Now that I'm the interim editor of a content Web site, I'll eat crow and admit what I've refuted previously: content is king. Content needs context, community, and commerce to complete the puzzle, but more than anything else, it drives traffic to Web sites. Perhaps in acknowledgment of this fact, BroadVision (Nasdaq: BVSN) acquired Interleaf--the leader in content-management software--early this year. Integrating Interleaf's rich content-management software with BroadVision's array of e-business tools will enable businesses to develop their sites from a single software source.
The acquisition positions BroadVision as a solid addition to the ComputerUser fund. BroadVision is known for its integrated, standards-based e-business software. We hear the word e-business so much that it seems to refer to any kind of electronic commerce. But effective e-business goes beyond grocery-cart applications and order processing to integrate companies' cherished business processes into a Web-based metaphor. Because these processes are highly customized to the millions of unique businesses out there, a cookie-cutter approach that forces businesses to adapt their long-held practices to the software will not be popular and will not work well. BroadVision distinguishes itself from the competition by providing highly customizable B2B and B2C tools that dovetail with the vast variety of business models and processes out there. BroadVision goes them one better, enabling companies to customize e-commerce options for clients.
But as companies have tested the e-commerce waters, they find that effective e-business is not simply a matter of enabling order processing, tracking, and the like. It's also a matter of solid communication between partners and with clients. And while the Web enables real-time distributed commerce, its strength remains in its ability for real-time publishing. In a corporate setting, this can be a strain on organizations that seldom understand the complexities involved in keeping business information fresh and consistent on Internet time. Think of several divisions with varying written skill sets all trying to get information on the Web site, and you have a glimpse of the content-management nightmare facing webmasters.
I look for content-management software to boom in the coming months as small-to-midsized companies begin to feel the burn in their ability to keep site content fresh. Now that the B2B and B2C infrastructure is well on its way to being built out, the companies that provide timely, relevant information to their clients and partners will see the results in their bottom lines faster than competitors who don't. In short, content-management software will pay for itself fast enough for CTOs to fork over the cash, and this will drive up demand. And as content needs to be customized for visitors, BroadVision's technology is uniquely positioned to add value to its Interleaf products.
Analysts give BVSN either a Moderate-Buy or Strong-Buy rating. This is partially reflected in the value price one would pay for this post flipper. After offering around $8 per share last June, the stock steadily climbed into the low 90s in March. Flippers took their profits and the Nasdaq crash took its share, bringing the stock back to the 30s, after which it has slowly climbed back to the 50s as of this writing. I expect it to grow steadily in the coming months into the low 60s and to be a strong holding for at least a year.
Wired's list of 40 hot engines of the new economy singles out BroadVision among the zillions of exclusive e-commerce software makers. Day traders can bank on this one.
-James Mathewson
