Enfrastructure Lands New Tenant, and It’s Not a Law Firm
Mindset Reports October Profits; EMachines Goes Direct, Among Other Changes
TECHNOLOGY – Andrew Simons
It may look like just another tenant, but this one is a bona fide dot-com.
Aliso Viejo-based Enfrastructure Inc., a business technology and office provider, recently rolled out the red carpet for WomansWallStreet.com, a financial services site for women that’s setting up its headquarters at Enfrastructure’s Aliso Viejo campus. Enfrastructure is providing office space along with services ranging from server capacity to phone systems.
The deal gives a check mark to Enfrastructure, which originally was conceived of as a business that would give Web-based businesses a place to quickly set up shop. But with the dot-com implosion and the market for public offerings all but dried up, Enfrastructure has been building a varied tenant base, including everything from law firms to landscapers.
After undergoing a restructuring earlier this year, Enfrastructure’s Aliso Viejo campus is set to be filled by the end of this year, company officials said. WomansWallStreet is giddy about its new location.
“We are excited to be a part of the Enfrastructure campus,” said David Bennett, founder and chief executive of WomansWallStreet, in a statement. “Since women rely heavily on trusted opinions and are more likely to seek advice before making an investment decision, it is our mission to provide a community where they can feel comfortable acquiring this information and interacting with financial experts. Enfrastructure will provide us with the technological tools and operational advantage to carry out these objectives.”
Mindset Sees Profits
Software companies still can make money. At least that’s what Mindset Interactive Corp., an Irvine-based marketing software company, hopes to show. The company said it saw its first profit in October.
“We are pleased by this trend and look forward to continuing to report progress with both our financial situation and our products,” said Vinay Jatwani, chief operating officer and vice president of sales for Mindset.
The company reported nearly a half-million dollars in October sales, buoyed by contracts with several Web-marketing companies.
Mindset makes software called MindPlanner, a desktop organizer for personal computers that allows companies to provide online corporate updates and key information about their products and services.
EMachines Going Direct
It seems every personal computer vendor pulls a page from Dell Computer Corp.’s direct selling strategy. And so it goes with eMachines Inc., the Irvine-based low-cost PC maker.
The company recently said it would start letting its customers purchase computers directly from its Web site. Before, the company only offered links from its site to retailers selling eMachines’ computers.
“For the first time in its history, eMachines can offer consumers the opportunity to purchase our products through our Web site or by telephone, an especially important convenience during the busy holiday season,” said Wayne Inouye, chief executive of EMachines. “eMachines is working closely with its retail partners to provide our customers with the widest range of purchasing options possible.”
But the new effort isn’t exactly like Dell. EMachines plans to stock computers to be shipped out of a huge storage facility in Irvine. Unlike Dell, the computers are pre-made and customers choose from among the models. Dell doesn’t make a computer until an order comes in.
According to an eMachines spokesman, customers should be able to receive computers within two days if they choose the fastest shipping option.
The new effort marks another shift for the troubled PC maker, which was recently sold to a subsidiary owned by eMachines director Lap Shun “John” Hui. Earlier this year, founding Chief Executive Steve Dukker resigned from the company after it had fallen on hard times amid a slowing economy. Inouye took his place.
ESynch Looks at Wireless
Irvine-based eSynch Corp., which made a name for itself developing digital content and rights management software, is going to look at making its products compatible with technology used in wireless devices.
ESynch, which makes its money on advertisements thrown into its streaming media technology, hopes getting onto wireless devices will open up its potential audience.
The company cited a Merrill Lynch & Co. study, which estimates online advertising for 2001 will be in excess of $8 billion.
“Research analysts and companies predict that mobile advertising will be the No. 1 mobile commerce application over the next few years,” said Tom Hemingway, chief executive of eSynch. “The next few years will be a pivotal time for the introduction of streaming into advertisers’ media plans, and we are committed to making our technology neutralize the multimedia gap between the Internet and wireless devices.”
