Palm Computing Adopts Portal’s Infranet
CUPERTINO, Calif. — December 2, 1998 — Portal Software, Inc., the leader in real-time customer management and billing software for next-generation communications providers, today announced that Palm Computing, Inc., a 3Com company, has licensed Portal's Infranet billing system for use with its new wireless Internet service, Palm.Net(tm), which will be available next year upon the release of the Palm VII connected organizer.
Palm will deploy Infranet to offer different pricing options rather than a single, flat fee so customers can select a service plan that is appropriate for their anticipated level of usage. Also with Infranet, Palm.Net customers can access "self-help" customer support features via the Web that provide up-to-date service and billing information without actually calling a customer service line.
Billing software is emerging as an important element of current and next-generation IP-based consumer and business services. As communications providers continue to transition business models to include more than flat-fee pricing, their billing system becomes a strategic component of their service offering. Real-time customer management and billing allows communications providers to rapidly introduce new business models by supporting multiple, value-added services and pricing plans that can be adjusted within minutes based on market or competitive demands. Real-time customer management and billing also reduces customer service costs by enabling "self-help" customer support features that provide instant access to service or billing information traditionally handled with costly customer service support lines.
"Our objective when developing the Palm.Net service was to provide our Palm VII customers with a service that increased the functionality and added further value to their connected organizers," said Jim Obot, vice president of operations at Palm Computing, Inc. "Infranet enables us to deliver variety of services and different pricing plans so our customers can chose what options add value based on their individual needs. Infranet also provides us with the flexibility and scalability we were looking for as we analyzed our current and future requirements for this new, unpredictable business initiative."
"IP-based service providers like Palm Computing are discovering that new, innovative use of technology is essential to establishing customer loyalty and generating revenue," said Steve Sommer, vice president of business development at Portal. "The flexibility and scalability of Infranet is ideal for any IP-based service company that plans to offer new value-added services. Because Infranet can support new types of business models, value-added services and real-time customer support features, it enables providers to adapt to the unpredictable environment of the Internet market."
Established in 1985, Portal's founding premise was that the Internet would drive a change in the way business was done with new kinds of applications, services and methods of revenue generation. Recognizing the need for a platform to support this developing infrastructure, Portal today provides Infranet, a scalable customer management and billing solution specifically designed for next-generation communications services. The Infranet solution offers a high degree of flexibility and scalability to meet not only the needs of today's Internet services, but also those that will develop from the emerging next-generation communications services market.
The Palm VII connected organizer and the Palm.Net service were announced today at the Palm Computing Platform Worldwide Developer Conference. The Palm VII device will provide fast, secure and easy out-of-the box access to personal, business and Internet information. The product will enable users to quickly and easily obtain important information from various Web sites and to send and receive short text messages remotely via a wireless connection. Field trial for the Palm VII product begins in January 1999; it is expected to ship sometime next year.
About Portal Software, Inc.
Portal Software provides a real-time billing and customer care solution for providers of IP-based services. Portal's solution enables real-time management of current and next-generation services by ISP's, telecommunications providers, emerging Internet businesses and corporations doing business online. Targeted services include dial-up and broadband consumer Internet access; high-speed business Internet access and backbone networking; Virtual Private Networks; IP Telephony and Fax; online Web, storefront and application hosting; email and unified messaging; online content services; and other emerging IP-based consumer and business services.
Portal's customers include leading Internet businesses worldwide such as US WEST, Microsoft, Juno, Grolier Online, France Telecom, OzEmail, VeriSign and ICL Games Zone. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Portal has offices throughout the U.S., as well as Hong Kong, Sydney and London. Information about Portal and its products can be found at http://www.portal.com.
Note to Editors: Portal and Infranet are U.S. registered trademarks, and Portal Software, the Portal logo, the Real Time-No Limits tagline, Infranet IPT and Infranet Express are trademarks of Portal Software, Inc. Palm Computing and 3Com are registered trademarks, and Palm, PalmVII and Palm.Net are trademarks, of 3Com Corp.
CONTACT:
Portal Software, Inc.
Lynne Rocha, 408/343-4397
lrocha@portal.com