News Facts:

• Zmags, the leading provider of rich media mobile and social merchandising, today introduced a groundbreaking consumer shopping user interface (UI) dubbed “Zmags Convergence.“
• This new, visual environment completely redefines and streamlines a consumer’s shopping experience on tablets, smartphones, the Web, and in Facebook.
• Using Zmags Convergence, retailers, brands, multi-level marketers and agencies can create a new class of engaging and immersive shopping experiences that propel merchandising and commerce from today’s search-and-purchase model to a more profitable strategy of discovery and inspiration.
• Built to harness the iPad’s user interface and browsing appeal – while also highly engaging via Facebook, smartphones and PC-based browsers – Zmags Convergence helps retailers and brands quickly appeal to the growing numbers of tablet, mobile and social shoppers, as defined in a recent report about the behaviors of connected consumers.
• Zmags Convergence lets retailers present a consistent brand experience for retailers across all channels while adapting to and taking advantage of specific strengths of each unique channel and device. It is completely customizable and flexible to the retailers’ specifications.
• Retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kenneth Cole, Lenovo, Celebrating Home and Pearson have been actively providing input and validating Zmags Convergence.
• Features of Zmags Convergence include:
  • Creation of content rich pages with dynamic imagery that pops, can be intuitively explored, shared socially and, with a quick tap or click, moved into a shopping cart, all without requiring page reloads or refreshes.
  • A moveable and collapsible action bar that follows shoppers as they browse so they never have to leave the page to shop, purchase, or share.
  • Easy inspiration with “buy-the-collection” capabilities so that shoppers can view all the items in any given scene and, with one touch, discover and purchase items individually or collectively.
  • Enhanced audio capabilities that let retailers add music and voice to the experience.
• Zmags Convergence will be available in spring 2012, and will be the customer user interface offered with both Zmags Professional and Zmags CommercePro.
• To view a demo please visit: http://www.zmags.com/blog/zmags-convergence.

Supporting Quotes:

“Consumers’ appetite for tablet, smartphone and social shopping is escalating. Retailers must be ready to implement new kinds of commerce strategies in 2012 or miss the boat,” said Van Baker, Research VP, Gartner, Inc.

“It will be important to design natural shopping experiences that mirror the way consumers like to browse and shop rather than forcing them down non-intuitive paths. New forms of engaging commerce experiences that harness the unique user interfaces of each channel while presenting a consistent brand image will be key to maximizing revenue potential.”

“We know that social and mobile commerce are converging. That’s no longer a prediction; it’s a fact, and retailers have to be ready to sell to the highest value consumers, those who are connected on many devices, and through many different channels,” said W. Sean Ford, COO and CMO of Zmags.

“The fact that these channels are converging into one core ecommerce ecosystem allows retailers to maximize the revenue potential of every touch point, engaging with and delighting consumers where they are, and how they want to shop. This is a huge opportunity.”

About Zmags

Zmags helps thousands of the world’s most progressive global retailers and brands design brilliant and consistent marketing and merchandising campaigns across social, mobile, tablet, and e-commerce platforms, driving product discovery and inspiring purchases. Using the Zmags on-demand rich media merchandising platform, leading brands have measurably and dramatically increased customer engagement, conversion rates, order size and brand loyalty without the burden of IT constraints.

Zmags is among the fastest growing technology companies in North America, ranking #70 on the Deloitte 2011 Technology Fast 500.  Zmags is headquartered in Boston, MA. with European offices in London and Copenhagen. For more information about Zmags, please visit www.zmags.com.

CONTACT:

Samantha McGarry,

+1-781-966-4107,

[email protected]

Exinda has claimed it is wresting business and partners away from big-name rivals, after meeting its partner recruitment targets four months after the launch of its revamped channel programme.

The WAN optimisation outfit also stressed that Exclusive Networks will remain its sole UK distributor after signing Computerlinks as a partner in the Middle East.

Exinda launched its top-tier Platinum partner scheme in November and has now more or less reached its initial targets of recruiting about 10 VARs at this level and another 15-20 at Gold level.

EMEA vice president of sales Adam Davison said: “The priority now is to continue to enable the partners that have committed to us. We want to elevate as many of our gold partners up [to Platinum]. If the pipeline grows, we will look to continue to add partners.”

Ideal partners would come from an “application-aware networking” background, claimed Davison, boasting expertise in technology from vendors such as Layer 7, Palo Alto, F5, Arista and A10. The Exinda man added that partners with backgrounds in network-adjacent markets, including storage and VoIP, would also be of interest.

Davison claimed the “granular” approach of his firm’s technology sets it apart from rivals. He added that many other vendors are putting a margin squeeze on the channel.

“We can protect the video, protect the voice. We can see if the CEO is making a call and that that should be a priority,” he added. “We have displaced the brand leaders in significant networks in some big refreshes. They have seen the significant value that Exinda can bring to the table.

“The feedback we get is that [rivals] are reducing pricing and squeezing the margin out of the channel. They are sharing some of the pain, but not all of it.”

Exinda also recently expanded its channel in the Middle East, with the addition of Computerlinks to its distribution stable. But Davison (pictured) insisted that a sole-distributor model will remain in place in the UK.

“Exclusive Networks are our distribution partner in the UK; they do an outstanding job for us,” he explained. “There is absolutely no reason why we would want to disrupt a distribution relationship that is working.”

GoodData, a disruptive, cloud-based enterprise Business Intelligence (BI) platform, today announced availability of its ExactTarget + Google Analytics application.

The application is part of its ongoing partnership with ExactTarget, the leading provider of email and interactive marketing solutions for business-to-business (B2B) and eCommerce organizations.

ExactTarget + Google Analytics is the first closed-loop BI application built precisely for online marketers. The application marries data from both systems on the award-winning GoodData BI platform, allowing marketers to see ExactTarget campaign performance through conversion in Google Analytics.

“Marketers today are looking for a complete view of their interactive marketing campaign performance. Through the GoodData application for ExactTarget + Google Analytics, marketers can view pre- and post-click campaign performance together in a single user interface,” explained Jason Meketa, technical alliance manager of ExactTarget.

GoodData’s application for ExactTarget + Google Analytics delivers interactive reports and dashboards pre-populated with best practice Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), enabling users to easily track conversions and analyze campaign performance in a single user interface. The application frees marketers from tedious analysis and offers a comprehensive view of performance, eliminating struggles with multiple databases, spreadsheets and elaborate tools.

“Big Data flies at marketers from every direction – email, social media, online advertising, and CRM. Traditionally, marketers needed to pull data from many places- campaign data from marketing automation systems and Google Analytics for conversion tracking- to understand the customer lifecycle,” explained Cody Crnkovich, senior director of powered by partnerships at GoodData.

“ExactTarget + Google Analytics gives marketers a ground-breaking, complete picture of lead and customer conversion.”

Marketers using the ExactTarget + Google Analytics application can measure eCommerce revenue, side-by-side email performance, Google Analytics goal performance, campaign and leaderboard analysis. With GoodData collaboration features, reports and results can be shared across the organization via email, PDF, CSV or embedded into other online systems and websites.

Pricing for the GoodData application for ExactTarget + Google Analytics is based on monthly email volume and starts at $300 a month. ExactTarget customers can request implementation instructions by emailing exacttarget(at)gooddata(dot)com.

About GoodData

GoodData is a disruptive, cloud-based enterprise platform for business intelligence. The GoodData technology is intuitive, secure and fast. It helps convert big data into profitable insights and strategies for business executives. GoodData is trusted by companies like Enterasys, Capgemini, and Software AG, and embedded into offerings from cloud innovators like Zendesk, Get Satisfaction and Pardot. Headquartered in San Francisco, GoodData is privately held and backed by leading venture capital firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst Partners, Fidelity Growth Partners, and Windcrest Partners.

About ExactTarget

ExactTarget is a leading global provider of email marketing and cross-channel interactive marketing software-as-a-service solutions that empower organizations of all sizes to communicate with their customers through email, mobile, social media and websites. ExactTarget’s powerful suite of integrated applications enable marketers to plan, automate, deliver and optimize data-driven interactive marketing and real-time communications to drive customer engagement, increase sales and improve return on marketing investment. For more information, visit http://www.ExactTarget.com.

Monetate, the leader in online marketing technology, today announced that Kurt Heinemann has joined the company as Chief Marketing Officer.

Heinemann will play a key strategic role at Monetate, communicating the vision for how marketers can consistently deliver engaging online experiences and relevant messaging to their customers.

Heinemann will lead Monetate’s commitment to end the one-size-fits-all-web by helping top brands learn how to create a culture of testing, act on real-time data, and deliver the right message, to the right person at the right time. Driving this initiative is a sophisticated content publishing program designed to help marketers implement best-practices and increase revenue.

With an extensive background in technology and ecommerce, Heinemann is a proven marketing leader experienced in communicating the value of sophisticated digital services and solutions that resonate with both prospects and customers. At Monetate, Heinemann will lead the company’s marketing strategy as it continues to build momentum on the heels of a successful 2011 that saw revenue increase nearly three-fold.

“Monetate’s browser-based, cloud technology enables brands to move faster and to customize the online experience like never before. Our Agility Suite gives marketers the speed and control they need to compete in the ever-changing digital marketplace,” said Heinemann.

“I look forward to championing Monetate as an essential partner for companies looking to accelerate their online business.”

Most recently, Heinemann was Chief Marketing Officer at Perimeter eSecurity, a global leader in enterprise SaaS security solutions. Prior to Perimeter, he served as President of Synapse Group’s online division, a cross-channel affinity marketing company that works with hundreds of media brands. He also served as General Manager and CMO at Walker Digital, and Vice President of Marketing at Priceline.

“As a proven marketing and business leader, Kurt is an invaluable addition to the executive team,” said Monetate founder and CEO David Brussin.

“Kurt will elevate how we interact with our customers, educating them on how to dramatically grow their online business. We believe his deep experience will have a profound impact as we continue to expand our products and services.”

About Monetate

Monetate drives billions of dollars of revenue every year for some of the best-known brands in the world, including Best Buy, QVC, Urban Outfitters, Aeropostale, The Sports Authority, and PETCO. The company’s comprehensive product suite and conversion expertise enable marketers to deliver a more relevant customer experience with unprecedented agility.

Leading marketers rely on Monetate’s cloud-based browser technology to achieve a new level of speed and control, allowing them to run 16 times more optimization campaigns compared to industry averages. The Monetate Agility Suite includes advanced products for testing, merchandising, targeting, and cross-channel consistency, providing an opportunity to bypass IT restraints and react in real time to customer demands.

Monetate also helps marketers implement best practices and drive online revenue through its expert strategic services and content publishing teams. For more information visit http://monetate.com/ or follow us on Twitter @Monetate.

VersionOne, recognized by agile practitioners as the leader in agile management tools, today announced that it will once again host its popular AgilePalooza event for the Dallas area software community, March 9th in Irving, TX.

AgilePalooza is a community event that brings together internationally recognized agile coaches and trainers with local software professionals. Attendees will learn about advancing agile methods through workshops and collaborative sessions. During breakout sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and participate in group discussions.

Leading agile expert Esther Derby will deliver the event keynote entitled, ‘What the Heck is a Self-Organizing Team and What Does it Mean for Me?’

About the Event

Who: Attendees will benefit from several educational sessions and workshops delivered by recognized and experienced agile experts, including:

•   Esther Derby works with individuals, teams, and managers to improve their ability to deliver valuable software. Esther is recognized as a leader in the human-side of software development, including management, systems-thinking, organizational change, collaboration, team building, facilitation and retrospectives.

•   Alan Shalloway is the founder and CEO of Net Objectives. With almost 40 years of experience, Alan is an industry thought leader in Lean, Kanban and design patterns. He helps companies transition to Lean and Agile methods enterprise-wide and teaches courses in Lean, Kanban, Scrum, Design Patterns, and Object-Orientation.

•   Don McGreal is Director of Learning Solutions at Improving Enterprises and is a hands-on agile consultant and instructor. Don is co-founder of TastyCupcakes.org, a comprehensive collection of games and exercises for accelerating the adoption of agile principles.

•   Johnny Scarborough is Eliassen Group’s Chief Agilist. Johnny is focused on helping enterprises achieve greater value delivered to its customers through coaching and consulting with teams to guide them to pragmatically and truly adopt Agile methods in their product development operations.

•   Steve Paro is an Agile and Product Consultant for VersionOne. As a trainer, Steve has trained hundreds of IT and development professionals on agile project management, requirements definition, process adoption and team best practices.

What: For $69 attendees receive a full day of agile learning, lunch and the opportunity to participate in one of two tracks: Practicing Agile and Planning Agile. The Practicing Agile track is geared toward those interested in agile fundamentals and engineering practices and the Planning Agile track is for those planning and managing multiple teams and projects.

Where: AgilePalooza Dallas, Marriott – DFW Airport, 8440 Freeport Parkway, Irving, TX 75063

When: Friday, March 9, 2012

More: For more information on AgilePalooza Dallas, or to register to attend, please visit:http://www.agilepalooza.com/Dallas2012/default.asp.

About VersionOne

VersionOne is recognized by agile practitioners as the leader in agile project management tools. By simplifying the planning and tracking of agile projects, we help teams deliver better software faster. Since 2002, companies such as Adobe, Boeing, bwin, Intuit, Lilly, Lockheed Martin, McKesson, Oppenheimer, Qualcomm, Sabre and Siemens have turned to VersionOne. Today more than 30,000 teams from over 170 countries use VersionOne. Agile Made Easier @ VersionOne.com.

Media Contact:

Crystal Macaulay
PerkettPR for VersionOne
781-871-8860
[email protected]

A key advantage of small companies is ease at quickly adjusting to market demands. Having a dynamic web presence is a typical example of how many smaller enterprises thrive.

Zmags started in 2006 as a new business helping large operations maintain vibrant web campaigns that function on various platforms.

Zmags recently raised $7,000,000 of new funding from investors, which brings its total outside capital acquisition to around $20,000,000. No longer a small business, Zmags was recently named by Deloitte as one of the top 100 fastest growing companies in North America for 2011. Revenue growth since 2006 is reported at 1,730 percent.

Clients of Zmags include Kenneth Cole, Express, Tesco, and more than 2,500 other companies in 50 countries. The services of Zmags entail the design of marketing and merchandising campaigns with consistent attributes across multiple channels. Among the marketing avenues used are social media, mobile apps, and e-commerce websites.

Zmags sees plenty of expansion opportunities for media rich online merchandising, especially with mobile apps and social media platforms. According to the company, its product called CommercePro causes as much as a 500 percent increase in page views and more than a 40 percent increase in order size.

Retailers using CommercePro are reportedly experiencing doubled conversion rates. CommercePro enhancements are aimed at integrating transactions directly into digital merchandising and catalog paths.

The new capital infusion for Zmags is targeted for expansion of the company’s global reach.

Zmags has published the results of its study that assessed the cross-channel marketing readiness of the top 100 U.S. online retailers in terms of their use of mobile, tablet, and social media, and they discovered that very few of them are working to achieve the full commerce potential of mobile devices.

The study was conducted in November 2011 and examined the smartphone and tablet offerings of the leading 100 retailers (according to the 2011 Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide). Android smartphones, iPhone, and iPad offerings were scrutinized by the researchers.

They determined that among the top 100, only Disney, Gilt Groupe, and Urban Outfitters received a good score for strong offerings on for the devices being considered within the study. They also found that the implementation saw a significant variability among the different devices. For example, a far greater number of companies optimized for smartphones than for other types of mobile devices. In fact, over half of the retailers studied had offerings optimized only for smartphones.

According to this study, the tablet has yet to see any widespread optimization. In fact, Nike was the only retailer that was found to use the unique interface capabilities for tablet in their entirety. Equally, the researchers were not shocked by this data as the tablet platform is still quite new.

What they decided was that it seems that the majority of retailers are attempting to manage “only one or two pieces of the bigger puzzle,” which includes multiplatform branding, technical optimization, commerce, and creating an engaging experience for consumers.