http://www.ariasystems.com/mediacenter/press Read the latest announcements regarding Aria Systems' products, clients, and the details of our rise to success. en kjackson@ariasystems.com Copyright 2008 2008-10-27T15:40:20-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/parature_and_aria_systems_announce_strategic_partnership/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/parature_and_aria_systems_announce_strategic_partnership/#When:15:40:20Z The Global Leader in On-Demand Customer Service Software Partners with the Leading Provider of On-Demand Billing and Customer Lifecycle Management Solutions. VIENNA, VA — October 27, 2008 — Parature, the global leader in on-demand customer service software, announced today a referral partnership agreement with Aria Systems, the leading provider of on-demand subscription billing solutions.  Parature and Aria, both best-in-class software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers, have a significant focus on the fast-growing interactive media and online gaming markets.  “As the global leader in on-demand customer service software, we are delighted to embark upon this partnership with the first and most experienced SaaS billing provider,” said Chuck Coulson, Parature Vice President of Business Development. “Parature is the fastest growing customer service and support software company in the United States, and this partnership is a logical next step to expand our presence in interactive media communities, virtual worlds and the online gaming industry as a whole.” Parature enables any organization to fundamentally change the way they support their customers through its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery and integrated, intuitive design that empowers organizations to better and more efficiently serve, support, engage with and retain customers in today’s Web world.  The seamlessly integrated suite of Parature modules allows organizations to effectively manage all of their support needs without additional hardware, software and IT expenses.  This dynamic, on-demand software enables organizations to get up and running quickly, easily and efficiently. “Aria System’s work with Parature embodies our commitment to creating the most robust customer lifecycle management environment possible for our clients,” noted Edward Sullivan, president and CEO, Aria Systems. Sulivan added, “Parature’s powerful customer service, support, and communications solution complements our world-class billing platform extremely well. Based on input we’ve culled from the market, companies assessing the space will be delighted with this development. We look forward to going to market with Parature.” 2008-10-27T15:40:20-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_celebrates_fifth_anniversary_with_record_third_quarter_new_cus/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_celebrates_fifth_anniversary_with_record_third_quarter_new_cus/#When:13:15:06Z Third quarter results reflect increasing momentum for the SaaS billing space. Philadelphia, Pa., October 6, 2008 — Aria Systems Inc., the industry standard and leading provider of on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management solutions, celebrated its fifth anniversary with a watershed of news on its sales and partner fronts, reflecting the company's unprecedented growth and momentum in its market leading role in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) billing space. Equipped with the unique understanding and perspective that comes with being the first and most experienced SaaS billing provider, Aria Systems had acknowledged earlier this year that the market had reached a tipping point of wide-scale enterprise acceptance and universal acceleration. Now, Aria Systems sees its stellar third quarter results in client and sales growth metrics as a testimonial to the increasingly compelling nature of the SaaS model in the face of the current challenging economic environment. Aria Systems' five year anniversary celebration comes on the heels of a very strong third quarter, with results that include: Aria Systems reported a third quarter sales bookings growth rate that doubled the second quarter and quadrupled the first quarter. Traditional enterprises, as well as entertainment and gaming companies, repeatedly chose Aria Systems over less proven new entrant alternatives. Aria Systems now counts more than sixty customers over the last five years. Well in excess of three million transactions were processed in the third quarter 2008, more than three times the level during the same period 2007. For the first three quarters of 2008, transaction volumes were more than four times those of the same period in 2007. Meeting growing market demand for integrated, comprehensive SaaS offerings, Aria's third quarter was marked by the signing of several key partners including Clareity, BSG and BigWorld, and an expanded partnership with Rackspace. Aria is committed to working with partners and will make partner acquisition a top-line strategic initiative in 2009. Exemplifying Aria's focus on continuing to improve the quality of the overall customer experience, investments in account management and customer service teams paid dividends as customer implementation time was decreased by 25% during the quarter. The improvement was due in large part to Aria's flexible API-friendly approach that allows users to program to a pre-constructed interface, in some cases "self-implement," instead of individually programming a device or piece of software. CRM magazine acknowledged Aria Systems' CRM solution excellence by the honoring the company with its 2008 "Rising Star" CRM Market Award. The CRM Market Awards honors the vendors, consultants, and end-user companies focused on creating and cultivating rewarding customer experiences and relationships through the "sophisticated integration of people, processes, and technologies." Looking to the quarter ahead, Aria Systems is rolling out a beta test of its Aria A+ Billing Platform. This is the first SaaS-based billing platform to offer tiers of enterprise-class features within a PCI-compliant environment. Features include: a centralized self service toolset; flexible pricing, promotion and plan management — and an integrated, intelligent dashboard that provides real-time analytics; single sign-on to manage entitlements in real time; channel management plan design and controls; and a robust, exposed API set for straightforward integrations. And the Aria A+ Billing Platform's success-based pricing model serves both growing SaaS companies and Enterprises converting to SaaS equally well. "We are extremely pleased with both our growing overall business momentum and the buoyancy of the Saas billing space in trying economic times," said Edward Sullivan, president & CEO, Aria Systems. "Our dramatic growth rate during the last quarter speaks not only to the effectiveness of our approach, but to the overall attractiveness of the SaaS billing business model relative to traditional billing platform options." Dave Labuda, Aria Systems board member, as well as co-founder and former CEO of Portal Software, and past CTO of Oracle's Communications Global Business Unit, added, "The on-demand billing market is over-delivering on its overwhelming promise. Given its experience and proven operational success in the complex world of subscription-based billing, it's not surprising that Aria Systems is expanding its lead over the field as it continues to drive the market." And Jeffrey M. Kaplan, Managing Director of THINKstrategies, Inc. and founder of the Software-as-a-Service Showplace, stated, "With SaaS and other on-demand services rapidly gaining customer acceptance and adoption, solution providers in this sector are increasingly recognizing the importance of having a robust transaction system that can enable them to quickly and easily bill and provision these services." Kaplan added, "Aria Systems' rapid growth is a reflection of the rapid maturation of the SaaS and on-demand services market." 2008-10-06T13:15:06-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/bsg_and_aria_systems_deliver_gaming_industrys_most_comprehensive_risk_manag/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/bsg_and_aria_systems_deliver_gaming_industrys_most_comprehensive_risk_manag/#When:12:00:13Z Combined, turnkey solution prevents fraud, protects gamers and the game experience. Austin, Texas - September 17, 2008 — Game Developers Conference — BSG, a provider of advanced payment services for digital media merchants, and Aria Systems, a provider of billing and life cycle management solutions to monetize games, today announced the delivery of the most comprehensive, global risk management solution specifically designed for gamers. Ensuring safe and secure transactions is a key determining factor in protecting paying gamers from a negative experience. This solution enables game publishers to prevent fraud from occurring and reduces charge backs and revenue loss, while maintaining a fair and positive experience for their gamers. The joint solution combines Aria System’s proprietary gamer billing and CRM data with BSG’s Advanced Payment Gateway data to deliver the industry’s most comprehensive analysis of gaming transactions in real-time. No other solution analyzes gamer membership profiles, forum, guild participation and unique registered user profiles to determine the types of gamers who could pose a risk to other customers. By identifying those gamers who have an ongoing and trusted relationship with publishers via third-party channels, and then customizing the solution by geography, genre and industry experience, BSG and Aria Systems enable publishers to proactively protect gamers and the game experience, as well as their revenue streams. “Working with Aria Systems, we’re able to distinguish those pockets of suspect users from good users so that game publishers can reduce the incidence of fraud, charge backs and other forms of revenue loss,” said Greg Carter, CEO of BSG. “We understand how important it is for game publishers to protect gamers and their experience,” said Ed Sulivan, CEO of Aria Systems. “By combining the analysis of BSG’s payment data with our experiential customer data, we’re able to deliver a best-in-class fraud prevention solution that ensures game publishers can do just that.” 2008-09-17T12:00:13-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/enhanced_fraud_protection_by_clareity/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/enhanced_fraud_protection_by_clareity/#When:12:00:04Z Aria Systems will offer Clareity Security’s patented TEXT-pass+® solution to its SaaS billing prospects and clients. Scottsdale, AZ - September 11, 2008 — Aria Systems, the industry standard and leading provider of on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management solutions, and Clareity Security, a provider of innovative user authentication and transaction verification solutions, today announced a partnership in which Aria Systems will offer Clareity Security’s patented TEXT-pass+® solution to its SaaS billing prospects and clients. Clareity Security’s TEXT-pass+ delivers one-of-a-kind two-factor / two-channel functionality directly to an end user’s cell phone using the SMS channel.  TEXT-pass+ provides unique transaction verification functionality at a fraction of the cost of other hardware-based authentication solutions– all while offering the same powerful user authentication capabilities that are standard in the industry. The agreement between Aria Systems and Clareity Security enables Aria System’s sales force to promote TEXT-pass+ and to refer customers to Clareity Security. “Working with our partner Clareity, through their TEXT-pass+ product, we are offering our customers yet another layer of fraud, theft, and security protection.  Using TEXT-pass+, Aria customers virtually eliminate the looming issue of subscriber fraud and theft, as TEXT-pass+ assures only legitimate accountholders can access valuable subscriber content,” says Alleen Sangiuliano, Director of Business Development for Aria Systems.  “In addition to what we offer in Aria’s core solution set, TEXT-pass+ is a truly effective and useful solution to the problem of online account hijacking and unauthorized sharing.  We are excited about working with Clareity Security to make this solution available to our customers.” “Our partnership with Aria Systems, in which they offer the TEXT-pass+ solution, creates a unique opportunity to prove tremendous value to the SaaS world,” said Gregg Larson, Chief Executive Officer for Clareity Security.  “We know we have the best product available for strong user authentication and transaction verification, and Aria Systems provides the best channel in the SaaS billing industry for delivering it.” To find out more about TEXT-pass+, please contact Clareity Security at security@clareitysecurity.com. 2008-09-11T12:00:04-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_wins_crm_magazines_2008_rising_star_crm_market_award/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_wins_crm_magazines_2008_rising_star_crm_market_award/#When:11:30:15Z Aria Systems has been selected by CRM magazine as a winner of its 2008 “Rising Star” CRM Market Award on the heels of a string of record-setting first half-of-the-year product introduction and client acquisition and implementation successes. Philadelphia, Pa., August 21, 2008 — Aria Systems Inc., the industry standard and leading provider of on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management solutions, has been selected by CRM magazine as a winner of its 2008 “Rising Star” CRM Market Award on the heels of a string of record-setting first half-of-the-year product introduction and client acquisition and implementation successes. Aria Systems is one of an exclusive handful of 2008 “Rising Star” award winners which includes Apple, a burgeoning player in the CRM industry; Marketo, a software firm bridging sales and marketing; platform developer nGenera; Ribbit, a provider of voice services; social-networking developer Trampoline Systems; and the microblogging site, Twitter. Announced in conjunction with the magazine’s destinationCRM 2008 conference, CRM magazine and the seventh annual CRM Market Awards honors the vendors, consultants, and end-user companies focused on creating and cultivating rewarding customer experiences and relationships through the “sophisticated integration of people, processes, and technologies.” “I am proud of earning CRM magazine’s ‘Rising Star’ award as it reflects the hard work and accomplishments of Aria System’s employees on behalf of our customers,” said Edward Sullivan, president & CEO, Aria Systems. “While we’ve pioneered, defined, and lead the subscription billing space for the past five years, winning this award in 2008 is a true testimonial to our continuous innovation and growth.” Sullivan added, “Accomplishing sustained, actually accelerating, success within the fast-evolving Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) space reflects a high degree of insight, experience, and discipline, laced with a true concern for the interests of our clients - as well as the ability to adapt to change with ease, which we have done many times over the years.” Looking to the future, Sullivan noted, “Going forward, over the next year, we will continue to redefine the on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management market as we introduce waves of new products and services aimed at improving the effectiveness of our clients’ businesses.” In its press release announcing the winners, David Myron, editorial director of CRM magazine said, “CRM magazine is pleased to present the 2008 CRM Market Awards to those companies and individuals who are raising the bar in their customer relationship initiatives. These efforts are helping companies streamline business processes, maximize profitability, and provide more value to customers.” Myron added, “Congratulations to this year’s award recipients. May they continue to raise the standard of CRM excellence.” Founded by Sullivan in 2003, Aria Systems provides enterprise-quality billing and customer lifecycle management services for a mix of clients ranging from large multinational companies converting to a subscription-based business model to fast-growing SaaS and gaming companies. 2008-08-21T11:30:15-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/new_features_introduced_in_version_35_release/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/new_features_introduced_in_version_35_release/#When:12:16:35Z Aria Systems Introduces Billing Platform Version 3.5 Featuring Enhanced Pricing, Fraud Prevention, and Contract Management Capabilities PHILADELPHIA, PA — August 20, 2008 — Aria Systems, the industry standard and leading provider of on-demand billing and customer life cycle management solutions, announced the availability of the company’s Billing and Customer Lifecycle Management Platform 3.5. This latest version of the company’s “monetization platform” offers significantly enhanced flexibility in contract management capabilities while also offering more dynamic business-to-business (B2B) pricing functionality with built-in support for credit card security and fraud prevention. Aria Billing and Customer Lifecycle Management Platform 3.5 features enhanced contract management functionality enabling SaaS and B2B clients to facilitate and track the end-to-end process of purchasing, provisioning, and activating end-user license agreements. And Aria System’s billing platform now handles virtually any online purchase/checkout process and guarantees the safety and security of the transaction. “On-demand, subscription business models have created the need for robust billing and customer management solutions that address greater security demands and can handle planes of pricing and contract complexities,” said Ed Sullivan, CEO of Aria Systems. “For any B2B-focused company selling their services online, and especially SaaS providers, automated contract management and pricing functionality, housed within a highly secure process and environment, are essential enablers of long-term business growth.” Sullivan adds, “Overall, given the complexity that is implicit in a reliable on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management solution, more companies are choosing Aria because they trust us more than the alternative options. As this latest 3.5 release exemplifies, our customers benefit from our experience and our having worked through the critical nuances of the space.” Big Steps in Fraud prevention and Contract Management Capabilities for the SaaS Market In 2007, online payment fraud exceeded $3.6 billion in North America alone.  Aria System’s Billing and Customer Lifecycle Management Platform 3.5 offers several enhancements to address fraud prevention such as an optional additional layer of security featuring third party authentication in accordance with programs such as MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa. As businesses increasingly sell more recurring subscriptions online, and as individual companies mature, the number of applicable pricing models in use can grow exponentially. Aria Systems’ improved automated contract management functionality offers companies assurance that their billing and customer lifecycle management backbone can support their evolving business needs and related marketing requirements. 2008-08-20T12:16:35-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_announces_unprecedented_first_half_2008_business_growth/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_announces_unprecedented_first_half_2008_business_growth/#When:14:04:54Z Aria Systems announced that first half of 2008 results reflected unprecedented growth along several key company metrics, putting the company in the strongest financial position in its history while further solidifying and enhancing its market leader role in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) billing space. PHILADELPHIA, Aug 06, 2008 — Aria Systems Inc., the industry standard and leading provider of on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management solutions, announced that first half of 2008 results reflected unprecedented growth along several key company metrics, putting the company in the strongest financial position in its history while further solidifying and enhancing its market leader role in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) billing space. Beyond its own strong growth, based on perspective earned through its five year history in the market—and as the only player to have served the market this long—Aria Systems sees the entire SaaS billing market hitting a tipping point of wide-scale acceptance and overall acceleration. On the financial front, Aria Systems reported a continuing streak of positive trends, including significant, across-the-board increases in key performance indicators. A few first half-growth metrics stand out in particular: -- Over 6.4 million transactions were processed in the first half 2008, more than six times the level during the same period 2007. -- A client base (both “won and/or implemented") that surpassed the “fifty” threshold earlier this month, including the addition of SlideRocket, Slipg8, and KingsIsle to the customer portfolio during the period. Separately, as a lead indicator, the sales pipeline of qualified prospects grew to more than ten times the level attained during the same period 2007. To address this demand and the increase in sales funnel momentum, Aria Systems expanded its sales force and marketing team in the first half of the year. And, as part of a focus on even further improving the quality of the overall customer experience, account management and customer service teams were increased dramatically as well. “We are extremely pleased with our financial performance, the quality of our work on behalf of our customers, our overall business momentum, and the very positive trend in the SaaS market for billing and customer life cycle management solutions,” said Edward Sullivan, president & CEO, Aria Systems. “The market has made it clear that the time is here, now, for both the SaaS space and Aria Systems’ role in leading it.” 2008-08-06T14:04:54-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_to_power_phase_2_internationals_pay_as_you_go_software_applica/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_to_power_phase_2_internationals_pay_as_you_go_software_applica/#When:02:58:46Z PHASE 2 International will deploy Aria's monetization platform to support their high-end business software offerings delivered via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model.PHILADELPHIA, PA - July 28, 2008 — Aria Systems, the industry standard and leading provider of on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management solutions, announced today that PHASE 2 International will deploy Aria’s monetization platform to support their high-end business software offerings delivered via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. “PHASE 2 considered other subscription billing solutions but Aria’s deep experience in the subscription billing space is reflected in its possessing what is clearly the most mature and fully featured product on the market,” said CEO Kevin Doherty. “Aria represents cutting edge technology in billing and customer management, which reflects that of our own services and will allow us to translate a consistent message and user experience to our customers and partners.” PHASE 2 will use Aria’s billing and customer lifecycle management solution to support their pay-as-you-go software applications and employ Aria’s business management tools and customer care suite to expand and enhance their reseller program. Aria’s channel management tools will provide Phase 2 with the ability to offer unique pricing and packaging per reseller and to track and manage their sales and commissions. “For the last five years, Aria has provided companies with a flexible platform on which businesses can easily expand sales and gain a critical competitive advantage by designing custom pricing and multi-tiered plans for their direct and reseller sales” said Ed Sullivan, CEO of Aria Systems. “A savvy SaaS company like PHASE 2 will be able to optimize Aria’s services and take full advantage of the cost-saving benefits and revenue enhancement opportunities available to our clients.” 2008-07-30T02:58:46-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_celebrates_surpassing_fifty_customer_win_implementation_milest/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_celebrates_surpassing_fifty_customer_win_implementation_milest/#When:02:55:54Z Aria has further solidified and enhanced its market leader role in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) billing space. Philadelphia, Pa. - July 22, 2008 — Aria Systems Inc., the industry standard and leading provider of on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management solutions, announced that it has just surpassed the milestone of fifty clients, putting the company in the strongest financial position in its history while further solidifying and enhancing its market leader role in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) billing space. Having built and implemented its customer base steadily, in a considered, fiscally responsible manner, over its five year history in the market — and as the only player to have served the market nearly this long — Aria Systems sees its growth accelerating as the market for on-demand subscriptions grows. Clients from industries such as SaaS, gaming, telecom, and even non-profit organizations, have endorsed the breadth and depth of the Aria Systems solution, including latest client Phase 2. “Finding the best billing provider has been a high priority for Phase 2,” said CEO Kevin Doherty. “Scaling a SaaS business to more than a few dozen customers requires a solution like Aria’s that integrates sophisticated billing with end-to-end customer lifecycle management. Aria’s platform was designed to meet the unique needs of subscription-based models which is highly relevant to the success of SaaS businesses like PHASE 2.” “We are extremely pleased with the base of businesses that increasingly turn to us for subscription billing and customer life cycle management solutions,” said Edward Sullivan, president & CEO, Aria Systems. “And, as the pioneer of the SaaS billing space, it is exciting and gratifying to see the realization of the vision we had in 2003 as large sectors of the enterprise space increasingly turn to the SaaS billing model. Even the number of competitors we have recently attracted to the space confirm that on-demand billing’s time has come. These newcomers’ lack of experience can mislead or confuse the market at times, but ultimately they help us and our growth as customers seek mature, proven — they even tell us ‘non-risky’ — solutions.” 2008-07-23T02:55:54-05:00 http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_will_power_sliderockets_on_demand_presentation_management_soft/ http://www.ariasystems.com/site/aria_systems_will_power_sliderockets_on_demand_presentation_management_soft/#When:11:11:32Z SlideRocket, the award winning SaaS-based provider of fully featured online presentation software, has selected Aria to help the company monetize its subscription-based offering. PHILADELPHIA, PA - July 15, 2008 — Aria Systems, the industry standard and leading provider of on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management solutions, announced today that SlideRocket, the award winning SaaS-based provider of fully featured online presentation software, has selected Aria to help the company monetize its subscription-based offering and support its customers from acquisition through remittance. 2008-07-15T11:11:32-05:00