Both BlueTie and Google have aimed their hosted applications at small and mid-sized businesses, but while the search giant seeks to scale up to large companies, BlueTie differentiates by packing revenue-generating tools into its private-label offering.

Through a partnership with Performance Pricing, a New York-based media sales consulting firm, BlueTie will allow publishers to provide site visitors with a branded email suite. Embedded in the application are BlueTie's signature Featuretisements, ad-supported services like travel planning and search that function on a cost-per-action model. Through a revenue-sharing agreement, these services provide Web publishers, advertisers and BlueTie with direct revenue each time customers complete a transaction--a factor that enables the company to offer the suite for free.

Including Web publishers in its client base had not initially been part of BlueTie's business strategy, but the success of the Featuretisements model surpassed the expectations of both the company and its clients. "We've already exceeded our annual goal for advertising partners," said David Koretz, BlueTie's president and CEO. "We set out to have three signed partners by the end of the year and now we have 19." Koretz said the company decided to broaden its customer target only after a number of Web publishers expressed interest.

But while moving slightly beyond its core small and medium business base, BlueTie, unlike Google, has no plans to move into the larger arena of enterprise SAAS.

"We know that our product meets the needs of small and medium businesses, and we're better served by putting all our energy into that," said Koretz. "Google can choose to play in the enterprise market with industry leaders like Microsoft, but whether their application even meets the needs of the small businesses they serve still remains [a question]."

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