You'll have to forgive Digital River CEO Joel Ronning for saying, "Business is actually great right now." Truthfully, business for the e-commerce solution provider has been good, if not great, for quite some time. Looking back, it's difficult to find a channel company that not only kept its revenue from dipping during the economic downturn, but also actually increased its sales with double-digit growth during the past three years. Recently, Digital River capped off another successful year by crossing the $100 million mark for annual revenue, thanks to a nearly 30 percent year-over-year increase in sales.
What may be even more amazing is that Digital River thrived with its e-commerce solutions during a time when the fallout from the dot-com era seemingly robbed e-commerce of promise and momentum. Today, however, Ronning is witnessing a rebirth of e-commerce software and services. Digital River has signed on such blue-chip clients as Symantec, the Chicago Sun-Times and Macromedia, constructing online sales platforms for the companies.
"We're seeing an increase of products delivered via the Internet," Ronning says. "And it's only going to continue."
The company, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., has taken its e-commerce hosting and services business a step further with its "Try-Before-You-Buy" e-commerce platforms. "It has been pretty effective for us so far," Ronning says. "It's an amazing tool to win over customers."
The best part for Digital River is that as its clients grow, so does the solution provider; Ronning says the solution provider is earning more business from current clients that are expanding their Web operations, thanks in part to Digital River's e-commerce solutions. To top it off, the solution provider enhanced its own channel partner program, which teams Digital River with retailers and software publishers seeking to increase their online sales.
"We think we're leading the shift toward digital delivery," Ronning says. "It's a gas of a business."
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