eTrue biometric logon service with its initial customer NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA employees will use eTrue to access secure data on network servers from home. Additional customers are in the process of signing contracts with eTrue for the service, and will be announced soon. The eTrue Internet outsourcing service authenticates users for both Web and local network logon through multiple biometrics, such as face and fingerprint verification, providing 100 percent user authentication.