Wireless Web site enabler 2Roam Inc. announced several new deals last week, one of which the company hopes will propel it into new and more profitable markets in the Asia-Pacific and European regions.
“In the last 90 days, 2Roam has really expanded its business,” said Tom Jackson, the company’s chief executive officer.
As part of the company’s international expansion, it is moving into offices in London, Germany, Singapore and Tokyo. 2Roam is “cohabiting” with its partners in the various regions, Jackson said, which include Siemens and CMGI@Ventures, one of 2Roam’s major investors.
2Roam’s business agreements announced last week involve HelloAsia, a marketing company in the Asia-Pacific region, and OmniSky Corp., which provides branded wireless Internet and e-mail services. 2Roam hopes the deals will help to push it into the international wireless Web market.
“We’re really using them as our arm for marketing to their customers,” Jackson said of HelloAsia. “Selling through distributors will be much faster to market.”
Jackson said he is familiar with the Asian sales market, and he said it is imperative to sell products through a local business. HelloAsia will act as a 2Roam value-added reseller, attracting customers with its marketing, promotion and loyalty-building programs.
2Roam’s deal with OmniSky also is an attempt at increasing the company’s customer base. Under the partnership, 2Roam’s customers will be able to distribute their wireless suite over the OmniSky service, while OmniSky will market 2Roam’s products to content providers. Additionally, 2Roam plans to expand into the United Kingdom following OmniSky’s beta launch in the market.
News of 2Roam’s expansion plan was eclipsed by its announcement of a partnership with Matsushita Electronic Industrial Co. Ltd., which had sales last year of $69 billion and is best known for its Panasonic brand name. Matsushita will use its sales force to distribute 2Roam’s products in Japan, giving 2Roam a strong foothold in the Japanese market and 2Roam’s customers a chance to expand into Asia.
“We’re there, we’re able to tap into that market,” Jackson said of the deal.
Japan’s wireless Internet market is growing much faster than the U.S. market, and 2Roam knows it. Jackson said the company, which is based in Redwood City, Calif., and has mostly U.S. clients, has had to cut some customers due to the United States’ slowing high-tech economy.
“We’re going to recalibrate our portfolio and focus on bricks and mortar companies,” Jackson said. “We’ve decided to focus more on vertical markets.”
2Roam will target the travel and leisure market more heavily, which is where Jackson said the real wireless Web revenue will come from. The company plans to focus on games, high-value retail information and entertainment services.
“We want to get deep traction in specific vertical markets,” he said.
