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Company Press Release
Today.com Introduces "Pay-for-success" Model for Webware Internet Portal Development Software
Phoenix--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 1999--Today.com Inc. (OTCBB:TODY - news) Thursday announced that it has introduced a ''Pay-for-Success'' fee structure for its new WebWare(TM) technology.
WebWare was recently announced as having a successful launch of the first portal site using a beta version of WebWare - www.law.com - and a Letter of Intent has been signed with Affinity International (NASDAQ:TRIP - news) for the creation of a major Internet portal for travel.
This new fee structure will allow Today.com to generate most of its WebWare revenues from client fees based on continuing user traffic to WebWare-created websites. This will reduce substantially the initial cost to clients for WebWare site development, and means that the number of potential WebWare clients is enormously expanded.
Today.com will also benefit by materially-increased future revenue streams due to the greater number of sites that will be developed with this revolutionary new technology, and also by fee growth as the client sites grow in traffic volume.
Nathan Gwilliam, president and chief executive officer of Today.com, stated: ''We are creating an unique and powerful software solution for rapid generation of premier websites.
''WebWare is being developed as a ''portal in a box'' - a revolutionary concept of the Internet's first completely-integrated software solution for developing specialized or niche portals to the Internet.
''Now we plan to revolutionize the marketing of the software, using a fee structure which is a combination of an up-front licensing fee and continuing fees based on the traffic volumes and success of the individual site.
''We want WebWare to become the Internet's standard website development software, and we want the maximum number of companies to be able to use WebWare. To achieve this, we are prepared to base our future success on the success of WebWare-developed websites.''
Gwilliam continued: ''Initial response to this new ''Pay-for-Success'' marketing model has been phenomenal, with an explosion in the number of companies interested in licensing WebWare. We believe that reducing the initial software licensing fee has increased our market opportunity by more than one hundred times.
''By sharing in the ongoing revenues of sites to be developed in WebWare, Today.com's revenue potential from each license is dramatically increased. And, because much of the software licensing cost is deferred, there is also less risk for our clients. This will make WebWare much easier for us to sell.''
''Businesses developing top-quality websites could spend years and millions of dollars in independent software development. We are determined to open the power of the WebWare technology to those businesses that do not have the financial ability to acquire an outright license to WebWare.
Therefore, rather than being restricted to creating simple e-commerce websites, clients can now use WebWare to be the Amazon.com for their industry on the Internet. We are excited about both being first to market with this specialized portal software, and about how this new 'Pay-for-Success' marketing model will enable us to increase significantly our potential market share.''
WebWare allows for the creation of specialized Internet portals for a fraction of the cost and in a fraction of the time of alternative development methods. An Internet portal is a hub or gateway to the Internet, such as Excite (NASDAQ:XCIT - news), Lycos (NASDAQ:LCOS - news), Go2Net (NASDAQ:GNET - news), and Infoseek (NASDAQ:SEEK - news), that provides many services and feature for its visitors.
Because the Internet is growing so rapidly, specialized or niche portals are being developed as the hubs or gateways to the Internet for groups of individuals with specific interests.
For example, iVillage and Women.com are Internet portals for women, c|Net (NASDAQ:CNET - news) and ZDNet (NYSE:ZD - news) are Internet portals for computers and technology, and MecklerMedia's (NASDAQ:MECK - news) Internet.com is a portal to the Internet for Internet technology and business.
WebWare will include dozens of different software modules that will allow Today.com clients options to provide a full range of the web's most popular services on their own site for a lower cost.
These services could include free web-based e-mail similar to HotMail (a division of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - news)), free web page communities similar to GeoCities (NASDAQ:GCTY - news), chat communities similar to TalkCity, auctions similar to e-Bay (NASDAQ:EBAY - news) and uBid (NASDAQ:UBID - news), targeted advertising similar to DoubleClick (NASDAQ:DCLK - news) and Flycast, instant messaging similar to America Online (NYSE:AOL - news), a personalized start page similar to Netscape (NASDAQ:NSCP - news), product suggestion similar to Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - news), a topical Internet Directory similar to Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO - news), and e-commerce similar to OnSale (NASDAQ:ONSL - news) and Digital River (NASDAQ:DRIV - news).
At the core of WebWare will be a personalization system similar to NetPerceptions and Broadvision (NASDAQ:BVSN - news). This will enable highly targeted advertising, personalized content and customized e-commerce.
WebWare-developed sites will have a greater chance of success because of greater ease and speed of development, lower maintenance and overhead, consistent high quality, an increased number of site services and features, and the ability to generate greater revenues from site visitors.
Today.com Inc. is a Phoenix-based Internet software development company that is launching the Internet's first complete software solution to create top-level Internet sites. The WebWare technology, to be marketed as a ''portal in a box'', is intended to be a one-stop solution for clients seeking development of feature-rich premier Internet websites.
Note to Editors: This release may contain forward-looking statements, made pursuant to the ''safe harbor'' provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve risks and uncertainties which might cause the actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements.
Factors which could affect results include the development and introduction of competitive technologies, the market awareness and acceptance of the Today.com technologies, the overall market demand for Internet services, the presence of technologically-inferior products and services which are priced or promoted to compete with Today.com services, the ability to attract and retain technical personnel, and the ability of the company to protect its proprietary information.
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Contact:
CONTACTS: Today.Com Inc.
Jeff Richards, 888/TODAY-COM
jeffr@today.com
www.today.com
or
HKT Investor Relations, 602/731-9565, 602/446-8640
hktir@aol.com
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