NEW YORK, April 28, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) — eMeta Corporation, a provider of access control, subscription management and commerce software, announced an enhancement to eRightsWEB, eMeta’s managed software suite providing software and media companies with the tools to monetize their digital assets.
In addition to on-demand and subscription capabilities, eRightsWEB now enables telco, or utility, pricing and billing – helping software companies, and content and service providers employ flexible and myriad business models to optimize profitability and test new strategies in real-time.
Similar to the business model employed by telecommunications and utility companies, pricing and billing can now be based on usage of whatever digital good or service is being sold. End users can be restricted or guided by a usage plan, similar to the “calling plans” offered by phone companies. For example, an enterprise software company may want to offer a licensing option based on total company usage in a given period, by specific user time limits in a given period, or even by a combination of both terms. With the varied user types, license terms and site locations inherent to software – the parameters and permutations of the utility model are limitless.
“Service-delivered applications and their users can be incredibly complex,” said Chris Hoffmann, president, Tier1 Research. “With a vast choice of usage terms, utility business models are a logical way to charge for software. eMeta’s eRightsWEB allows ISVs and service providers to experiment with pricing and billing strategies, including the popular telco style, with almost instant time-to-market. This flexibility and speed is invaluable.”
eMeta’s CEO Jonathan Lewin commented, “The addition of new billing functionality to the product’s already robust feature set gives our customers yet another way to license and sell their digital assets. eRightsWEB provides additional flexibility, allowing our customers to experiment with how they license and sell their products and services – be it via on-demand, by subscription or now, usage-based.”
Lewin will address utility pricing at Tier1 Research’s ISV Transformation Summit, May 5 and 6 in Las Vegas. In his session on May 5 at 2:45 p.m., Lewin will answer the following question: When deploying SaaS, how do the lines of pricing, licensing and asset management coincide with customer utilization and business value? The ISV Transformation Summit is an educational forum designed to discuss the issues and opportunities facing those constituencies that are making strategic decisions around Software as a Service: ISVs, end users and investors. For more information, visit www.isvsummit.com.
eRightsWEB is the hosted version of eMeta’s flagship eRights Suite. The eRights Suite allows software companies, and content and service providers to develop granular product offerings and implement diverse revenue models. RightAccess, the access control module within eRights, centralizes customer data, authenticates and authorizes users, and enables registration. RightCommerce provides the ecommerce and billing functionality within eRights. The eRights Suite, available both as an installed or hosted (ASP) solution, allows organizations to effectively control and commercialize their digital assets while collecting valuable customer data and offering customer care.
About eMeta Corporation [ www.emeta.com ]
eMeta is the leading provider of access control and commerce software for media and software companies. eMeta’s advanced solutions and services enable its many globally recognized customers to sell and control their digital goods and services, maximizing the value of their digital assets. Recognized by Deloitte in 2004 as one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America, eMeta counts Pearson, The McGraw-Hill Companies, IEEE, New York Times Digital, Wolters Kluwer, Celera Genomics, and iVillage among its many clients.
About Tier1 Research [ www.Tier1Research.com ]
Tier1 Research is an independent research firm covering the Information Technology (IT) and Communications sectors. Founded in August 2000, T1R’s business model combines the best of Wall Street and Industry research into a holistic model of market and financial intelligence. Tier1 Research works with institutional investors, venture capital firms, IT users and vendors as a research and advisory partner.
The firm’s delivery model includes daily opinion and analysis through its Executive InsITer e-newsletter, company, trend and topic reports, financial models, online databases and market analytics, “morning calls”, the Vendor Perception Index (VPI), and consulting services. The company has nine associates and is based in Minneapolis with offices in New York and Silicon Valley.
