Chris Broshears

During a demo of our software a few months ago, a prospective client--the owner of an agency specializing in web design--commented that he admired the features of our product but was concerned about giving his clients access to a user interface that looked "too much like Windows 95."

Ouch.  I couldn't argue with him, though.  Delivra had added many features over the years, but we had never taken time to refresh or upgrade the appearance of the application.  As a result, the plain-brown (or, more literally, plain-blue) wrapper around our software was not an accurate reflection of the advanced features we had to offer.

That's one reason why, starting today, clients logging in to our service will see a new look to our application.  We haven't done anything crazy, like reorganize the menus, that would cause current users difficulty.  Functionally, nothing has changed.  But we've added color and contrast to the site, and made the styles more consistent with our company web site and other Delivra publications.  Our goal was to give the site a more modern and interesting look, but without affecting the ease of using the software.

Snapshot of new Delivra user interface

Another change we've made with the new design is the removal of Lyris logos and branding.  There was a time when it would have been accurate to refer to Delivra as a "Lyris reseller," which is to say that our business consisted mostly of licensing ListManager software from Lyris and offering subscriptions to access it over the Web under the "software-as-a-service," or "SaaS" model.  When SaaS was a relatively new concept, that was a helpful way of understanding Delivra's offering.  But now, as we enter 2010, "Lyris reseller" is no longer an adequate description of what we do.

For starters, we've been making our own proprietary changes and additions to the software for several years.  Delivra has its own HTML content editor, its own media and graphics library, and its own API, all of which offer more features than the ListManager functions they replaced.  Plus, we've added:

• social media integration (with tracking!)
• our own mailing list import utility
• list segmentation options using engagement and geographic proximity
• our own forward-to-a-friend application.

And our product roadmap predicts that 2010 will be our busiest development year ever!

Furthermore, Lyris is no longer our sole supplier of technology.  Our email is now being sent through Momentum, the mail transfer agent software from Message Systems, with whom we announced our partnership in June 2009.  We've also partnered with Cantaloupe to integrate email and video (again, with tracking!) through their Backlight application.  And we continue to seek out other partners who can help our clients get the most from their email marketing efforts.

Lyris technology has been part of Delivra's product for years, and our solution will surely always contain at least some Lyris DNA.  New customers who come to us after having used ListManager elsewhere will find our offering familiar and comfortable.  But when combined with our own features and contributions from other partners, it's misleading to refer to what we have as "Lyris ListManager."  That's why, starting today, it's just "Delivra," and the new user interface for 2010 reflects that.

We hope you like the new look and feel!  Be sure to let us know what you think or if there are other improvements we can make to enhance your email marketing experience.

Chris Broshears | Product Development