Kursverdoppelung bei Actua Corporation (vorm. Internet Capital)

Various technology solutions had been applied to the problem to try to streamline these unique processes. But, it became apparent that off the shelf products such as office applications, mail systems and web tools could not meet the requirements of such complex processes. This was further exacerbated by the lack of interfaces between the various technologies, which meant that processes resorted to paper. It had become impossible to ensure process consistency and adherence. Deutsche Post ITSolutions GmbH decided they needed to streamline their processes by gradually introducing a Business Process Management system.

The job included reproduction of the ‘order request forms’ already being used through the Deutsche Post intranet plus implementation of a BPM solution which would give much more structure to the overall process and hence manage the risks associated with outsourcing any services or part of the project.

Solution

The existing processes, user interfaces, procedures and roles were initially defined and adapted for each department through workshops using Metastorm’s graphical e-Work designer. The Metastorm e-Work open, standard-based Business Process Management platform was then used to integrate the existing data and legacy applications, such as SAP – all with minimal effort.

Now e-Work provides the overall process management and flow for all new service order requests, and the base data is managed and maintained within SAP which activates the final order. The benefits of this approach are that data is only entered once, and the right information is supplied to the correct groups in the correct order. The system is more user-intuitive, and no information is lost.

Since the initial successful deployment, Metastorm is now used in a number of other process areas such as approval of a new supplier (Strategic Sourcing), new usage of the supplier, etc.

Results

Deutsche Post ITS are delighted by the success of the project. Applications are being approved more quickly than ever before. Procurement itself now receives the order requests more quickly and in a more structured manner. According to Ulrike Heltsch, Head of Purchasing/Contract Management, “the re-creation of the ‘procurement of external services’ process in electronic form has reduced time between request and order by 80%. Order requests can be made through a standard Internet browser without installation of additional software on each PC. The compatibility of e-Work with SAP and the other information systems has minimised the frequency of errors and enables the process to run smoothly and efficiently. All the members of a department are able to view and control their procedures at any time." Some of the unique capabilities of the system include:

The ‘substitute control’ which allows for the selection of delegated approvers and their ‘activation’ during absence or leave.
An individually generated printing process providing various views of the order requests.
The ability to call up process reports and business data at the touch of a button.

Uwe Birkenhauer, Head of the Business Information Management Department has been responsible for the execution of the project: “The BPM system installed has surpassed our expectations. We particularly wanted a system that provided control and visibility, could easily interface with other systems, and had a ‘zero-client’ footprint, because of our existing heterogeneous IT environment. We found the design of the e-Work designer interface particularly pleasing. It enables you to graphically reproduce processes very quickly and convert them into electronic processes simply by pressing a button.”

The installation of this system is an effective step towards IT-supported business process control. Work is already underway to extend use of e-Work to the human resources department and to client management. The Purchasing/Contract Management team have seen a huge increase in efficiency since the system was introduced and are keen on further usage. Another planned step involves an asynchronous interface with the existing archive, in

Prior to starting Lufthansa’s business process management (BPM) initiative, paper-based letters and faxes were manually sorted before being sent in original form to numerous locations around the world for processing. These manual methods led to higher logistics costs and prolonged processing times. In order to increase customer satisfaction, the company needed to significantly reduce its processing time and make the process more transparent to ultimately cut processing costs and speed up response time.

To achieve these objectives, Lufthansa Miles & More wanted to automate its manual processes as much as possible and integrate its worldwide locations through an intelligent business process management system.

Metastorm was selected to be the foundation of a highly specialized solution for the paperless processing of the Miles & More program. The solution was designed and implemented by Metastorm partner, arvato systems and arvato direct services, the long standing outsourcing provider for the Lufthansa Miles & More program since the first day of its existence.

Solution

Using Metastorm BPM™, arvato developed a project called SWIMM – Scanning & Workflow Integration Miles & More – to redesign and automate Lufthansa’s Miles & More procedures.

SWIMM can process 100,000 documents daily of varying form and quality – from hand written letters to boarding passes that include paper documents, e-mails, and faxes. After the first processing step, which includes high-performance scanning and the subsequent ICR/OCR identification, the documents are sent electronically to Metastorm BPM as inbound cases. These cases are the content basis for a complex process that is fully mapped by Metastorm BPM.

Metastorm BPM has supported a complete overhaul for processing all documents related to the Lufthansa Miles & More program. The use of Metastorm BPM has resulted in a more collaborative work environment that ensures documents are processed as quickly as possible. The solution also provides employees with visibility across the entire process so that they can see the status of cases at any given point in time. In addition, users can simultaneously review work-in-process on the system – a collaborative capability that leads to more efficient communication.

Results

With the help of Metastorm BPM, the incoming mail processing time at Miles & More has been substantially reduced while cutting transport and logistics costs to a minimum. The entire processing procedure has become transparent and includes many process control capabilities. Customer requests are answered faster and more effectively – resulting in increasing customer satisfaction and all around better customer service.

Lufthansa Miles & More has reached its goal of accelerating response times by simplifying complex manual procedures, integrating worldwide service with 24x7 availability, and increasing the speed of information sharing.

The company has endorsed Metastorm BPM as a critical system and plans to continue working with arvato to extend its use of Metastorm by automating and improving additional processes throughout the organization.

Leading Organizations from Around the World Recognized for Outstanding Achievements in Business Process Management COLUMBIA, Md., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Metastorm, a leading provider of Business Process Management (BPM) software for modeling, automating, integrating, and improving both human and system-based processes, today announced the recipients of its 2005 Enterprise Process Advantage Awards, which were presented at the company's Global BPM Forum and User Conference on November 2nd in Reston, Virginia in front of over 350 attendees from 18 different countries. Metastorm presents the awards annually to recognize outstanding and innovative use of BPM software -- and specifically organizations that have realized significant return on investment and strategic advantage from BPM initiatives.

For 2005, the awards recognize the best Business Process Management solution in three categories: Most Innovative Use of BPM Technology, Highest ROI and Strategic Advantage, and Mission Critical Use of BPM Technology in the areas of customer service, supply chain operations, risk management, or internal operations. Nominations for the awards are accepted from Metastorm's customer base, employees and partners.

Metastorm would like to congratulate the following organizations as the recipients of this year's awards:

* Most Innovative Use of BPM Technology - Advanco with Nexans Switzerland. Advanco, a leading solutions provider in Belgium, and Nexans Switzerland, the world leader in cable manufacturing, leveraged the Metastorm BPM software to track the status of both machine and people resources across multiple manufacturing systems and work orders and create a real-time monitoring dashboard that allows Nexans to review and optimize utilization of production resources in the most effective and efficient way. The new Production Process Management (PPM) solution enables operational efficiency while supporting strategic objectives. Advanco's innovative deployment of BPM as part of a total PPM solution is gaining recognition across Belgium and other parts of Europe. * Highest ROI from BPM Technology - SAIC, Cox Business Unit. Part of the nation's largest employee-owned research and engineering company, the Cox business unit at SAIC has experienced an outstanding financial return from Metastorm BPM by developing an invoice and review procedure to track and manage processing of subcontractor invoices. Much of SAIC's revenue depends on efficient use of human resources -- including subcontractors -- on client projects. The use of business process management for the subcontractor invoice process took the business unit from a recurring negative cash flow situation to a continuous cash flow positive state by reducing the processing time on subcontractor invoices by 94%. * Mission Critical Use of Metastorm BPM for Customer Service - Lufthansa Miles & More. As Europe's leading frequent flyer program with more than 11 million members worldwide, Lufthansa found itself receiving and processing 8 million documents a year -- which in turn resulted in 2 million individual customer-facing business procedures a year taking place. In order to increase customer satisfaction, the company needed to significantly reduce its processing time and make the process more transparent to ultimately cut processing costs and speed up time to market. Metastorm was selected to be the foundation of a highly specialized solution for the paperless processing of the Miles & More program. The solution was developed by Metastorm partner, Arvato Systems, and the results are greater efficiency and productivity for Lufthansa and faster response times and improved service for its customers. * Mission Critical Use of Metastorm BPM for Supply Chain Operations - AmerisourceBergen. One of the largest pharmaceutical services companies in the United States, AmerisourceBergen has gained industry recognition for its use of Metastorm BPM to automate and streamline its contract and chargeback management processes. The solution supports newly automated, collaborative contract management and chargeback processes that cross six internal departments and align geographically dispersed employees -- setting a new standard for real-time communication of contract and chargeback information between the distributor and its manufacturers. "Metastorm applauds all of our finalists for their outstanding achievements in business process management," stated Robert Farrell, president and CEO of Metastorm. "We continue to be impressed with the innovation displayed by our customers in their use of our BPM software and we were very pleased to receive nominations from regions all over the world. We look forward to the continued support of our growing customer base and to showcasing more successes next year."

About Metastorm, Inc.

As a leading provider of business process management (BPM) software and best practice methodologies for modeling, automating, integrating, and improving both human and system-based processes, Metastorm delivers a complete solution for roundtrip process improvement and is the only company helping organizations achieve Enterprise Process Advantage(R) -- a heightened level of business performance resulting from increased process efficiency, control, and agility. With a focus on complex processes that are unique to their organizations, Metastorm's 1200+ global client base in manufacturing, retail, financial services, business services, healthcare and government are achieving rapid ROI and unique process advantage in customer service, supply chain operations, risk management, and internal operations.

SOURCE Metastorm, Inc. -0- 11/09/2005 /CONTACT: Gina Karr of Metastorm, Inc., +1-410-290-0101, or gkarr@metastorm.com; Jayson Schkloven of Merritt Group for Metastorm, Inc., +1-703-390-1500, or schkloven@merrittgrp.com; Amy Redhead of Strategic Public Relations for Metastorm, Inc., +44 1494 434 434, or amyr@strategicpr.net/ /Web site: www.metastorm.com/ CO: Metastorm, Inc.; Advanco; Nexans Switzerland; SAIC; AmerisourceBergen ST: Maryland IN: CPR FIN STW SU: AWD TDS BS-JS -- CLW502 -- 0110 11/09/2005 08:00 EST www.prnewswire.com

Wenn man Metastorm mit Commercequest vergleicht, die dort eingebracht wurden, war das ein wahrer Glücksgriff.  

Last fall, it secured $20 million for expansion from a fund whose investors included Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , Deutsche Bank A.G. (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and HSBC Holdings Plc. (0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research)
(HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) .
It said this year it paid millions of dollars for ITK Solutions, an IT management consulting firm whose clients include the likes of JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Morgan Stanley.

And it recently obtained the highest industry-recognised rating possible for a software developer -- one of only a handful of firms to do so in China.
"The three steps are very strong moves toward our goal of being the Infosys or Wipro (WIPR.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) of China," Walker said in a telephone interview, referring to two of India's biggest software outsourcing firms.
RAPID EXPANSION
Freeborders' IPO drive coincides with a rapid expansion in headcount and revenue.
China's software market, worth $2.4 billion in 2004, is expected to grow by an annual average rate of 19 percent to $6.4 billion by 2009, according to IT consultancy Gartner.
Using the country as a base, Freeborders hopes to tap into a global software outsourcing market that it expects to be worth more than $200 billion by 2008, including $83 billion alone from the financial services sector, Walker said.
"It's a huge addressable market," he said. "The first player out of China is going to be a big deal."
Freeborders wants to double the number of engineers at its office in the southern city of Shenzhen to nearly 1,000 in six to 12 months, Walker said.
He declined to comment on revenues. Another executive said previously that 2004 revenue was expected to reach $15 million to $20 million.
Revenue for "the company, since 2004, has grown at least 40 percent organically. With acquisitions, over 100 percent, year on year," he said.
"We expect those growth rates to continue or accelerate."

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Wenn wir also in 2004 Erlöse von 15 bis 20 Millionen hatten, z.B. 17,5, so müssen es in 2005 bei den angegebenen 100% Wachstum schon 35 Millionen gewesen sein. Und wenn das Wachstumstempo in 2006 mindestens gehalten werden bzw. gesteigert werden soll, landen wir sicher bei 70 Millionen. Ob sich daraus, wie es der Co-CEO macht, eine Milliarden-Kapitalisierung ableiten lässt, will ich einmal dahin gestellt lassen, denn das würde ein KUV von 14 voraussetzen. Aber ein KUV von 10 und damit eine Marktkapitilsierung von 700 Millionen lassen sich bei den Aussichten gut darstellen, vielleicht ist aber die angesprochene Milliarde berechtigt. Bei 700 Millionen wären die 33% von Internet Capital 230 Millionen wert - wesentlich mehr als damals der Linkshare-Anteil.

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McFARLAN: First, China has a much more robust internal IT structure, networks and so forth, than does India. They've had a massive telecommunications expansion, and they have more networking capacity than people think. All of that has been a direct result of national economic policy.

Second, China is graduating about 400,000 technical graduates each year. And their university structure is good at the high end. These people coming out have strong technical skills. So they're quite competitive with the people coming out of India.

The third thing is the issue of English. The British left the English language and the university system in India, so there's a lot more work scrambling for English in China.

Can the infrastructure keep pace with the growth?

A colleague who's seen a lot of both India and China says the basic problem with India is they can't build a highway from the airport to the center of the city because of all the public interest. When that kind of decision is made in China, bang, it's done. And at this stage, IT infrastructure is high on the [Chinese] government's agenda.

Why do people in the U.S. have the wrong impression of Chinese IT?

The language issue is a problem. And all the publicity they hear about is India, India, India. When you think about India, you think about companies such as Tata, Infosys, Satyam. The comparable ones in China are much smaller.



Spread of open source could reduce piracy in China. Click here to read more.

What can you tell us about the differences between China and India when it comes to outsourcing?

India's advantage has always been the large pool of inexpensive, English-speaking talent. But now salaries in India are jumping at 25 percent or more annually. So India's cost advantage may not endure. We don't see that in China yet.

What are the risks of outsourcing to China?

The biggest risk I see is political. All of the growth in China has been heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. That has intensified the divide between rural and urban life. But as long as the government can deliver 7 percent or 8 percent growth annually, the poorer people will remain patient. The Chinese government's problem is trying to maintain a fast-enough growth rate that the citizens on balance will buy into it.

Worst case scenario, how does this play out?

The worst case scenario is that you have a revolution.

 

The software development market in India is rapidly reaching saturation, Walker said. He agreed with the conventional wisdom of India critics that the country's tech sector is undergoing rapid wage inflation and that corporate loyalty extends only as far as the biggest signing bonus. "When you have teams that are turning over, and you have wage inflation of 15 to 25 percent, then India is running into issues," he said.

One Freeborders customer, software vendor BroadVision, found the outsourcer on target. Jim Harrington, senior vice president of human resources at BroadVision, said his company's decision to have some product development done by Freeborders in China was not about cost alone, although he acknowledged that BroadVision is spending only about one-fifth of what it might in the United States for the same development services. BroadVision is no newcomer to offshoring, having established a Moscow development center in 1997 and having some development work done by Indian partner Infogain.

Harrington said his company wanted to put down roots in the next offshore destination that's soon to explode with demand. "We view China as the next site of industrial revolution. We want a foothold long term in the enterprise China software market," he said. Harrington said his company's hope is that the group developing BroadVision's software will spread its expertise in China, creating a pool of talent from which BroadVision will later benefit. This will help in the future when BroadVision sells its wares in China; company executives figure the more Chinese people who are familiar with the BroadVision product line, the better the chances of future sales in that country.

One gripe of outsourcing customers is that the team working on their project is subject to change without notice. A customer may think it has signed up with the "A" team, only to have the "B" team swapped in later. But according to Harrington, BroadVision was able to meet and check out the Freeborders team that would be handling its work, with the understanding that the team would stay intact. "We did complete due diligence on the employees, HR, compensation and incentive compensation," said Harrington.

India—old news? China—the happening place? Conventional wisdom is under attack.

Out and about

Alsbridge—that's the new name for the company formed by the recently completed merger of Trowbridge Group and ALS Consulting. Trowbridge was an outsourcing consulting company based in Dallas, and ALS was a European shared services and outsourcing consultancy based in London. The company will continue to advise clients on both outsourcing and insourcing strategy and vendor selection. The combined contract value of all deals negotiated by Alsbridge executives is greater than $50 billion, the company said.

Stan Gibson can be reached at stan_gibson@ziffdavis.com.

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Check out eWEEK.com's Outsourcing Center for the latest news, views and analysis on outsourcing

Eigentlich schade ich mir derartigen Veröffentlichungen selbst, denn ich will morgen mit einer kleiner Summe noch einmal rein.

Telephone (U.S.):                1-800-478-6251
Telephone (International):       1-913-981-5558
Webcast:                         investor.traffic.com/events

On-demand replay of this call will be available on the Traffic.com investor relations site: investor.traffic.com/events through March 2, 2006. Investors will be able to access the fourth quarter and year-end earnings press release on the Company's Web site at investor.traffic.com/releases.

Robert N. Verratti, chief executive officer of Traffic.com, Inc. said, "We continued to make excellent progress through the end of 2005, particularly in regard to geographic coverage expansion with an increase over the last twelve months from 24 to 35 metropolitan areas, as well as with the launch of our cross-platform advertising initiatives. Also during 2005, the addition of valuable customers such as Motorola, Viacom, The Weather Channel, and Comcast continues to strengthen our position as a leading franchise in the traffic category."

Annual revenues increased from $42.4 million in 2004 to $43.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2005. Fourth quarter revenues for 2005 were $11.2 million, compared with $11.4 million in the fourth quarter of the previous year.

More importantly, significant progress was made in growing traffic data service revenues. Revenue in this category was up 47.7% for the year, from $3.0 million to $4.4 million. Fourth quarter revenues for 2005 were $1.4 million, compared with $1.1 million in the fourth quarter the previous year. The Company expects traffic data revenue to continue to grow in amount and as a percentage of revenues as automobile manufacturers, Web portals, wireless providers, and others consider traffic content a compelling addition to current service offerings.

Consistent with the growth strategy for the Company's business model, higher margin owned inventory revenue, included in advertising revenue, generated from multi-year radio and television station contracts increased 9.1% from $30.3 million in 2004 to $33.0 million in 2005. However, 2004 revenues include $5.6 million from a customer contract that the Company elected not to renew in 2005 due to unacceptable terms proposed by that customer. In the fourth quarter of 2005, owned inventory revenue was $8.2 million versus $8.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2004, which included revenues of $1.3 million from the unrenewed contract.

The Company recorded a net loss per share of ($13.00) for the full year in 2005 (which included a $5.32 per share charge resulting from the $18.5 million legal settlement expense in the second and third quarters of 2005), as compared to a net loss per share of ($5.91) for the prior year. The net loss per share in the fourth quarter was ($2.31), compared to a net loss per share of ($1.01) for the comparable period the year before.

Verratti added, "We are confident in our expanded business model though it is in its early stages, particularly our Interactive Media business segment. We believe our customer and partner relationships, as well as our technology delivered across multiple platforms, will continue to gain value."

2005 Operational Highlights:

The Company significantly expanded its geographic reach during 2005, growing from 24 to 35 metropolitan areas during the year. All Company my traffic.com personalized services including alerts delivered via email, voice and mobile services were made available to all metropolitan areas.
Monthly unique visitors to www.traffic.com grew to more than 1.2 million in December 2005, a 129% increase over monthly unique visitors for the month of September 2005, and registered users of www.traffic.com grew to more than 100,000 in December 2005. These increases were principally due to geographic expansion and increased marketing efforts, including the promotion of personalized service offerings. Led by a newly created Interactive Media advertising sales team in combination with the Company's existing sales force, the fourth quarter 2005 brought the Company's first direct Internet advertising customers and revenues. Also in the fourth quarter 2005, the Company began marketing its TrafficOne(TM) solution for co-branded traffic Web sites with its radio, television, and traffic data services partners. Because of the cross-platform nature of the Company's services, management considers the above factors comprehensively, as opposed to individually, when determining its progress.
During the fourth quarter 2005, the Company continued ongoing enhancements to its Web site including Jam Factor® Predictive Trending, which combines the Company's real-time data collection and complex analysis capability with its advanced technology to indicate improving or worsening traffic congestion.
In the fourth quarter 2005, San Diego and St. Louis accepted the Traffic.com sensor systems that were built for their major highways. These new deployments continue the Company's success with all eight of its Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Program (ITIP) systems accepted on the first pass by State Departments of Transportation.
As part of the Company's geographic growth, it continues to add television station partners, ending 2005 with 47 television stations under contract compared to 31 at the end of 2004.
2006 Operational Updates:

The Company today announced an agreement with Microsoft to integrate traffic technology and real-time content into various Microsoft products and services. This multi-year agreement provides for the development of integrated traffic offerings delivered to Microsoft users via the mobile phone or other devices. The companies expect the first products and services to be made available later this year.
In February 2006, the Company renewed its contract with Emmis Communications Corporation, under which it provides a diverse suite of content and operational solutions to Emmis radio stations in seven major U.S. markets.
Nine additional metropolitan areas of coverage have been made available under the Company's contract with NAVTEQ, whereby Company traffic data is now supplied for a total of 30 metropolitan areas via XM Satellite Radio into in-vehicle and aftermarket navigation systems.
In January 2006, the Company completed the purchase of a patent and other assets of MyTrafficNews.com, a leader in traffic information and delivery in the Denver, CO market.
In January 2006, the Company began offering all personalized services for online, voice and mobile traffic information free of charge for its registered my traffic.com users. These free offerings are also available to users registered with TrafficOne co-branded partner sites.
                          Traffic.com, Inc.
                Consolidated Statements of Operations
              (In thousands, except per share amounts)

                                        Quarter Ended
                        ---------------------------------------------
                        Dec 31,   Mar 31,  Jun 30,  Sep 30,   Dec 31,
                         2004      2005     2005     2005      2005
                        -------- -------- -------- --------- --------
Revenue:
 Advertising            $10,299   $8,330  $11,177    $9,564   $9,800
 Traffic data services    1,081      930      969     1,126    1,397
                        -------- -------- -------- --------- --------
                         11,380    9,260   12,146    10,690   11,197

Cost of revenue            7,913    7,627    8,319     8,595    9,026
                        -------- -------- -------- --------- --------

Gross margin               3,467    1,633    3,827     2,095    2,171

Operating expenses:
 Research and development   895      807      797       983    1,318
 Sales and marketing      2,728    3,783    3,529     3,733    5,132
 General and
  administrative          1,838    1,697    2,495     1,945    2,567
 Legal settlements            -        -    4,223    14,250        -
                        -------- -------- -------- --------- --------
                          5,461    6,287   11,044    20,911    9,017
                        ======== ======== ======== ========= ========

Loss from operations      (1,994)  (4,654)  (7,217)  (18,816)  (6,846)
Interest income
(expense), net             (855)  (1,127)  (1,686)   (1,416)  (1,380)
                        -------- -------- -------- --------- --------

Net loss                 $(2,849) $(5,781) $(8,903) $(20,232) $(8,226)
                        ======== ======== ======== ========= ========

Redemption and accretion
of redeemable
convertible preferred
stock                      (536)    (536)    (553)     (554)    (394)
                        -------- -------- -------- --------- --------

Net income (loss)
attributable to common
stockholders            $(3,385) $(6,317) $(9,456) $(20,786) $(8,620)
                        ======== ======== ======== ========= ========

Net loss per common
share                    $(1.01)  $(1.89)  $(2.80)   $(6.05)  $(2.31)
                        ======== ======== ======== ========= ========

Weighted average common
shares outstanding        3,351    3,346    3,377     3,438    3,735
                        ======== ======== ======== ========= ========




                          Traffic.com, Inc.
                Consolidated Statements of Operations
              (In thousands, except per share amounts)

                                           Year Ended December 31,
                                        -----------------------------
                                           2003      2004      2005
                                        -----------------------------

Revenue:
 Advertising                             $36,045   $39,449   $38,871
 Traffic data services                       581     2,993     4,422
 License agreement                           750         -         -
                                        --------- --------- ---------
                                          37,376    42,442    43,293

Cost of revenue                            30,988    32,090    33,567
                                        --------- --------- ---------

Gross margin                                6,388    10,352     9,726

Operating expenses:
 Research and development                  2,828     3,647     3,905
 Sales and marketing                      14,086    12,032    16,177
 General and administrative                6,402     7,229     8,704
 Legal settlements                             -         -    18,473
                                        --------- --------- ---------
                                          23,316    22,908    47,259
                                        ========= ========= =========

Loss from operations                      (16,928)  (12,556)  (37,533)
Interest income (expense), net             (4,151)   (3,428)   (5,609)
                                        --------- --------- ---------

Net loss                                 $(21,079) $(15,984) $(43,142)
                                        ========= ========= =========

Redemption and accretion of
redeemable convertible preferred
stock                                     34,824    (2,128)   (2,037)
                                        --------- --------- ---------

Net income (loss) attributable to
common stockholders                      $13,745  $(18,112) $(45,179)
                                        ========= ========= =========

Net income (loss) attributable to
common stockholders per share:
 Basic                                     $5.15    $(5.91)  $(13.00)
 Diluted                                   $1.45    $(5.91)  $(13.00)

Number of shares used in per share
calculation:
 Basic                                     2,671     3,064     3,474
 Diluted                                   9,492     3,064     3,474





                          Traffic.com, Inc.
                   Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
                           (In thousands)


                                         Dec. 31,  Sept. 30, Dec. 31,
                                           2004      2005      2005
                                         ----------------------------

Cash and cash equivalents                   $4,898   $17,362  $13,143
Total assets                                33,730    54,319   54,978
Long-term deferred revenue and deferred
license fees                               26,963    32,002   32,646
Senior secured credit facility and accrued
interest                                   23,744    36,665   37,659
Other long-term liabilities                      -       288      678
Redeemable convertible preferred stock      39,814    56,583   56,977
Total stockholders' deficit                (66,120)  (92,620) (97,677)

About Traffic.com

Traffic.com is a leading provider of accurate, real-time traffic information in the United States, based on the quality of its traffic data and the extent of its geographic coverage. Traffic.com offers detailed traffic information, including specific needs, travel times and delay times. A sophisticated traffic information management system allows Traffic.com to process information in real time and deliver customized reports to large numbers of radio, television, Internet, wireless and in-vehicle navigation system users. Traffic.com provides traffic information for 35 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, in such cities as Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego and San Francisco. Traffic.com's data services customers include the Weather Channel®, Motorola's VIAMOTO(TM) Solutions, XM Satellite Radio and XM NavTraffic for the Acura RL and Cadillac CTS.

trfc-e

Since the beginning of its relationship with StarCite in 2002, HelmsBriscoe has grown 30% per year. Each year, the company sources more than 15,000 requests for proposals through the StarCite Online Marketplace and books well over 2.7 million room nights a year with over $500 million in room spend. Today HelmsBriscoe works with 740 sales associates throughout North America to service over 7,000 clients, while continuing to build its international presence with over 120 associates in 23 countries around the world. HelmsBriscoe and StarCite have trained thousands of hotels on executing StarCite's unique technology to give them access to faster and more accurate RFP information.

"We are very proud to be working side by side with the fastest growing international meetings sourcing firm in the world for another five years," said Michael Boult, President and Chief Executive Officer of StarCite, Inc. "StarCite and HelmsBriscoe are focused on growing our businesses domestically and internationally by implementing the most effective and advanced technology to improve client services. Together, we have enhanced one another's global success and we are very excited about what's to come."

In addition to the co-developed version of the StarCite Marketplace listed on the HelmsBriscoe platform, the companies will continue to collaborate on a technology platform that combines HelmsBriscoe's account management and back office systems with StarCite to improve the tracking of business and internal operations flow. HelmsBriscoe also continues to gain access to comprehensive reporting that details its company spend by meeting, supplier, chain or spend category, vastly increasing efficiencies, reducing costs and improving customer service.

About StarCite, Inc.

StarCite, Inc. is the leading provider of On Demand Global Meeting Solutions(TM). StarCite optimizes global investments in corporate meetings and events delivering visibility, savings and control. StarCite provides process efficiency, enabling technology and proven adoption management support to drive significant cost reduction to buyers and enhanced revenues to suppliers. StarCite is based in Philadelphia. Investors in StarCite include Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ: ICGE); Maritz Travel Company; Seaport Capital; and TL Ventures. For more information about StarCite, or its technologies and services, please visit www.starcite.com.

Products and services include:

-- StarCite GMS(TM) - the integrated platform that powers
StarCite's Global Meeting Solutions approach and five steps to
guaranteed success - Plan, Budget, Buy, Attend and Measure.

-- StarCite Marketplace - the world's largest online meetings
marketplace with $2 billion in revenue opportunities and
50,000 eRFPs.

-- StarCite Adoption Management - proven implementation,
training, benchmarking, customer support, account management
and outsourced services that help you target achievable
savings and improve overall results.

About HelmsBriscoe

HelmsBriscoe (www.helmsbriscoe.com) is the meeting industry's leading conference resource firm. 740 associates in 23 countries serve corporate, associate, and government clients in planning meetings around the world. Its subsidiary, ResourceOne, is a full-service meeting management, cruise, and air company. Founded in 1992, HelmsBriscoe is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.


CONTACT: For StarCite:
Sloane & Company
John Hartz, 212-446-1872
jhartz@sloanepr.com
or
HelmsBriscoe
Kristy McCloud, 480-718-1124
kmccloud@helmsbriscoe.com

SOURCE: StarCite, Inc.

The linchpin to the transaction is China's low-cost, highly educated technology talent pool, says
Freeborders co-CEO, Ramsey Walker, and how that contrasts with India. Salaries in India have
increased 13% each year since 2000 for entry-level software developers and 23% annually for midlevel
managers, he says, which is helping drive a large amount of employee turnover in the region.
"Engineers [in India] are jumping from company to company for modestly better offers, so American and
European customers are facing attrition rates on teams of 20% to 50%," Walker says. "When that
happens with software, the quality of the deliverable and the time it takes to deliver goes down
significantly."
The higher wages in India are also highlighting the cost effectiveness of outsourcing in China. Labor
costs are as much as 40% lower in China than India, and China produces 352,000 engineering
graduates compared with 184,000 in India. This abundance of technology savvy in China highlights
increasing problems large companies face when relying on Indian outsourcers, Walker says.
Freeborders' new Chinese software developers have plenty of business, ITK founder Susan Kirchoff
adds. "We focused on project management and business analysis, which are front-end services," she
says. "But we've heard from clients that we don't have the software engineers, to actually deliver a
solution."
A common project for ITK, for example, would be to evaluate an investment bank's capital markets
software applications, note its limitations, compare it to what rivals use and recommend how to improveit. With ITK in the picture, Freeborders' engineering team in Shenzhen can tailor or update new
software.
"There was a gap that can be bridged now," Kirchoff says. And not just by comparatively small
companies such as Freeborders, which expects to have 1,000 technologists in China by the end of
2006. Last year, for example, Microsoft Corp. announced a deal with the outsourcing unit of India's
sprawling Tata Group and the Chinese government to form a venture to provide technology
outsourcing in the region beginning this year.
"The demand is just beginning to pick up in China, and the supply and talent is very significant," Walker
says. And like Tata, other rivals to the Chinese outsourcing industry can't help but acknowledge its
ascendancy. Vivek Paul, the former vice chairman of Indian IT giant Wipro Ltd., told a Silicon Valley
audience last year his company had established an operation in Shanghai that is "ready to scale" to
meet clients' demand. "China is one of those places that you cannot ignore," said Paul, who has since
left Wipro to become a partner at Texas Pacific Group.
But is China the new India? "The market is a few years away from full development," Paul argues. Of
course, this might make it the right time to get a foothold in the Chinese market, both for Freeborders
and its investors, including FTVentures, which led the recent $20 million round that funded the ITK
acquisition.
The New York venture firm invests in early- to mid-stage software and services firms that serve the
financial sector. More importantly, FTVentures' limited partners are 38 large financial institutions — and
potential customers.
"Financial institutions are thought leaders in offshore outsourcing, so obviously our LPs have lots of
demands for outsourcing services," says FTVentures principal Chris Winship. "We certainly introduce
our investors to Freeborders."
The deal isn't FTVentures' first investment in the outsourcing market. The firm bought a stake in India's
ExlService Holdings Inc. The startup's potential return to FTVentures has been in limbo, however, as
its filing for an initial public offering has lingered since December 2004.
Does this market reluctance show a growing concern about India's place atop outsourcing? That's hard
to tell. But U.S. and European companies that have relied on the region for technology expertise are
studying other sources, Winship says.
"Most offshore outsourcing is obviously still being done in India, but many Fortune 100 companies are
starting to worry about overexposure there," he says. Which could make the Chinese market a smart
hedge for companies seeking an alternative source for technology talent and for private investors
looking for solid investments.

Olaf de Senerpont Domis is West Coast bureau chief for The Deal.

“We chose Freeborders solutions for their ability to provide efficiencies and ease-of-use. In addition, one of the biggest reasons that we chose them over any other provider was because their solutions are web-enabled. Now it's easy to get our suppliers to come in our LAN and get the most current spec and even tell them there is a spec change they need to retrieve.”

“We were able to fulfill a critical need for Yakka,” said Debbie Baldini, Managing Director, Retail Practice, Freeborders. “We have one of the largest development teams in the world dedicated to product lifecycle management and our services group is adept at integrating disparate systems with enterprise solutions. We implemented the initial rollout of solutions for Yakka in a very tight timeframe to provide the visibility and data accuracy they need to accelerate products to market.”

FB Product Manager enables retailers and brands to create, review and approve all elements of a product specification, including the bill of materials, colorways, fit, samples and costs. Summary and drill-down views allow users to gain visibility of multiple styles, SKUs, orders, and other critical data.

Using FB Fabric & Trim, companies have access to a single checkpoint for material specifications, sample and cost requests. FB Fabric & Trim facilitates collaboration with textile and trim suppliers on raw material data. Brands can communicate with textile and trim suppliers, quality and testing facilities, agents and factories with greater ease to ensure their products have the right physical standards, colorways, print, weave, composition, fiber content and cost.

FB Workflow provides simple and effective time and action calendars so retailers and brands can proactively track progress through the product lifecycle. FB Workflow allows all supply chain partners to securely view product and order milestones, and receive automatic, configurable status alerts.

About Freeborders

Freeborders is the leading provider of technology solutions and outsourcing from China. Freeborders provides extensive domain expertise to U.S. and European companies in five vertical markets: retail/consumer goods, financial services, software and high technology, manufacturing and transportation, logistics & hospitality. Headquartered in San Francisco with offices on three continents, Freeborders has developed a track record of service delivery to the Fortune 1000 by combining world-class project management in both hemispheres with one of the largest technology centers in China. Freeborders believes China's massive and growing supply of IT talent and the country's emerging importance in the global supply chain make China a strategic imperative for any company seeking cost-effective world-class technology solutions.

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Internet Capital Group Inc. (ICGE.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday said its Chief Financial Officer Anthony Dolanski will no longer serve in that position as he agreed to settle a litigation brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

FACT BOX

ICGE.O (Internet Capital Group Inc)
Last: $9.07
Change: -0.12
Up/Down: -1.31%
 

MarJunSepDec
Quote
Full Chart
Company Profile
Analyst Research
News for ICGE.O
UPDATE 3-SEC hits 4 KPMG execs with record fines over Xerox  
UPDATE 2-SEC hits 4 KPMG execs with record fines over Xerox  
UPDATE 1-Internet Capital's Dolanski to no longer serve as CFO  
The company named Vice President of Finance and Controller Kirk Morgan as CFO and said Dolanski will continue with it as a managing director.

In a statement, Internet Capital said Dolanski will not serve as CFO as the settlement provides for a one-year suspension from appearing or practicing as an accountant before the securities regulator.

The company said Dolanski has agreed to settle the suit as part of a global settlement with the remaining defendants in the case. He neither admits nor denies the SEC's allegations and findings, it added.

In 2003, the SEC brought a civil suit against KPMG and five of its current and former partners involved in KPMG's audits of Xerox Corp. (XRX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) from 1997 through 2000, including Dolanski, Internet Capital said.

Dolanski was named in the suit with respect to his service as the engagement partner on the audit of Xerox's 1997 financials, the company said. (Reporting by Deepti Chaudhary in Bangalore)

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

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Reuters does not endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.  

auch als synthetische CDO bezeichnet
werden. Für Anleger, die
nicht direkt in Kreditderivate
investieren dürfen, sind Credit
Linked Notes interessant. Sie
kombinieren Kreditderivate mit
Schuldverschreibungen.
Ein Wachstumsmarkt …
Seit 1997 ist das Volumen
ausstehender Kreditderivate exponentiell
gestiegen (Abb. 2). Mittlerweile
beträgt es fast fünf Billionen
US-Dollar weltweit. Nach
Angaben der British Bankers’
Association hat es bereits 70%
des Volumens sämtlicher Credit-
Anleihen erreicht, wobei CDS klar
dominieren. Bereits heute ist absehbar,
dass das Volumen der
Derivate das der originären Anleihen
bald deutlich übersteigen
wird. Das ist nicht ganz unproblematisch,
da neben der tatsächlichen
Absicherung von Kreditrisi-



sich effiziente Credit-Portfolios
aufbauen und Kreditrisiken einfach
absichern.
In Zeiten niedriger Renditen hat
sich der Kreditderivatemarkt rasant
weiterentwickelt. Für Ende
des Jahres ist die Einführung eines
Futures auf den DJ iTraxx
Europe Benchmark Index geplant.
Dieser Future sollte vom Markt
sehr gut aufgenommen werden,
da er ein hohes Maß an Liquidität
verspricht und auch kleineren Investoren
den Aufbau effizienter
Credit-Portfolios ermöglicht.
September 2005 mehrWERT Seite 6
ken vermehrt spekulative Positionen
aufgebaut werden (nicht zuletzt
von Hedgefonds) und auf
diese Weise ein beträchtliches
systembedingtes Risiko entsteht.
Zu den wichtigsten Akteuren
am Kreditderivatemarkt zählen
aber nicht Hedgefonds, sondern
Banken und Versicherungen. Banken
sind vor allem als Käufer
aktiv, während Versicherungen
die weltweit größten Nettoverkäufer
sind. In Zeiten niedriger
Rentenmarktrenditen versuchen
sie so, zusätzliche Erträge zu erzielen.
Dies gilt allerdings nicht
für Deutschland, da aufsichtsrechtliche
Bestimmungen dem
entgegenstehen.
Eine interessante Assetklasse …
Nicht nur für Versicherungen
sind Kreditderivate eine interessante
Alternative zum Kauf oder
Verkauf von Credit-Anleihen. Für
andere institutionelle Anleger
sind Derivate nicht minder interessant,
bieten sie doch zwei
wichtige Vorteile: Zum einen
kann man mit ihnen an der Kursentwicklung
des Credit-Marktes
partizipieren, ohne in gleichem
Umfang Liquidität zu binden wie
bei einer Investition in die originären
Anleihen (Abb. 3). Zum
anderen reagieren CDS – vermutlich
genau aus diesem Grund –
deutlich schneller auf bonitätsrelevante
Nachrichten als ihre Underlyings.
… und ein liquiderer Markt
Zuletzt haben insbesondere die
Dow-Jones-iTraxx-Indexprodukte
deutlich an Bedeutung gewonnen.
Sie ermöglichen einen diversifizierten
und hochliquiden Zugang
zu Euro-denominierten Kreditrisiken.
Das mit Abstand wichtigste
Derivat ist der DJ iTraxx Europe
Benchmark Index, der die 125 liquidesten
europäischen CDS enthält
und als CDS-Basket sowie
als Credit Linked Note zu erwerben
ist.