Driveway Shifts Gears

Driveway.com is making the move from consumer-oriented storage host to ASP-enabler with its new Private Label Services (PLS) offering.

“The consumer site was really a proving ground to test the reliability, scalability and infrastructure,” Gina Rubattino, director of corporate PR, told ASP News. “This move takes us out of the pure storage network space and into the value-added applications area.”

The consumer site proved that Driveway could support 7 million registered members hosting 40 terabytes of data. Armed with the resulting experience and infrastructure, Driveway is ready to break into new markets.

“When we consider a solution for an ASP, we consider how storage fits into their offering. Storage should be much more than a standalone application,” Rubattino said.

Driveway’s plans are based on the idea that storage will evolve from something given away for free into something businesses buy, Rubattino said. “Storage can help a site build a one-to-one relationship, and provide a repository for personalized information,” she said. For example, a financial services site could pre-populate a customer’s storage space with information about their trades and companies they’re interested in, creating a repository where the customer will keep coming back for information, she said.

Driveway has several customers who will be announced this fall, each showcasing a different spin on how Driveway’s Private Label Storage platform can be integrated into other sites, including relationship management, storage infrastructure and outsourced storage, as well as a wireless online file management offering with Laplink.com, which was announced in June and is currently in beta, Rubattino said.

McAfee.com will use Driveway’s PLS to incorporate file management, information sharing and communications tools into McAfee.com’s suite of subscription services, which are offered to its more than 520,000 subscribers.

McAfee.com’s current line includes McAfee Clinic, McAfee Personal Firewall and McAfee Wireless security products. Enveloping the “Powered By” Driveway technology, McAfee.com’s applications will retain the look and feel of the McAfee.com site.

The Lycos Network’s Tripod community will offer its members a Driveway account that enables transparent access to their files as well as seamless backup capabilities.

Environmental Support Services (ESS) will incorporate Driveway’s PLS into its Environ.com portal, which offers hosted compliance software titles and a library of compliance information.

With Driveway’s PLS, application-relevant documents can be stored with the application, and can be organized and managed online. ESS will also use the customer’s eRecordVault account, powered by Driveway, to deliver compliance information on a subscription basis.

Driveway’s offerings won’t stop at storage; the company is looking at adding functions like collaboration and synchronization, Rubattino said.

Driveway is not looking to tackle the enterprise-type business, but instead plans to focus on integration at the core application level. “We want to turn storage into a one-to-one relationship instead of a one-to-many,” Rubattino said.