Starwave to Commercialize Internet Software Suite

Starwave Corp. said it plans to explore the commercialization of its suite of Web site production tools, including one for ad management.

Patrick Naughton, president and CTO of Starwave, announced the company’s intentions at the Internet Showcase event in San Diego. Starwave’s suite of tools is used to create larger Internet sites such as ESPN SportsZone and ABCNews.com.

The suite consists of five tools, including: Web publishing; e-commerce; advertising management; traffic analysis; and database management.

“We built these tools to create and service sites like ESPN SportsZone, one of the most dynamic, complex and demanding sites in the world,” Naughton said. “These tools were designed to scale for the biggest content sites on the Internet. Although the suite was built for internal use, we’re constantly asked if we would sell these products to other publishers. If the market demand and the business case makes sense, we’ll explore that line of business.”

A third-party relationship could entail licensing part or all of the systems for use, the company said.

Starwave was founded in 1993 by Microsoft cofounder and technology investor Paul Allen and is privately owned by Allen and The Walt Disney Company.