Allurent Launches to Deliver Rich Internet Commerce Applications for Online Retailers; ATG Founders Reunite to Revolutionize the Online Shopping Experience; Angel Investors Include Alex D'Arbeloff, Bob Forlenza, and Nicholas Negroponte

Business Wire, Sept 12, 2005

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & LAS VEGAS -- Allurent(TM), the Rich Internet Applications for Commerce company, officially launched today at the Shop.org 2005 Annual Summit, the premier event for the Internet retailing industry. The company, founded by the e-commerce visionaries who founded and led ATG (NASDAQ: ARTG), Joe Chung, Fumi Matsumoto, and Paul Shorthose, is developing a suite of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) that will dramatically improve the online shopping experience to deliver higher conversion rates and increased brand equity for retailers who need to differentiate themselves online. Allurent also announced today the general availability of its first commerce application, Allurent BUY, focused on helping retailers solve the checkout abandonment issue that is currently plaguing the industry (Editor's Note: See Allurent Announces Availability of Allurent Buy to Improve Customer Experience and Help Online Retailers Reduce Checkout Abandonment).

Until now, there has been little innovation and improvement of e-commerce sites based on the limitations of HTML web pages. With the significant increase in broadband adoption, Rich Internet Commerce (RIC) applications provide real opportunity for retailers looking to differentiate their online brands and drive customer loyalty. Allurent's applications will enable retailers to better orchestrate the customer shopping experience online, thus increasing conversion rates and transaction sizes and helping to build brand equity.

Allurent's application suite leverages Macromedia's widely-deployed Flash and Flex technologies to make the online shopping experience more dynamic, responsive, and intuitive.

"Companies need to deliver a compelling online shopping experience to win customer loyalty and earn market share," said Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0, the influential information technology newsletter published by CNET Networks, and a keynote speaker at the Shop.org 2005 Annual Summit. "Often it's not a question of rich multimedia or fancy graphics, but of responsiveness. You can no longer tell people about your brand; you have to let them experience it. So what do you want them to experience? A great video? Or a responsive, sleek interaction that anticipates their needs and wants? That's what Allurent understands - and delivers."

Allurent's software leverages existing e-commerce infrastructure rather than replacing it, resulting in demonstrable return on investment. Each application in Allurent's suite will focus on one aspect of the online shopping cycle - from browsing the store to evaluating and comparing products to pageless checkout and order management.

"A major shift is occurring in the e-commerce industry - from focus on backend platforms towards the customer's full brand experience," said Joe Chung, co-founder and CEO at Allurent. "Our goal is to enable major online retailers to offer a unique and superior shopping environment that expresses and differentiates their brands. Retailing is fundamentally about the customer experience, and Allurent products will be a principal driver of loyalty, satisfaction, and profits."

Allurent is funded by angel investors including Alex D'Arbeloff, founder and former CEO of Teradyne, and former chairman of MIT; Bob Forlenza, managing partner at Tudor Investments; Scott Jones, founder and former chairman of Boston Technology and chairman of Gracenote; Bob Maginn, CEO of Jenzabar and former senior partner and director at Bain & Company; Nicholas Negroponte, professor of Media Technology at MIT and founding chairman of MIT's Media Laboratory; and Jeff Newton, managing director at Gemini Investors.

About Allurent

Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Allurent is the Rich Internet Applications for Commerce company. Allurent is developing a suite of Rich Internet Applications focused on the full life cycle of online shopping, from finding and browsing products to pageless order management and checkout. Each application dramatically improves customer experience, driving greater conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and profit. For additional information please visit www.allurent.com.