Comments on: Elevator Pitch Friday: Palo Alto Software Makes Collaborative E-Mail Intelligent

By: Pavan K

Pavan K — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:59:48 +0000

They have this on you tube – nice animated, simple illustration of the problem they solve:

http://www.yout...h?v=tgdlCQOvRIM

Stop spamming Locator, find traffic elsewhere.

By: Anonymoose

Anonymoose — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:16:19 +0000

You’d think a 20 year old startup would know how to not act like their poor clone of existing software was in any way new.

Or maybe that’s why after 20 years they’re still a startup?

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:12:38 +0000

Hi Ryan-
Thanks for pointing out Help Spot. They do have similar features, but once again they are focused on Help Desk support. While Email Center Pro can certainly be used for support emails, it is built to help manage ALL company email sent to general email addresses. Help Spot also prices significantly higher — one license costs $199.00 per year. Our Basic package gives you unlimited users for $19.00 per month. http://www.emai...com/pricing.php

By: Dr.Who

Dr.Who — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:57:51 +0000

What the Fuk did he just say???

By: 20 Year Old Startup

20 Year Old Startup — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:08:13 +0000

@LOL: Palo Alto Software is a mature 20 year old ’startup’. This is an experienced software development team seeking to diversify.

I think it’s absurd to say that a mix of competitors undermines the effectiveness of this product.

As to whether you’d buy from ‘a guy who works in his house’, well isn’t that what most ’startups’ do?

Good luck with Email Center Pro!

By: Ryan Turner

Ryan Turner — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:00:08 +0000

Email Centre Pro looks similar to Help Spot: http://www.user...ducts/helpspot/

I don’t work for them but I have used there software, so other people might want to check them out also.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:45:04 +0000

Solution Finder-
MailFlow does look like is has similar features, but because it needs to be installed an hosted on your own machines it will require more technical expertise to implement than Email Center Pro. Also the 3 user license, with virus protection costs over $1000.00 up front. What we are trying to do with Email Center Pro is provide an a very affordable, pay as you go model that gives small businesses the tools to manage their customers and leads without needed any IT help. You can get the same thing from Email Center Pro for just $19.00 per month.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:35:14 +0000

I appreciate you saying so, Melvin.

We’ll do a much better job of planning our background for future video efforts.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:32:43 +0000

Allan – You’re right, Palo Alto Software is not a startup. However, Email Center Pro is a relatively new product for us. The original intent was not to be viewed as a startup — but rather to submit something worthwhile for the Future of Web Apps conference just recently ended in London.

I can say with certainty, however, that’s it’s an honor to be recognized by Dan Kimberling and TechCrunch as having a service worthy of their pages.

By: SolutionFinder

SolutionFinder — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:23:47 +0000

We use MailFlow (www.visneticmailflow.com). Seems to do this and more. The main difference is, MF is not a hosted service. You buy it and run it internally.

By: Paul Shadwell

Paul Shadwell — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:15:49 +0000

This appears to be something for people that don’t have Microsoft Exchange (Public Folders can do some of the mentioned above features, or by using SharePoint) or don’t want to go to a fully fledged CRM solution that could take care of all of the features.
Interesting concept, I could persuade some SMBs to look at this as an alternative.

By: Melvin Ram

Melvin Ram — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:04:23 +0000

I don’t know if their product is good but I like his video.

If they just upped the professionalism of the video (namely the background), it would be an excellent tool for a sales person on their team.

Kudos to them for just doing it. They’ll probably improve it as they go.

By: Allan

Allan — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:31:11 +0000

Sabrina – I think it’s a great idea and a worthy service to pay for. You probably haven’t been here long enough to be familiar with “Locator Dude” – he’s constantly spamming the comments section of posts and poops on everyone else’s company and business model.

By the way, Dan Kimerling says you’re a software startup but I’ve been buying your business planning software for many years. I don’t think your company is a startup. Am I right?

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:19:24 +0000

You’ve got it, Startup News. You can point as many of those addresses (info@, sales@, etc) as you’d like into the system. It then centralizes all of that mail, which ensures that no single person has to own all of those messages. Once centralized, the collaborative effects take over — which leads to efficiency and improved work flow.

You can find the pricing structure at http://www.emailcenterpro.com

By: Startup News

Startup News — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:49:01 +0000

So I am guessing that when the email hits the info@ it sends an alert to all 3 cofounders and then they have to go to one place that houses the message and reply from there .. Good Idea but how much does it cost ?

By: paul

paul — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:01:36 +0000

awesome concept, very cool product thanks for sharing this

By: Thom

Thom — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:32:08 +0000

crunchbase says they moved from paloalto in the 80s

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:23:29 +0000

Hi LOL
eSupport by Kayako is a ticketing system for support. If you are a company that needs help managing incoming email in a collaborative environment, but doesn’t need or want a ticketing system http://www.emailcenterpro.com will serve your needs faster, more simply, and is cheaper.

By: DS

DS — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:22:49 +0000

Palo Alto Software is based in Eugene? I don’t trust these guys.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:12:59 +0000

Hi MailboxLocator – I think you are missing the point with Email Center Pro. Who answers the emails that come into the address that you create? Email Center Pro is simply a place to centralize all the emails that you want your entire team to have access to.
Yesterday I emailed a PR firm for a proposal. They had an info@ email address which must have been forwarded to all 3 co-founders. All 3 of them responded to my email. Ouch! Not very professional. This is exactly where Email Center Pro comes in handy. Had they used our product they would have all had access to my one email, but as soon as one of them got into the email to answer it, it would have been archived and only answered once. But all three co-founders would still be able to see the thread.

See not boring at all. Extremely efficient.
check it out! http://www.emailcenterpro.com

By: LOL

LOL — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:07:36 +0000

Hahahaha they haven’t heard of eSupport by Kayako? He acts like his idea is new LOL. Stick to business plan software buddy – and was this recorded in his house? Geez. Would you buy software that runs your entire email system from a guy who works in his house? I wouldn’t.

By: silicon valley dropout

silicon valley dropout — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:04:27 +0000

7 sec over one minute. wasn’t rules of elevator pitch that vids had to be a minute OR LESS this alone tells me this guy and his company cannot follow direction and would be a bad investment. NEXT!

By: Noah Parsons

Noah Parsons — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:03:57 +0000

Here’s the URL for the actual Email Center Pro service: http://www.emailcenterpro.com/

By: MailBoxLocator.com

MailBoxLocator.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:53:43 +0000

boring. i could use a custom email address related to my profession.

what if i could change my email address that better represents me.

tim2004@yahoo.com adds the email location channel that suits his profession.
tim2004@ProfessionalLocator.com

what if i he could the option to use the same prefix across 1300 custom niche location channels? wow….now that is email communication at its finest. custom email offerings are very powerful when strategized, postioned and communicated properly.

most people cannot fathom its potential. email is still the killer app 15 years running.

PostalLocator.com

By: Frank D

Frank D — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:51:45 +0000

Could be good, but I’d have to use it or at least see it in action to know how it feels. Would be good if you had a demo video on your website, since this is not a completely new/innovative concept. Good luck to you guys!