Webcasting is a new way out of the Web maze, and it was the topic of a Special Report in the Feb. 24 issue of Business Week. BW Online's guest on Feb. 23 was Kim Polese, co-founder and chief executive of Marimba Inc., one of the startups creating software for Webcasting. She was online with Robert D. Hof, BW correspondent in San Francisco, who contributed to the BW report.
OnlineHost: Copyright 1997 America Online, Inc.
OnlineHost: Material entered into AOL by persons other than those identified as Business Week's employees or authorized representatives, acting on behalf of Business Week, is material for which Business Week assumes no responsibility.
OnlineHost: Welcome to Business Week Online! Tonight's topic is Webcasting -- a way to speed your travel through the Net and work your computer like a TV set (it was a Special Report in the Feb. 24 BW). Our guest is Kim Polese, co-founder and chief executive of Marimba, one of the startups creating software for Webcasting. With Kim here is BW's Robert D. Hof (RobHof), one of the authors of the BW report.
JackBW: Good evening to everyone on AOL. Welcome, Kim Polese of Marimba, the software startup. Thanks for joining us. Hi, Rob Hof of BW's San Francisco bureau.
RobHof: Nice to be here.
JackBW: I'm Jack Dierdorff of BW Online, your moderator for this conference.
KimPolese: Good evening. Thanks a lot.
JackBW: Rob, you get the privilege of asking Kim the first question.
RobHof: Kim, what changes will Webcasting bring for the average Net surfer?
KimPolese: For one thing, it will make the Web a lot more fun. It will eliminate a lot of the "World Wide Wait." And that's because content and software will be sent automatically to your hard disk, "behind the scenes," so that when you want to access it, it will already be there. So, for example, with Webcasting, you might have a financial portfolio "channel" which streams software like animated charts and data like stock quotes to your computer while you're sleeping. In the morning, you disconnect, take your laptop on the train, and launch your financial channel.
JackBW: WTSGREG in our AOL audience has a question for Marimba's Kim Polese.
Question: Who do you see surviving in the new "push" technology battle? Many services are doing it. What makes Marimba the leader in this area?
KimPolese: There's more to being successful than simply doing a push of information. A lot of companies in this space are sending "eye candy" to your screen, but they're not enabling real applications to be pushed and updated. So, for example, this is the difference between a little notification popping up telling you that the stock price of Intel just rose two points vs. a financial portfolio channel which actually has dynamic interactivity with charts that can allow you to perform "what-if" scenarios about market conditions, all customized to you. The simple "push" companies, sort of eye-candy providers, are in trouble. Those companies will find that what they're doing will soon be incorporated into regular operating systems by companies like Microsoft.
RobHof: Does that include PointCast?
KimPolese: I see PointCast as really more of a content company, and less a technology company. Marimba is a technology company. We provide technology for other companies that want to create their own channels (such as financial, game, and inventory-control channels). PointCast has really pioneered the content push space and has been able to amass a staggering number of viewers of its service.
JackBW: Tesler in Northern California has a question about definitions.
Question: Kim, until Steve's recent BW article, most Net people used the term "Webcast" to mean a real-time Internet broadcast of a live event with audio/video, simulchat, etc. Do you think the term "Webcast" is also the best to use for background "push"?
KimPolese: My understanding is that it's used as an umbrella term to include both software and content background push, as well as live streaming media, such as video and audio. It's a loosely used term.
JackBW: Cybrfrnd1 has an AOL-specific question but the problem she mentions might be more widespread.
Question: Kim, we get knocked off AOL now. Will that continue, and if so, how can you download at night?
KimPolese: This is a general question about the viability of the Internet infrastructure. And the infrastructure will improve dramatically over the next several years. So these problems will decrease. There's a good parallel to the origins of the phone network. Back in the 1930s and 1940s, it was pretty flaky. When you made a phone call, oftentimes it was dropped or you were hooked into a party line. It was a mess. But as economic factors drove the creation of a much more solid telephone network, connections got much better. It was vital to everyday life. It was upgraded. The same thing will happen to the Internet. We're in the beginning.
JackBW: EVaughn in North Canton, Ohio, sent us this question in longer form ahead of time.
Question: Is there a danger that Webcasting will make the Web TOO much like TV -- a cold, one-way medium for, among other things, advertisers to push their hype at us?
KimPolese: Good question! I view the value of the new push technologies primarily for subscription purposes. In other words, if there is a service you want to use daily or weekly, it makes most sense to have it sent directly to your computer. However, also the serendipitous nature of the Web is very valuable and will continue to thrive. There's a need for both models.
JackBW: Perhaps you can give Juliet4955 in Michigan some shopping guidance.
Question: Where do we get Webcasting software?
KimPolese: There are quite a few companies jumping into this space. You might want to pick up last week's BW for a survey or the March Wired magazine. They'll tell you what's out there.
JackBW: JasOswald in Marina del Rey, Calif., has the next question for Kim Polese of Marimba.
Question: Will Webcasting "push" technology help to cut down on the amount of needless info being pushed into our computers? What about security? Viruses?
KimPolese: First question: With Webcasting you CHOOSE to subscribe to channels. So YOU have control of what's sent to your computer. You can always unsubscribe. Security is a very important concern, because Webcasting, or push, really raises the stakes. That's because of your going and requesting information, and having control over its delivery. With Webcasting, content is being regularly sent to your computer without your involvement. This is something that Marimba is very concerned about, and we've designed our products to run in a "sandbox" so the content delivered to your computer cannot reach your system files and wreak havoc. Many of the others providing push aren't thinkng about security. And that's scary.
JackBW: WHENUGO has a question about the future of life in front of the computer screen.
Question: I would like to see videos on here, or be able to access TV without leaving my computer. Is that going to be possible someday, and if so, how long from now?
KimPolese: Yes, it will be possible. The big barrier is bandwidth. Receiving streaming video today is just not viable over your average 28.8 modem. Solutions for this are coming at a number of different levels -- for instance, compression, ISDN, faster modems, etc. As for how long this will take on a mass scale, I would say not for another two to three years -- that long, for sure.
JackBW: TLeeGuth raises a competitive point.
Question: Doesn't PointCast provide just as much technology as Marimba?
KimPolese: My opinion is that we're focused on two different areas. PointCast is really an aggregator of content. Its business model is ad-revenue focused. This is similar to the ABC, CBS, and NBC networks on TV. My understanding is that they're beginning to license their technology, but this is not the primary focus thus far. At Marimba, licensing technology has been our focus since the start. I look at it as two companies having different focuses.
JackBW: Jat910 asks about one of the points BW made in its Special Report on Webcasting.
Question: Kim, it seems you are trying to do for the Internet what cable TV did for television.
KimPolese: What we're trying to do is make the Internet a more useful and enjoyable place by removing a lot of the roadblocks that have been in the way -- stuff like long download time, inability to personalize content, uncompelling content, etc. Our relation to cable TV is the concept of subscription, the fact that you can sign up for a service and have it delivered automatically.
JackBW: I sense that BNuns has some investment interest, for one thing.
Question: When will your company go public, and will you side more with Netscape or Microsoft?
KimPolese: We plan to go public at some point, but we don't have a specific date nailed down. And as a company, our mission is to be open and agnostic, and license our technology widely.
JackBW: Another question about the competitive scene, from TLeeGuth again.
Question: Kim, whom does Marimba identify as its main competitors in the "push" arena?
KimPolese: We feel that we are set apart from the other "push" space companies because we are doing more than simple information delivery. We're enabling companies like Aetna, Lehman Brothers, and Yahoo!, among others, to deliver compelling Internet applications that can be automatically updated and personalized and that provide sophisticated interactivity. We have not seen another company in this market that equals that. We're doing more than just simple push.
RobHof: There are so many choices out there that I wonder how many companies will survive. I know that I don't want five different kinds of Webcasting software on my PC.
KimPolese: Right, good point.
JackBW: EghosaO has this question from Midvale, Utah.
Question: Ms. Polese, I see content (and the technology that delivers it) as the most important stage of the Web's development. Where/how do you hope to position your company to ensure that it does not lapse into irrelevance in the short to mid-term?
KimPolese: I think the companies that will survive are those that (a) have a solution for real Internet application management and deployment, not just dumb push of static information -- in other words, the difference between a stock ticker and a financial portfolio management application that is customized to you, and (b) success will be determined based on extendability and openness. Castanet, our product, includes a bunch of interfaces that other companies such as Oracle, IBM, Netscape, Apple, etc., are plugging into. Large software and hardware companies in the industry are aligning around Castanet. This kind of momentum drives success in this industry.
JackBW: RMCGLU wonders about different markets for Webcasting and for Marimba.
Question: Is Webcasting going to first take shape to business or to people's homes?
KimPolese: The need is great in both areas. I believe that corporations are finding that Webcasting or push can save them tremendous amounts of money and time, and they're investing heavily in this technology. But the entertainment companies are also beginning to explore Webcasting to attract viewers through a new medium. Both will happen in parallel.
JackBW: Here's a follow-up from JasOswald on an earlier question.
Question: Kim, aren't we all going to need to define on a very specific level the types of info we want in order to get the "right" kind of info from our preselected channel?
KimPolese: Yes. Personalization is key to the success of Webcasting. That's what makes it unique from generic Web sites. So the technology needs to support sophisticated personalization.
JackBW: Next, a question from Joy5787732.
Question: The Internet has been a frontier where each individual has had his/her say. This new technology will now set the stage for pushing the little guy or gal aside and just make more opportunity for the big companies. Do you agree or disagree?
KimPolese: I disagree. Push technologies will be as widely available as Web browsers and servers today. Anyone can make their Web site available to the world today. Soon, anyone will be able to set up a Webcast server, and set up their own personalized channel. The model can remain the same. However, Webcasting does introduce the concept of brand awareness in the way the Web browser hasn't been able to. This enables, say, Time Warner to put its logo on your desktop and broadcast a teaser about this week's new movie out to you. This is a powerful connection that company can have with you. They can present their content in a much more compelling way than a Web browser could do. This is what attracts large companies to Webcasting. Your point is well taken in that large companies will soon be able to put their brand on your desktop, which was not possible on the Web. But it will be possible for the little guy, too.
JackBW: Next, from TVBLEAK.
Question: How will Marimba and other "push" technologies survive when Microsoft embeds technology into Win 97 OS?
KimPolese: The only way to compete with any large company that has tremendous resources and distribution power is innovation, and basically staying ahead of the curve. I do believe that the basic technology behind push will one day, soon, be imbedded into operating systems. But there are numerous other products waiting to be put on top of push technologies. Marimba is working on those already.
JackBW: Tesler has a question referring to Kim's experience as a Java manager at Sun, particularly.
Question: Kim, Silicon Valley venture capitalists generally won't fund a startup unless they can install a CEO with previous experience in general management. How did a product manager like you convince your venture capitalists to let you be CEO of Marimba?
KimPolese: I would disagree with the statement that a typical venture capitalist won't fund unless they can get a CEO with management experience, because I know many first-time CEOs who are funded by venture capitalists who are looking for flexibility, inherent smarts, and wiliness and a killer team. And we have all of that at Marimba.
JackBW: A basic question about the economics of Webcasting, from Batman887.
Question: Is Webcasting going to be advertiser-based or subscription-based?
KimPolese: I think both. The really great thing about Webcasting is that it enables a huge range of economic models, and it arranges, for the first time, a true connection between a company and its customer. This means that new services can be offered, which will mean dramatic increases in Web usage and therefore higher ad revenues. I believe Webcasting will drive the economic viability on the Internet for corporate America.
JackBW: EVaughn's question here follows right up.
Question: How about some examples of how corporations might save tremendous time and money using push? Real-life examples?
KimPolese: An example is Aetna. It uses our products to cut the costs of distributing employee benefit information to its clients. In the old days, they would have to manually ship out CD-ROMs or floppies. They would also have to incur a huge support burden because of installation problems. With Castanet, Aetna can set up a channel between its company and HR managers in companies around the country. It can let them know about changes in benefit packages as that information becomes available. The old model would mean shipping out disks or using human beings to call on the phone. That's tremendous overhead.
JackBW: A final question here.
Question: Last fun question: Where did Marimba come from? Is there a good story here?
JackBW: Marimba -- and Castanet? A Latin flair...
KimPolese: I wanted to name our company something interesting, memorable, and fun. I find names that have cyber, Web, or Net to be difficult to remember because there are so many companies that have those names in them. I was searching for something upbeat. I also love music and dance, and I stumbled across the word "marimba." It had a nice rhythm and was memorable, and it stuck. Castanet followed -- it's musical and it means broadcasting across the Net.
JackBW: That's it for tonight. Thanks so much, Kim Polese, for telling us about Marimba and answering our questions about Webcasting.
KimPolese: I enjoyed being here. Thanks for all the great questions.
JackBW: Thanks, too, Rob Hof for being with us from Business Week in San Francisco.
RobHof: Thanks, it was fun -- great questions from the audience.
JackBW: Transcripts of this and all BW Online conferences and chats are available soon after the event. Look under Talk & Conferences on the BW Online opening screen. And my thanks to the audience for all the questions. Sorry we didn't have time to use more of them. Thank you all again, and goodnight!
Copyright 1997 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
