Online conference management provider Bluedot Software says three is the magic number for its next generation eConference management software. The San Francisco-based company Thursday released its new flagship product, Bluedot 3, which is being toted as a valuable tool for…
Vicinity Corp. Wednesday says one of its patent applications has been approved and registered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company provides Web, wireless and speech-based Enterprise Location Services (ELS). The patent is titled “Method and…
Nearly 29 million people bought gifts online during the 2001 holiday shopping season, a study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found, and women did most of the buying. The average amount spent online was $392 per person,…
Community banks continue to invest in technological tools and applications that provide value to customers and increase operational efficiency, according to the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and Infinet Resources. The survey identified Internet banking, digital check imaging, equipment…
San Jose, Calif.-based Calico Commerce, Inc. Thursday says it is selling its assets to business software maker PeopleSoft for $5 million in cash.As part of the deal, Calico is filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and will ask for the court’s…
Many retailer’s online operations are proving to be surprisingly effective, according to research by Shop.org and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and an increase in efficient online marketing may get the credit. The survey, which examined 63 retailers of various…
A survey of more than 14,000 Internet users by the National Regulatory Research Institute and BIGresearch found that almost half (47 percent) of the respondents have complained to their ISP about the quality of service. “The survey results suggest a…
While economic conditions appear to have forced some companies to delay projects or reduce the scope of implementation, a survey by Gartner’s Dataquest Inc. found that 65 percent of the respondents plan to have CRM initiatives deployed in their enterprise…
Hoping to make sense of the seemingly unmanned broadband sector, two software makers decided there is safety in numbers. Redwood City-based Support.com Wednesday says it is joining forces with broadband software provider BroadJump Inc., to offer a good support solution…
Ever since Oracle CEO Larry Ellison boasted about how his software products can make a company virtually “Unbreakable,” the company has been fending off critics who say that there is no such thing.Now Ellison and a host of his partners…
Thirty-five percent of all Americans report being very satisfied with their online holiday shopping experience, according to the eSpending Report from Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and NetRatings, Inc. Additionally, 17 percent stated that their holiday shopping satisfaction is higher this…
Almost three-quarters of the online buyers in the United States have not viewed, created or purchased from an online gift registry, according to research by Jupiter Media Metrix. Are retailers missing the boat or are consumers just not interested? Jupiter…
Payment service provider eBillit Tuesday says it has inked a deal with Kmart (NYSE:KM) to give its BlueLight.com Unlimited Internet Service users a different way of paying online. BlueLight’s formerly free Unlimited Internet Service is one of the lowest-priced major…
Flying in the face of research that has predicted a prosperous holiday season for online retailers, a study by Odyssey has found online consumers becoming wary of e-commerce. Odyssey’s “Breadbox Study”, which tracks consumer attitudes and behaviors with regard to…
Online retail and travel sales from the 2001 holiday season will reach approximately $11.9 billion, according to Jupiter Media Metrix. That would represent an 11 percent increase over last year’s $10.8 billion. Online shopping will see slower growth this holiday…
The fight between those who want to build great databases of customer information on the Internet and those who want to keep it private is becoming more vocal and the fight may come to a head in a few weeks…
In a wake up call to other wired carriers, BellSouth (NYSE:BLS) Monday announced a non-exclusive agreement to incorporate BeVocal‘s voice-enabled applications in BellSouth’s new e-Platform Initiative. The idea is that you can pick up a phone, say the name of…
Shoppers who use multiple channels — store, catalog and online — tend to spend more and be more loyal, according to a Shop.org study. But it remains unclear whether retailers can take advantage of what consumers want from tri-channel retailers.…
It’s the largest branchless bank in the country and they don’t even issue a credit card or debit card – that is until now. E*TRADE Bank, part of E*TRADE Group (NYSE:ET), Wednesday inked a deal with San Francisco-based Visa U.S.A.…
E-business software maker PeopleSoft (NASDAQ:PSFT) Tuesday made three different announcements that are expected to expand its offerings in some ground breaking ways. As an appetizer, the Pleasanton, Calif.-based company says it has enhanced its new product framework for developing pure…
Personalized e-mail, rewards company Netcentives (NASDAQ:NCNT) Tuesday tossed in the towel and said it will reorganize the company under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Outside of a major upheaval for the 130 employees at the company, the news…
Banter Inc., which specializes in natural language processing, this week released an updated version of its Relationship Modeling Engine (RME). The San Francisco-based company says RME v 5.0 can be easily embedded in any software application that handles unstructured information…
Time for a quick quiz. When do one and one make one? Ask Jeeves (NASDAQ:ASKJ), the question and answer search engine, says the answer is its new Web-based software tool called JeevesOne, available now. The server software, released Monday, combines…
The second annual international study of online shopping by Consumers International, a global federation of more than 260 consumer organizations in 120 countries, found that Internet shoppers still cannot shop with confidence. As part of the research, more than 400…
KANA (NASDAQ:KANA) Tuesday says Martin Onofrio is joining its executive team as senior vice president of the Americas. In his new role, Onofrio will be responsible for driving all sales initiatives for North and South America. Onofrio has had this…
NativeMinds, which specializes in online natural language customer self-service solutions, named Gordon Heinrich as VP of Worldwide Services this week. Heinrich, a former executive with Inktomi (NASDAQ:INKT), is expected to provide strategic client services direction and drive customer and partner…
U.S. consumers are more likely to revisit Web sites that are fast loading, customizable and more informative than those that offer rich media or content delivery to wireless handsets, according to research by Jupiter Media Metrix. Jupiter’s aptly named report,…
Active Decisions Monday named Rick Maddox as its vice president of worldwide sales. The Burlingame, Calif.-based company specializes in Web-based customer relationship management (CRM) decision-support applications. Maddox may be a candidate for the “Most Experience In The Least Amount of…
Banks offering online services report that only 5 to 10 percent of their customer base use such services, eMarketer found. This means that, for many financial institutions, online banking has not lived up to its promise. According to eMarketer’s U.S.…
KANA (NASDAQ:KANA) Wednesday says it has named technology industry veteran Tanya Dins as its chief information officer. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company specializes in e-business services including e-mail, Web, chat, instant message, VOIP, phone and person-to-person, as well as applications…
In the realm of customer relationship management (CRM) software, partnerships are key. That’s why Palo Alto, Calif.-based Octopus says it is working with Vitria Technology (NASDAQ:VITR) to enhance its CRM tool, known as Meta Applications. The joint venture is a…
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HWP) launched a new service Tuesday that gives its business customers access to its consulting expertise. The initiative, called HP Online Consulting is a mixture of Web-based delivery tools, remote and traditional consulting. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer and…
Online consumers looking to move their shopping and finances online have two choices: They can try to remember an increasing amount of user names, passwords and personal information, or they can go the route of a digital wallet-type service. In…
M-commerce in Europe is primarily being driven by companies wishing to gain new channels to market and improve customer services according to a study by Datamonitor. Datamonitor’s “European mCommerce Study 2001” surveyed more than 200 European companies to examine their…
Servers are great for data and for applications but you can’t talk to them – that is until now. Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) Thursday launched what it says is the first application server to offer integrated voice support. The Redwood Shores,…
How’d you like to have a conversation directly with your Internet-ready PDA or 2-way pager about your flight time, gate assignments, stock quotes, account balances or the status of your order? It’s called a “wireless virtual agent,” and the two…
Despite a rosy outlook complete with new deals with AOL and
Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) and British banking and financial services group HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) say they want to bring online payments out of the dark ages. The two companies Monday inked a deal to launch a co-branded, person-to-person payment system…
Total CRM software application revenues will increase from $9.4 billion worldwide by the end of 2001, to approximately $30.6 billion in 2005, according to a study by Cahners In-Stat Group. The study, “The 3 Faces of CRM – Analysis of…
Netopia (Nasdaq: NTPA) Wednesday says it is expanding its Web platform with eCare. The Alameda, Calif.-based broadband gateway and Web platforms provider says the new application allows for live, online customer support over any type of Internet connection. “Internet-enabled, real-time…
Mediaplex (Nasdaq: MPLX) seems to be feeling a little generous these days. The San Francisco-based digital messaging company Monday announced it is donating its MOJO e-mail solution to Habitat for Humanity in Orange County, Calif. The agreement is a pro…
Customer relationship management (CRM) firm iXL (Nasdaq: IIXL) Wednesday says it has inked a deal with chip making giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) designed for e-Business retailers and manufacturers. The result is “Retail & Consumer Goods Solution” platform, a collaboration done…
Online customer self-service company, noHold (the name literally means that the user is never left “on hold.”), says it likes to keep to its promises. The Milpitas, Calif.-based company says its Instant Support saved Logitech nearly $290,000 in customer support.…
Two Mountain View, Calif.-based companies Friday announced a technology alliance designed give customers a global two-way wireless alert and messaging system for help desk applications. The partnership brings together MobileSys‘s MX messaging platform and Remedy Corp.’s (Nasdaq: RMDY) Action Request…
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Octopus, which makes Meta Applications, Tuesday released the latest version of the customer relationship management (CRM) tool Octopus 2.5 has a few more bells and whistles for business departments to gather info. But according the company, the…
iCALL Systems (OTC BB: ICAS), which provides live online sales assistance for interactive media, Monday says it is seeking to acquire 1st Call for an undisclosed amount of cash and 100 percent of 1st Call’s assets. Not a bad list…
Two Northern Calif. online companies Thursday say they are partnering to build a better mousetrap – so to speak – that will have customers beating a path to the nearest real estate office. The joint collaboration between Hayward, Calif.-based eFORCE…
The members have spoken at free Web page host Homestead.com – if they can’t get it all for free, they want to keep the site affordable. This after the Menlo Park-based company notified its customers two-weeks ago it would begin…
“Amazon.com obviously knows what it takes to sell products online.” Streaming media company Speedera Networks says it has reached an agreement with Seattle-based Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) to give the online retailer’s customers high-quality streamed samples and previews of Amazon.com’s audio,…
It’s sexy, it’s fun and it takes sooooo long to order any thing at Victoria’s Secret. At least that is the common misconception at the lingerie retailer’s online site, according to Webmasters who say the site’s graphic-rich pages frequently violate…