Found this excellent synopsis describing Digital River from
ipocentral.com
Just sharing.
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"The opportunity to spend money is only a point and click away for cyber-consumers on the Digital River. The company provides electronic commerce services to software publishers and online retail clients, including the creation of Web stores, data mining (used in market research), and merchandising services. Digital River maintains a database of more than 100,000 software products sold and delivered on its electronic software delivery system. The company also has services for fraud prevention, export control, and online registration. The more than 1,350 clients currently riding the Digital River include Lotus Development, Corel, and Cyberian Outpost. President and CEO Joel Ronning owns about 21% of the company."
From the SEC filings, this was also very informative....
edgar-online.com
"Digital River, Inc. ("Digital River" or the "Company") is a leading provider of comprehensive electronic commerce outsourcing solutions to software publishers and online retailers. The Company has developed a technology platform that allows it to provide a suite of electronic commerce services to its software publisher and online retailer clients, including electronic software delivery ("ESD"). The Company also provides data mining and merchandising services to assist clients in increasing Internet page view traffic to, and
sales through, their Web stores. Rather than maintaining its own branded Webstore that would compete with its clients, Digital River provides an outsourcing solution that allows its clients to promote their own brands while leveraging Digital River's investment in infrastructure and technology. As of June 30, 1998, the Company had contracts with 1,122 software publisher clients and 346
online retailer clients, including Corel Corporation, Cyberian Outpost, Inc., Lotus Development Corporation, Micro Warehouse, Inc., Network Associates, Inc. and Symantec Corporation, and maintained a database of more than 123,000 software products from its various software publisher clients, including more than 18,000 software titles and more than 105,000 digital images, such as photography and clip art, and type fonts. Through June 30, 1998, the Company had completed more than 172,000 transactions for more than 124,000 unique end-users.
Digital River's proprietary commerce network server ("CNS") technology serves as the platform for the Company's solutions. The CNS incorporates custom software applications that enable ESD, Web store authoring, fraud prevention, export control, merchandising programs and online registration, and features a database of more than 123,000 software products. Using its CNS platform, the
Company creates Web stores for its clients that replicate the look and feel of such clients' own Web sites. End-users can browse for products and make purchases online, and, once purchases are made, the Company delivers the products directly to the end-user, primarily through ESD. The Company also provides transaction processing services and collects and maintains critical information about end-users. This information can later be used by the Company's clients to facilitate add-on or upgrade sales and for other direct marketing purposes. The Company actively manages direct marketing campaigns for its clients, and also delivers purchase information and Web store traffic statistics to its clients on a regular basis..."
"The Company provides a number of advantages to software publishers, online retailers and end-users. By entering into a relationship with the Company, software publishers can avoid the up-front and ongoing cost and complexity of operating an electronic commerce infrastructure, offer a full library of their software products, avoid shipping and packaging costs, and offer software products through their own Web store or the Company's network of online retailer clients. The Company also provides software publishers with valuable end-user information and data mining capabilities that can facilitate targeted marketing, upgrade notification and sophisticated merchandising. Digital River offers online retailers the ability to access the software products of most of the Company's software publisher clients without having to negotiate agreements and arrange the relationship with individual software publishers and without the cost and risk associated with carrying inventory. End-users who purchase products over the Company's network benefit from value-added services including credit card security and upgrade notifications, as well as the protection of the Company's archiving service through which the Company guarantees replacement of software products in the event of accidental loss or damage."
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