technology company
A technology company (or tech company) is an electronics-based technological company, including, for example, business relating to digital electronics, software, and internet-related services, such as e-commerce services.
Details
According to '' ...
that develops and provides digital media products and services including
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
games and other apps,
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
applications, computer and
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...
, online transaction systems, and web communication software. Although it started out as an
application service provider
An application service provider (ASP) is a business providing application software generally through the Web.
The ASP model
The application software resides on the vendor's system and is accessed by users through a communication protocol. Alter ...
of hosted
Web applications
A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection.
History
In earlier computing models like client-serve ...
, the company gradually transitioned to the
video game industry
The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide.
The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstrea ...
. In 2009 Outblaze sold its messaging business unit in order to focus primarily on
digital entertainment Digital entertainment Industry includes, but is not restricted to, any combination of the following industries (that themselves have a considerable degree of overlap):
*digital media
*new media
*video on demand
*video games
*interactive entertainmen ...
.
History
Outblaze was founded in 1998 in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and received considerable media attention around the time of the
dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.
Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
."How Outblaze Outlasted the Bubble", ''BusinessWeek'', August 19 2002 At the peak of its activity in the messaging sector, Outblaze was reported to provide services to over 75 million users around the world, with 40 million email accounts operated by Outblaze plus at least 35 million protected by Outblaze's anti- spam solution. In 2009 Outblaze sold its messaging assets to IBM, which incorporated them in
LotusLive
IBM SmartCloud for Social Business is a suite of business networking and collaboration cloud-based services hosted by the IBM Collaboration Solutions division of IBM. The integrated services include social networking for businesses, online meeti ...
. Since then Outblaze has focused its attention on video and online gaming, smartphone apps, and social network applications."Some Outblaze Milestones", ''Outblaze Web site''
Products
Outblaze's various smartphone game apps have been downloaded about 30 million times for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
Outblaze has engaged in a number of policy discussions, primarily via consultation and position papers authored by Outblaze executives.
In 2004 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
) asked Outblaze Head of Anti-Spam Operations Suresh Ramasubramanian to assist the OECD task force on spam. The result was the 25 May 2005 report ''Spam Issues in Developing Countries'',"Spam Issues in Developing Countries", ''OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry'', May 25 2005 which alerted governments and organizations to the specific dangers that spam poses to countries with underdeveloped Internet infrastructure. Suresh has further written a paper on botnet mitigation for the
ITU
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
.
The Office of the Telecom Authority (OFTA) of Hong Kong put out a consultation paper in June 2004 requesting comments on Proposals to contain the problem of unsolicited electronic messages.ofta.gov.hk /ref> The Outblaze response encouraged the government to adopt a range of measures to effectively combat spam, among them: opt-in standards, prompt removal of spammers and hacked or insecure systems, adoption of authenticated email schemes, unequivocal anti-spam legislation, rapid response times at ISPs, and diffusion of better email marketing management techniques.''Response to OFTA consultation paper: Proposals to contain the problem of unsolicited electronic messages'', Outblaze, October 2005 The response was approved and endorsed by the Asia-Pacific chapter of the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (