think the biggest breakthrough for us came in 2003 or 2004 with the understanding that there was an open-source product called OS Commerce that had a large following — but the service providers on the market weren’t really sophisticated, and there weren’t that many of them. Roy Rubin was a student trying to make extra money on the side when he founded Varien, the company that went on to launch Magento, an ecommerce platform that enables billions of dollars in online sales. He came to Mixergy to talk about why Varien grew (it had a lot to do with focus) and how the

The new tracking system is in addition to RoyaltyShare's existing software for tracking digital music purchases and royalties. San Diego-based RoyaltyShare said this morning it will be developing a new system for tracking limited downloads and interactive streaming. According to RoyaltyShare, it will be rolling out a platform which tracks and automates the tracking of music subscriptions and streaming, based on the recent agreement by the music industry on revenue sharing for streamed music.

Agoura Hills-based Symark , a developer of identity management and access software, said Thursday that the firm is launching a new division focused on professional services. The firm said the new service will help to reduce the risks associated with new deployment of its products. Symark develops software for the UNIX and Linux market to manage user accounts and passwords. ...Tags: Matthew S. Collier has been appointed EVP of the new practice, the firm said.

Santa Monica-based Zag.com , the online car buying software firm headed by Scott Painter, announced this morning that it has inked a deal with the AAA, to power a new service called AAA Automaker. Zag provides the technology to power affiliate car buying services, allowing members of associations like the AAA to get fully configured, exact quotes on new cars at pre-negotiated prices. According to Zag, the firm will provide a turnkey, fully integrated auto buying program for the site, which will offer resources to research and compare vehicles, read AAA editorial reviews, and configure and purchase vehicles.

Valencia-based Arvato Digital Services , a provider of supply chain, post production, replication, and software distribution services, said this morning it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Protexis, a provider of digital software distribution tools. Protexis provides digital distribution of software titles, and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Financial terms were not disclosed. Arvato is a division of Bertelsmann AG.

San Diego-based Continuous Computing , a provider of telecom and wireless software, disclosed today that the firm is launching a new solutions and services business. Continuous Computing previously licensed its software to wireless hardware firms, who would implement it in their products. The firm said the new service comes as it finds that network equipment manufacturers are finding it difficult The firm said the new solutions-focused business will help deliver customized, fully-integrated applications to network equipment providers. Tags: services software continuous

Los Angeles-based Passenger , a developer of software used by brands to run online communities for their customers, announced today that it has released a new version of its platform. According to the company, it has expanded its product to allow agencies to build and manage their own communities using its software. Previously, Passenger provided full-service development of those communities. Passenger's software allows brands to develop communities with discussion boards, surveys, and polls. The firm is backed by Shelter Capital Partners, StarVest Partners and Steamboat

Los Angeles-based SOA Software , a developer of software tools used by enterprises to connect various IT systems, said Tuesday that the firm had 55 percent annual revenue growth in 2009. SOA Software develops Service-oriented Architecture governance software, used to manage enterprise software SOA implementations. Tags: growth architecture oriented service The firm said the firm was also profitable for the full year, though it did not disclose any actual financials. The firm attributed the revenue growth to new customers, as well as existing customers

Pasadena-based X1 Technologies, a developer of desktop and enterprise search software, is setting its sights on the eDiscovery market, saying this morning that it has created a new offering specifically aimed at the eDiscovery market. X1 said it has built a solution, based on its X1 enterprise search technology and professional services, called X1 eDiscovery Search Suite. The new tool is focused on helping companies who need to produce electronic documents, due to lawsuits. Cost of the new software was not released.

Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand revealed Tuesday that the firm has scored what it claims is the "largest global implementation" of software-as-a-service, with human resources firm Kelly Services. According to Cornerstone OnDemand, Kelly Services will use the firm's talent management software for nearly 659,000 employees worldwide. According Financial impact of the deal was not disclosed. Kelly is a staffing firm, managing around 650,000 temporary staffers. ...Tags: