SmartGRAPE to Compete for $1 Million Netflix Prize

November 26 2006

SmartGRAPE (http://www.smart-grape.org), a collaborative development and open source initiative, announced that it will compete for the $1 Million Netflix Prize. SmartGRAPE is building a global community of talented domain experts and software engineers to develop a superior online shopping recommendation system. This system will be used for a variety of eBusiness and eCommerce applications to improve the overall buying experience of online shoppers. If the SmartGRAPE system can improve upon the recommendation accuracy of the Netflix Cinematch(SM) system, by at least 10%, the community could share the $1 Million Grand Prize.

SmartGRAPE was established to provide a collaborative forum for those interested in improving the accuracy of predictive recommendation systems for online buyers. For businesses selling online, advances in this field can have a significant impact on customer basket sizes and order close rates. Improvements in recommendation system accuracy can also dramatically improve the online shopping experience, thus leading to increased retention rates. Furthermore, the ability to offer such systems through an open source collaborative community helps to significantly reduce the deployment costs and dramatically increase the adoption rate of these systems.

"For online sales to continue to grow, the buying experience needs to improve in many ways," says Bradford Newton, President of GlobalRoads, the primary sponsor for SmartGRAPE. "Accurate recommendation systems are a key requirement for up-selling, closing and retaining today's online shoppers. We sponsored SmartGRAPE to help drive innovation and value in this all important area."

About SmartGRAPE

SmartGRAPE is a new collaborative development and open source community created to improve the state-of-the-art for online selection and recommendation systems. SmartGRAPE is a not-for-profit community sponsored by GlobalRoads Incorporated. SmartGRAPE and its sponsor are in no way affiliated with Netflix Incorporated or its Cinematch(SM) contest. For more information about SmartGRAPE, please visit our Web site at http://www.smart-grape.org.

About GlobalRoads, Inc.

Founded in 2005, GlobalRoads Incorporated, provides sales automation solutions and global IT services to Fortune 500 customers. GlobalRoads helps companies improve sales effectiveness and operational efficiency through enhanced automation and global sourcing of IT services. GlobalRoads is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.GlobalRoads.com.

Source: GlobalRoads, Inc.

Media Contact:

Jan Izzo

Corporate Communications

GlobalRoads Incorporated

Tel: 408.716.8516

Email: marcom@globalroads.com

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