The business as software
Privacy is mostly a consulting business today, but a software implementation phase may not be far off. Some software makers are rolling out offerings to help businesses comply with privacy-policy guidelines,and some of those companies are seeking implementation help.
YOUpowered.com, for example, is starting to train implementation partners on its "permission-based personalization" software line, which, among other things, lets businesses accommodate consumers' information-sharing preferences.
Connie Ling, chief marketing officer at Etensity, an Internet professional services firm, says her company is in the midst of signing a partnership agreement with YOUpowered. Ling says she believes YOUpowered's technology will prove useful for some of her clients.
Webwasher.com, which makes a privacy and content-filtering product, initially targeted consumers but now is enlisting the channel to pursue corporate accounts. Siemens Business Services already acts as a Webwasher.com reseller in Germany (Webwasher itself is a Siemens spin-off). Horst Joepen, Webwasher.com's CEO, expects 60 percent to 70 percent of the company's sales to eventually flow through the partner channel.
Industry executives, however, note that privacy software is in its infancy and potential buyers are still in the tire-kicking stage.
"It's a wait-and-see attitude," one software marketer says, adding that a comprehensive federal online privacy law could spark demand.
But with Congress out of session, this fledgling software niche will just have to wait till next year.
