Smaaz’s Blog

Microsoft to Acquire Ad Network AdECN

Microsoft today announced it has agreed to acquire AdECN, Inc., an advertising exchange platform company based near Santa Barbara, Calif. AdECN’s technology serves as a hub where advertising networks can come together in a neutral, real-time auction marketplace for buying and selling display advertising. The deal is a key component of Microsoft’s strategy to develop a comprehensive search and display advertising platform helping advertisers and publishers to maximize return on investment (ROI) on their digital advertising investments. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Both Microsoft and AdECN have a deep commitment to creating the technologies and platforms that enable advertisers and publishers to maximize their ROI in the digital marketplace,” said Kevin Johnson, president, Platforms and Services Division at Microsoft. “We believe the addition of AdECN to the Microsoft portfolio is a perfect fit and will create more efficiency for the industry by forming a more robust marketplace between advertisers and publishers, aggregating more supply and demand. This is good for the whole advertising industry.”

Founded in 2003, AdECN brings both key technologies and significant domain expertise to the Microsoft team. Advertisers and publishers will benefit from this deal in the following ways:

• Advertisers will get access to more inventory, enabling more efficient matching of their requirements which can help increase ROI.
• Publishers will be able to increase yield — earn more money per page view — due to the higher volume of available inventory.
• Both groups will benefit from the exchange’s neutrality and transparency, enabling them to make more informed decisions about their bid and ask decisions.

“Joining forces with Microsoft will provide the capital and resources to enable AdECN to scale the exchange at a much faster pace, making it more attractive to the advertising networks and other traffic aggregators looking to better serve their advertisers and publishers,” said William Urschel, founder and chief executive officer, AdECN. “All of us here are thrilled to join a team that shares our commitment to neutrality for the exchange and also believes that creating liquidity and intelligently matching supply and demand will be two of the most important roles for a technology provider to play in this rapidly growing and evolving market.”

The exchange concept is similar to the NASDAQ which serves as the hub for financial brokerages, enabling all parties to come together and have access through a neutral party to a larger pool of supply and demand for their clients. Exchanges are a means by which liquidity is created for advertising networks by bringing together a maximum number of both buyers and sellers. Rather than an ad network, a true ad exchange is the neutral, transparent, automated connection between multiple ad networks. AdECN market advertising networks trade on behalf of their advertisers and publishers. This means that AdECN supports, rather than competes with, the various players in the online advertising industry.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of Microsoft’s fiscal year 2008. The acquisition is not expected to have a significant impact on the financial guidance previously issued by the Company. AdECN, which has approximately 30 employees, will continue to operate from its headquarters near Santa Barbara, Calif. as part of Microsoft’s Online Services Business.

Add comment July 26th, 2007

Google Earth Enterprise Goes 2D in the Browser

Today, Google announced that business and government users of Google Earth Enterprise will be able to view their organization’s geospatial data in 2D on a browser, behind the firewall. Through a special version of the Google Maps API (the programming interface for Google Maps), administrators can also embed this 2D view into any web application (much like a Google Map) and create mashups with information from external databases, spreadsheets and other data sources.

“Not only is it now easier for employees who need to access their organization’s geo data - whether it be satellite images, terrain and elevation data or aerial imagery - to do so from almost anywhere, but they can integrate additional layers of information within their existing web applications without ever having to leave the browser,” said Matthew Glotzbach, Product Management Director, Google Enterprise. “Because businesses and government organizations can leverage the browser in addition to the downloadable Earth Enterprise client, they can share their geo data more easily across teams and departments, create mapping overlays for improved data analysis and ultimately, deliver a greater return on their technology investment.”

“By visualizing global website traffic at www.dell.com in Google Earth, we are building a stronger sense of community with our internal and external partners through awareness and better visibility around traffic trends and patterns,” said Jamie Wills, vice president of sales and marketing systems for Dell, an early adopter of the latest release of Google Earth Enterprise.

“In addition, our global Enterprise Command Center gains a global view of customer activity at a glance, ensuring optimum responsiveness for customers with Enterprise Silver, Gold and Platinum Plus support. Google Earth gives us the intuitive yet powerful interface to critical business information that we need to manage effectively in today’s fast paced business environment.”

Energy and government are also natural industry sectors that have gained immediate benefit from the latest release of Google Earth Enterprise.

“With Google Earth’s intuitive 3D geo-browsing experience, researchers can visualize data more effectively, allowing us to explore areas of interest more efficiently than ever,” said Ole Martinsen, Head of Exploration Research for Norsk Hydro a Norwegian oil, energy and aluminum company. “Deployed in our Research Centre in Bergen, Norway, the Google Earth Enterprise system is used to synthesize large quantities of global data high resolution imagery and terrain models and dozens of vector layers that are relevant to Hydro’s interests. It’s an eye opening experience to see years of accumulated geological and geophysical data appear with just a few clicks.”

Alabama’s Department of Homeland Security is using the latest release of Google Earth Enterprise as a platform for Virtual Alabama, a department program to support information sharing across Alabama’s county, municipal and state agencies for emergency response, disaster assistance and the protection of public assets.

“Google Earth Enterprise enhances our ability to identify, track and update critical infrastructure throughout Alabama,” said Jim Walker, Alabama’s Homeland Security Director. “Our Virtual Alabama information sharing database is anchored by Google Earth Enterprise. The incorporation of Google Earth Enterprise into the Virtual Alabama model will dramatically improve the speed and accessibility of Virtual Alabama to our user population.”

The new release also improves processing of images and mapping information, and enhances support for industry-standard security protocols such as LDAP and SSL.

Key features include:

• Browser view lets anyone in the organization securely access Google Earth Enterprise through a browser. In addition, organizations can embed a map view with proprietary data into any web-based application. (A real estate firm, for example, can now publish 2D images of all properties in a given area and overlay those images with a spreadsheet’s pricing data or availability notes - all on the firm’s website.)
• Enhanced search framework allows integration with multiple search services through Java plug-ins, including the Google Search Appliance. (A manufacturer might use this feature to find a set of customers with certain product preferences using the Google Search Appliance, and view the geographic distribution of those customers in Google Earth.)
• Regions-based KML imagery data processing tool for creating super-overlays. These overlays enable organizations to easily publish large collections of images. (A government agency would be able to publish local aerial photography to citizens.)
• Faster data processing and serving performance produces time savings of up to 10x for vector processing (points/lines/polygons) and computational savings of more than 2 xs for server responses to imagery data requests.
• Industry standard security methodologies are supported for easier implementation of LDAP and SSL.
• User interface improvements make the process of ingesting, previewing and publishing data easier and more efficient.

Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to make the world’s geographic information easily accessible and useful to businesses and government organizations. For more information about Google’s geospatial solutions for businesses and organizations, visit http://www.google.com/enterprise/geospatial.html. To contact a sales representative, please visit http://services.google.com/enterprise/g.

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Add comment July 26th, 2007

Yellow Pages Company Acquires Business.com

R.H. Donnelley Corporation , one of the nation’s leading Yellow Pages and online local commercial search companies, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Business.com, a leading business search engine and directory and pay-per-click advertising network.

Through this transaction, R.H. Donnelley will add to its existing interactive portfolio a rapidly growing and profitable business-to-business company, with online properties that include Business.com, Work.com and the Business.com Advertising Network. These online brands attract an audience of highly qualified and motivated business decision makers. Business.com optimizes the revenues from these properties through the use of its Performance Based Advertising (PBA) platform, which is considered to be one of the most advanced systems in the marketplace.

In addition, R.H. Donnelley’s Triple Play(TM) business-to-consumer integrated marketing solutions will also benefit from a significant infusion of leading-edge search and directory technology and interactive thought leadership from Business.com, particularly in the areas of performance based advertising technologies and corresponding ad network capabilities.

Business.com employs approximately 100 highly-skilled technologists, strategists and businesspeople and serves more than 6,000 business-to-business advertisers and their agencies. The company is profitable and is expected to generate revenues of greater than $50 million in 2007. It is widely recognized as a leader in the online business-to-business commercial search space and has been named to the “Inc. 500″ and BtoB magazine’s “Media Power 50″.

Business.com is led by Founder and CEO Jake Winebaum, a highly-regarded, successful leader of Internet and media companies. Upon closing of the transaction, Winebaum will be appointed as President of R.H. Donnelley’s interactive unit (RHDi), which will now include DexKnows.com(TM), LocalLaunch! search engine marketing company, Business.com, Work.com and the Business.com Advertising Network. Winebaum will lead RHDi from Santa Monica, Calif., and will report directly to Swanson.

Prior to starting Business.com, Winebaum led the Internet activities of The Walt Disney Company, serving as the Chairman of Buena Vista Internet Group, which managed high-profile brands such as Disney.com and ESPN.com. His leadership and contributions to the Internet industry have been acknowledge by Time magazine, which included him as one of the Top 50 Cyber Elite and Wired magazine, who placed him on the Wired 25.

Under the terms of the agreement, R.H. Donnelley will acquire Business.com for $345 million in cash and deferred purchase consideration. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007 and is subject to customary terms and closing conditions, including compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

Add comment July 26th, 2007