August 1, 2007 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Managing a medium- to large-sized domain portfolio can be taxing for any individual or company, especially when the domains are spread across multiple registrars, parking services, Web hosting providers and marketplaces.
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The makers of billing software, ModernBill (modernbill.com), seeing opportunity in that challenge, created a domain management and monetization platform called dnZoom (dnzoom.com).
"Hosting companies really just buy domains for other people," says Michael Fountain, CTO of dnZoom. "But they still have to be maintained when they're renewed and when they need to be dropped. We found working with close to 12,000 hosting companies there's a lot of unseen value in domain names."
The solution eases the complicated process of managing domains by enabling users to purchase, monetize and manage domain portfolios through a single, secure interface. The end result is what Dan Kimball, co-founder and president of business development for dnZoom, calls a "community-driven, agnostic approach".
dnZoom offers a range of tools to help users manage their domain portfolios. For instance, Dashboard provides users with a hub with links to other parts of the system, My Portfolio enables users to import all their domains as a group from both registrar and parking accounts.
Additional tools enable users to find new domains to add to their portfolio, track drops and upcoming drops, which can be ranked by Google and find details with various registrars and parking services.
After a limited beta testing period the company made available to about 20 users, dnZoom has extended the offering to a greater audience. Now, anyone is invited to test out the platform (dnzoom.com/beta).
"We've created quite a number of strategic alliances and partnership with various registrars so that users can centralize their purchase of monetization and tracking of their domain," says Kimball.
These partnerships include such companies as Sedo, Register.com, enom, Moniker.com and Afternic, integrating their features into dnZoom's capabilities.
A recently announced partnership with NameMedia has enabled the company to further expand its global domain resale distribution network by allowing Afternic members to list domains for sale on dnZoom's Web site.
After receiving positive feedback early beta testers, as well as a positive response at last week's HostingCon 2007, Kimball and Fountain both are optimistic about dnZoom's future. For now, Fountain says he and his team will strive to continue improving on the platform.
"From a developer's standpoint, we're relying a lot on the beta testers to really give us feedback and direction," says Fountain. "They have the opportunity to shape and form a lot of the direction that we're heading. We have a limited beta that's in progress right now and those that are actually in it are giving us a lot of good feedback."
