DigiWonder's Saas (Software as a Service) is offering iChannelDirect as a novel approach to the frustration some vertical markets have getting delivery confirmation on time sensitive and important messages.
iChannelDirect™ Direct Desktop Digital Delivery
Simply put, the iChannelDirect client is a super small system tray app that periodically sends out a tiny http request to the service to check on status of various channels you're subscribed to. When new messages show up, their iBlob icon in the system tray starts pulsing. In a screencast done with the CEO Grant Holmes, he mentioned that it's the user's choice when and where to download the full message. Once you open the iBlob you get a list of your subscribed channels giving you a chance to determine whether you really need to get it here at the airport or wait until you get to the hotel room.
What makes this different from email is the ability to confirm and verify that the message has been opened. Grant's example scenario was a special deal for a particular sales channel for some unclaimed SuperBowl tickets, but if you read the message after SuperSunday, it's not worth delivering anymore. Another example are things like FAA airworthiness directives. I for one, REALLY REALLY want to make sure that airline mechanics get timely notices about aircraft safety changes AND read them.
Another differentiation is that the iChannelDirect system can also provide delivery verification via a certificate stating date/time/ipaddress/machine info/etc.
So while this may sound a bit Big Brother-ish, I can see a need in certain applications. It's just too easy to delete an email and then use the excuse that you never got it. So while it might not be a big thing for a sale notice, it could be a huge deal if it's a lawyer getting notification of a new witness in a trial.
An interesting SaaS application that isn't going to appeal to everyone; but for those verticals that absolutely positively MUST have a message delivered it could be a godsend.
Check out the iChannelDirect website if you're interested...the DigiWonder folks are looking for beta testers and now is your chance to put your $0.02 worth in.
You can also get additional detail in my screencast that Grant and I did over WebEx using Camtasia to capture the video and synch our conversation.
Posted by Brian Chee on July 17, 2007 04:26 PM
