Online service provider enters m-commerce

Victorian web-based services provider WDG has made another acquisition, this time a NSW-based m-commerce provider called SMS Intelligence (SMSi).

Arthur Spanos, CEO at WDG, would not disclose fiscal details surrounding the buyout but said SMSi had “about eight” staff, bringing WDG's total headcount to around 70. “We paid enough,” he said.

SMSi, which claimed “about four dozen” customers, was expected to boost opportunities for WDG in the emerging mobile phone-based marketing and sales sector.

“We have quite a deep skill set in the online space. But online going forward is less about desktops and laptops but more about [all] devices that connect to the internet,” Spanos said.

WDG's last purchase was a seven-figure buyout of Melbourne online marketing company ResultMedia earlier this year.

“SMSi is Sydney-based, so we'll be introducing that services line through Melbourne,” Spanos said.

WDG had no plans to tackle big local players – such as Legion Interactive – head on. Instead of maximising volumes, WDG would concentrate on “value-add”, he said.

“They do a lot of really simple stuff, but the margins in that business are getting squeezed,” Spanos said.

WDG, a Microsoft .NET partner, is 49 percent-owned by STW Communications, a company controlled by high-profile adman John Singleton.

“We want to establish ourselves as a primary [online] services brand,” Spanos said.

ResultMedia helped round out WDG's portfolio of web services, web development and web consulting services, including advanced search engine technologies and online analytics.

WDG last year signed with Scottish knowledge management developer Infogistics to distribute its RealTerm artificial intelligence-based search engine technology.

The company also has a spot on Victoria's government supply panel for web development services.