Company Profile: Attensa, Inc.

In the 1600s, the amount of written information absorbed in an average person’s lifetime was the equivalent of today’s daily edition of The New York Times. Today we are confronted on a daily basis with more information than we can possibly process. In an age of information overload, our attention is the most precious of all resources. Attensa’s work on Attention Data analysis is focused on helping to cut through the unstoppable flow of information that comes in the form of overflowing inboxes stuffed with messages and documents demanding varying degrees of our attention. Attensa is developing software tools, networks and infrastructure – based on RSS technology – that help cut through information overload by watching and analyzing Attention Data (the explicit and implicit behaviors knowledge workers use to identify and process valuable information that captures their attention).

The Attensa end-to-end RSS network: getting to less is more with article-level intelligence
The end goal of RSS technology is tightly wrapped around the promise that less is more. Individuals want more relevant information with less duplication. Businesses want to tap into more of the creativity, wisdom and experience of their employees, teams and partners to solve problems, spark innovation and improve decision-making, while at the same time reducing email overload and communication confusion. By intelligently analyzing information about RSS articles and how readers are interacting with the articles, the Attensa RSS network can deliver more relevant, timely information to individuals on the devices they choose and businesses can take advantage of RSS technology to streamline communication with employees, partners and customers.

The Attensa product line
The Attensa RSS network is an integrated collection of software tools that organize, distribute, process and measure RSS attention streams in an end-to-end RSS network. The product line consists of RSS reader/aggregator clients and client technology, associated workgroup and enterprise servers and an underlying value-add infrastructure that aggregates and triangulates attention stream metadata.

Attensa RSS readers
Designed for the desktop, the web, for web-enabled mobile phones and PDAs and integrated into Microsoft Outlook, Attensa is developing RSS reader clients that use a single RSS engine to efficiently deliver and synchronize information across devices via one entry point to the web. Attensa RSS clients use a unique synchronization system that helps people stay on top of articles coming from websites and blogs. Attensa’s bi-directional true-syncing capability ties desktop, web and mobile RSS reader clients together so articles read, filed and deleted are treated consistently across all clients.

Attensa servers for workgroups and the enterprise
Attensa is pioneering the development of RSS workgroup servers to bring the power of collaborative workspace software and RSS technology to help businesses solve problems, spark innovation and improve decision-making. Scalable RSS workgroup and enterprise versions supporting collaboration and publishing will provide secure data communication inside the corporate firewall and to external partners through a secure bridge.

Attensa RSS network infrastructure
Attensa RSS network infrastructure is designed to efficiently organize, distribute and measure RSS news feed articles and their associated attention stream to deliver the most relevant information to readers.

Attensa management team
Attensa’s management team has a solid track record building some of the most successful software companies in Oregon. Co-founders Craig Barnes (CEO), Eric Hayes (Vice President of Research and Development), and Tim Brown (Chief Technology Officer), have a long history of building companies and expanding markets for desktop, networked and infrastructure software. The team began working together in the early 1990s at Now Software; the industry leader in Macintosh-based system-enhancement utilities and networked calendar/contact management software. Their collaboration continued when Barnes founded Extensis; a venture-backed software company specializing in desktop and networked productivity and digital asset management software. The company was sold for $142 million in 2000. Following Extensis, the team designed digital marketing infrastructure software to help Internet marketing agencies analyze and refine marketing campaigns in near real-time. The technology was licensed before the company launched.

They launched Attensa in June 2005 and in December the company completed a Series B equity funding led by RSS Investors, the first investment fund specializing in companies based on RSS technology. RSS Investors participated in the $9-million round along with existing investors SmartForest Ventures. The new funding brings the total investment to date to $12 million. The capital will be used to fund development of the Attensa RSS product line including web-based RSS reader/aggregator infrastructure, RSS clients for PCs and mobile devices, and servers supporting RSS applications in the enterprise.

You can try and buy Attensa products and learn more about RSS and Attensa’s AttentionStream™ technology at http://www.attensa.com/ and at our blog http://attensa.typepad.com/.