OpenX is the only relatively smaller player to offer the same three-pillared approach to the display market as us, Yahoo, MSFT and AOL — platform, exchange and network. Therefore I think we need to take them even more seriously than the other exchanges / yield managers that are gaining traction out there (Rubicon etc.). For what its worth I think Tim (their CEO) is really good, understands exchanges and is on top of all the various data derivative options they can plug in or build. And they are focused on signing a big brand name publisher on their ad server to start gaining more credibility among the premium pubs.

Overall we are seeing OpenX, AdMeld, Rubicon and Pubmatic all moving towards the exchange model. This validates the market need but creates a more competitive environment. The key differentiators will be the liquidity available (buyers and sellers) as well as the robustness of the system for 3rd parties.

Additional competitive gaps noted in OpenX: No true dynamic allocation; no integration with buy-side platform; no Real-time Bidder; no Ad Quality controls; no Inventory Quality controls. On supply, Google had 370B impressions per month versus OpenX's 18B, and 1M buyers in AdWords plus 150 networks in AdX versus OpenX's very few.