Retaligent Solutions Launched To Bring Mobile Clienteling Software to Retailers.

ATLANTA -- Executives of the former ImageWare Technologies today launched Retaligent Solutions, Inc., a new company formed to market a suite of mobile clienteling software for retailers.

Bryan Amaral, who founded ImageWare and served as vice president of Symbol Technologies' Clientele & Personalization Solutions group after Symbol's acquisition of ImageWare in 2003, is Retaligent's president and CEO.

"Retaligent reached an agreement that enabled us to acquire retail mobility software rights from Symbol," Amaral explained, noting that Retaligent intends to continue to work with Symbol as a member of Symbol's PartnerSelect Program.

"We plan to leverage Symbol's leadership in enterprise mobility solutions as well as its base of customers and worldwide partner network. This will reinforce Symbol's position as the enterprise mobility solution provider of choice in the retail environment and will establish the Retaligent software suite as the de facto software standard for on-the-floor retail mobility," he said.

Retaligent has re-christened the suite of applications clarience 1:1(TM), which Amaral refers to as a "robust set of clienteling solutions that provides the sales associate with individual customer data and selling tools that drive best-practice retail techniques." At its core is clarience 1:1(TM) mobile, which can be deployed on virtually any Pocket PC(TM) device.

"Wireless technology finally enables retailers to move the knowledge of the enterprise to the hands of the sales associate -- at the point of decision. clarience 1:1(TM) delivers detailed customer information and relevant customer-specific value propositions to the salesperson on the floor. This increases sales and helps time-starved customers make better use of their time," Amaral said.

clarience 1:1(TM) also can be used across an array of retail device platforms. In addition to the mobile version, clarience 1:1(TM) web is designed to run using a standard web interface on a personal computer or a wireless tablet device. In addition, Retaligent has a version called clarience 1:1(TM) pos, which is designed to run on the industry standard NCR DynaKey POS device. Other Retaligent applications include:

--clarience 1:1(TM) gift -- a self-service application that operates on a retail kiosk and PSS, a specially designed handheld device made by Symbol.

--eSP 1:1(TM) -- a powerful rule-based engine that allows retailers to create dynamic personalized value propositions and purchase triggers for their customers across all of Retaligent's clarience 1:1(TM) applications.

The underlying application architecture is designed to access data from existing POS, merchandising and data warehouse/CRM systems regardless of vendor and can be configured to meet the needs of various retail selling formats.

Amaral said that Retaligent's initial market analysis is consistent with analysts' predictions that indicate a trend for retailers to leverage personalized service as a differentiator in an increasingly competitive landscape.

"We have interest from retailers in a dozen segments, from fashion, cosmetics and home furnishings to sporting goods and consumer electronics," Amaral said. The company believes that mobile retail applications in the store represent a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

"Starting at ImageWare and then at Symbol, we built a solid client base with some of America's foremost retailers. Given our current corporate structure, world-class leadership team and unparalleled products, we believe that Retaligent will be able to deliver extraordinary value to this industry," Amaral noted.

Spencer Trask, a leading venture capital firm based in New York City, provided financing for the transaction.