Zengine Engaged by Ippee.com, a Joint Venture of RealNetworks and Sumitomo Corporation, to Launch E-commerce and Portal Solution for Japanese Music Site
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 1, 2000--Zengine, Inc., the Internet subsidiary of MCSi, Inc. (Nasdaq:MCSI - news), announced today it will develop a comprehensive e-commerce and portal solution for the Japanese music site Ippee.com (www.ippee.com). Founded in July 2000, Ippee.com is a joint venture between RealNetworks®, Inc. and the Sumitomo Corporation. RealNetworks, based in Seattle, WA, is the recognized leader in media delivery on the Internet. Founded in 1919, the Sumitomo Corporation is a leading Japanese trading company.
On August 30, 2000, Zengine announced the opening of the company's Japan office. Lalit Dhadphale, Zengine COO, will manage Zengine's Tokyo office. Prior to working at Zengine, Mr. Dhadphale served as the Producer of Excite Japan. He also produced the launch of Netscape Netcenter Japan.
``Members of the Zengine executive team have had successful prior experience launching large scale Web sites in Japan, including CNET, Excite, and Netscape. Zengine has both the technical and business know-how to service the Japanese market. We are excited to be working with Ippee.com to build the most personalized entertainment portal in Japan,'' stated Mr. Dhadphale.
``Zengine's chief technology officer's prior experience writing the underlying technology and personalization platform for Netscape Netcenter Japan and Excite Japan influenced our decision in selecting Zengine. The talent, drive and direction of the Zengine team, coupled with their technology driven e-commerce solution, will enable Ippee.com to become one of Japan's most interactive and personalized entertainment portals,'' stated Rintaro Umenai, President and CEO of Ippee.com. ``This unique partnership between Ippee.com and Zengine combines the best of the on-line worlds to create a music, news and entertainment environment with content delivered on demand and an e-commerce offering with features unique to Ippee.com,'' concluded Umenai.
Terms of the agreement call for Zengine to integrate its proprietary KORE technology and comprehensive suite of e-commerce services with the Ippee.com Web site. Zengine will be solely responsible for managing the day-to-day engineering, production and hosting activities including: content tools, ad serving, personalization, customer relationship management, order management and reporting and analysis. Zengine provides its technology-based solutions on an outsourced basis enabling businesses to quickly and cost-effectively create, maintain and enhance enterprise-wide commerce platforms.
About Ippee.com
Ippee.com is a Japanese music portal featuring top news stories, streaming video and the latest information on domestic and international music artists. Visitors to the Ippee.com site can preview new releases by featured artists, purchase CD's on-line and download information on upcoming show events and tour dates. Ippee.com is one of Japan's largest on-line resources for artist and celebrity interviews and one of the premiere music distribution Web sites in Japan.
About Sumitomo Corporation
Sumitomo Corporation was founded in 1919 and has corporate offices in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. It has grown to become one of the leading Japanese trading companies. Sumitomo Corporation has approximately 8,500 employees worldwide and in 1999 its net sales were approximately $94 billion. biz.yahoo.com |
