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Pingar eyes potential in Chinese online publishers
2010. 5 April
The company's service lets users search "premium" content by questions rather than keywords. Results are presented in 
by Claire McEntee
(stuff.co.nz) Tauranga search technology firm Pingar says Microsoft will soon begin touting its software to its major corporate clients, and it is eyeing up large online publishers in China as potential customers.
Content providers and Pingar will earn revenue from advertisers who can "bid" to reach the particular demographic profile reading and searching the content.
The company has teamed up with Hong Kong digital publication technology firm Compose Systems to develop its software and create a Chinese-language version, which will be launched at the Shanghai Expo in July.
Pingar managing director Peter Wren-Hilton says Compose Systems will promote the service to its major online publishing clients in China, which could embed Pingar into its websites so visitors could search their content.
Microsoft has embedded an enterprise version of Pingar in its SharePoint 2010 software and will work with Pingar to sell the service to several of its key corporate clients – which are international names – once SharePoint 2010 launches in May, Mr Wren-Hilton says.
"SharePoint has got more than 200 million subscribers ... and because of its price it's primarily used by large corporates and governments. So clearly that's a very exciting market for us to be working in."
The enterprise version will primarily let users search for content within their organisations. Enterprise customers will pay a licensing fee depending on the number of users they have, Mr Wren-Hilton says.
Pingar received a $500,000 Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarship, which will pay for two New Zealand post-graduate students to travel to Wales and work with the University of Wales to develop a version of Pingar for mobile phones.
The company does not expect quick wins in China, as it will take a while to develop relationships with firms there, Mr Wren-Hilton says.
"But once you get into a Chinese enterprise and get your first 100 sales, it doesn't take long to get 100,000 sales."
Venture capitalist and former investment banker Chris de Boer is a non-executive chairman of the firm. Mr de Boer is currently a director of Macquarie Media Group and Mobilis, and was previously chairman of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund.
Source: www.stuff.co.nz