Netpliance, Inc., a world leader and pioneer in the information appliance and service market leverages the @ttract framework and suite of applications to provide collaboration tools to subscribers of their i-opener service.

Introduced originally in 1999, the Netpliance I-opener service was the first to combine a device designed specifically for Internet access with a dedicated service offering customized content and applications. Recognizing the value of applications, Netpliance sought to expand their offering to encompass collaborative tools designed to maintain communication with distributed family members.

Conscious of the cost and time associated with developing such a service internally, Netpliance sought out application service providers with the objective of minimizing both. After evaluating many providers, Netpliance elected to utilize the @ttract framework and suite of applications to deliver the "Family Room" application to subscribers of their I-opener 2001 service.

"Speed, scalability and integration of services were crucial elements in our search for this application provider," said Marc Willebeek-LeMair, chief technology officer at Netpliance. "eTango offered a complete package of services, facilitating the continued delivery to our members of the most innovative, easy-to-use and family-centric capabilities available."

At delivery, the "Family Room" was a tightly integrated solution, hosted by eTango which leveraged remote directory and billing systems to facilitate a seamless cross-infrastructure experience for I-opener 2001 subscribers.

The solution provided subscribers with a private and secure place to easily communicate with family and friends as well as a central repository for them to store valuable family generated content.