Delphi asp net web hosting

Business/Technology Editors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and SAUSALITO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 24, 2000

Delphi Forums and Well Engaged, LLC, the two leading providers of Internet community solutions, today announced they have joined to launch a new company, Prospero Technologies. Building on the synergies between Delphi and Well Engaged, Prospero will deliver an audience activation solution, designed to help businesses attract, engage and understand their Web audiences, and to derive business value from that interaction.

Prospero counts more than 200 clients, including Hasbro, Fox, CBS SportsLine, Washingtonpost.com, IDG.net, the Wall Street Journal Interactive, HBO and the Warner Music Group. These customers use the Prospero platform through an application service provider (ASP) model. The integrated platform provides loyalty-building features for end-users as well as reporting capabilities that improve each client's understanding of audience behavior and preferences. The benefits of Prospero's solution are twofold: build online customer loyalty and insight; and simplify application management by centralizing all features and management tools.

&uot;We are excited about benefiting from the combined expertise of Delphi and Well Engaged,&uot; said Jill Corral, Senior Editor with IDG.net, the world's largest online network of technology specific Web sites. &uot;We have already gained great insight into our audience's needs and requirements by adding interactivity to our site, and look forward to enhancing both our audience application offerings and our own management tools through the Prospero platform.&uot;

&uot;Prospero will be the first Internet solutions company that gives businesses the tools they need to get closer to their customers, while enabling them to deliver an integrated online experience,&uot; said Dan Bruns, president and CEO of Prospero Technologies. &uot;Delphi and Well Engaged combine to form a powerful new player that will provide crucial infrastructure solutions to help Web businesses become successful.&uot;

Products and Services

Prospero's wide range of services and tools add value to its ASP business model. Prospero's audience activation features include:

--interactive end-user tools such as feature-rich message boards, chat and polling to optimize user loyalty and length of stay,

--fully customizable user interface to maintain brand consistency,

--site-wide management controls and reporting capabilities to help customers better understand audience preferences and behavior,

--revenue-generating tools such as e-commerce, advertising serving and targeting to aid in monetization of site activity,

--cross-promotion across the entire Prospero network of sites to boost site traffic,

--and professional services such as application hosting, content moderation, and business consulting.

Management Expertise

Prospero's technology and services are delivered by a team of Internet industry pioneers, with expertise in the areas of Internet community and e-commerce technology solutions, strategic consulting, business-to-business marketing, and Internet sales. Dan Bruns, former chairman and CEO of Delphi Forums, is now president and CEO of Prospero. Bruce Katz, former chairman and CEO of Well Engaged, is chairman of Prospero. Bruns and Katz were both pioneers in the online community services market. Katz developed the first Web-based discussion software while acting as the CEO of The WELL and has over nine years' experience with online businesses. Bruns has more than fifteen years of experience with the Internet, launching and directing Delphi as the first commercial online service to provide access to the Internet.

&uot;By joining forces between Delphi and Well Engaged, the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts,&uot; said Katz. &uot;Separately, each company has proven the value of interactive applications as traffic- and loyalty-builders. Together, our integrated suite of tools and services will help accelerate the conversion of site visitors into brand enthusiasts. Prospero's opportunity is tremendous.&uot;

&uot;Delphi has given Hasbro the ability to introduce and develop community around our brands quickly,&uot; commented Craig Bloem, Senior Internet Marketing Manager for Hasbro, Inc. &uot;That community - and ability to move quickly - have been key in fostering brand loyalty for our games, such as MechWarrior and Atari. We expect the combined resources of Delphi and Well Engaged to only enhance this important service.&uot;

&uot;In addition to being an effective tool for engaging Petopia.com's Web visitors, Well Engaged has given our customers reasons to come back more often and stay longer,&uot; said Roger Smith, Vice President, Internet Site Strategy and Development at Petopia.com. &uot;We are looking forward to an even greater return on investment from the centralized reporting tools in the Prospero technology platform.&uot;

Further Details

Prospero Technologies will be headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a West Coast office in Sausalito, California. With more than 100 employees, both locations are currently hiring to accelerate growth. To further support Prospero's exclusive business-to-business focus, the Delphi Forums collection of self-managed consumer communities, catalogued at http://www.delphi.com, will now operate as a new entity, under a separate management team.

Agreement details are subject to final completion.

About Prospero Technologies

Prospero Technologies (http://www.prosperotechnologies.com) will be the leading provider of audience activation solutions for Web businesses to enable them to attract, engage and understand their online audience, and to benefit from that interaction. Prospero's hosted audience activation platform includes tools and services such as interactive end-user tools like feature-rich message boards, chat and polling to optimize user loyalty and length of stay, and site-wide management controls and reporting capabilities to help customers better understand audience preferences and behavior. Prospero customers include: Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS), Fox.com, Fox News and Fox Sports Online (NYSE: NWS), washingtonpost.com, CBS SportsLine (Nasdaq: SPLN), Chicago Tribune (NYSE: TRB), HBO (NYSE: TWX), Petopia, PlanetRx (Nasdaq: PLRX), the Wall Street Journal (NYSE: DJ) and Warner Music Group (NYSE: TWX). Created by joining Well Engaged and Delphi Forums, Prospero Technologies will be headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. with a West Coast office in Sausalito, Calif.

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