Intraspect Scales Up Collaboration Platform, Applications

Intraspect Software has released a new platform and suite of enterprise collaboration management applications designed to help enterprises streamline the development, support and service stages of a product's life cycle.

The Brisbane, Calif.-based company released Intraspect Applications 2 in conjunction with its new Intraspect 5 platform, which features multiple database options including J2EE capabilities; a new framework designed to speed deployment and improve integration; and improved wireless support, the company said.

By building on an enhanced collaborative platform, Intraspect was able to add three new modules to its Customer Collaboration application, a key part of the upgraded suite. Intraspect's new Opportunity Development module is designed to help sales and management teams coordinate account activities across different departments and locations while capturing interactions and customer information for use elsewhere in the enterprise.

The second addition to the Customer Collaboration application is a knowledge base-driven customer support module designed to help customers receive timely answers to complex technical questions. Currently, too much emphasis is put on structured data, said Bob Schoettle, Intraspect's vice president of marketing. The collaborative feature is designed in part to address the 20 percent of "thorny" customer inquiries that would not fit into an enterprise's anticipated FAQ list. Selected queries and responses are added to the knowledge base and can be later accessed by customers with similar questions.

Intraspect also added a program planning and development module designed to help marketing teams develop and deliver marketing campaigns by collaborating with customers, partners and suppliers. The new applications take advantage of Intraspect 5's integration capabilities by offering improved e-mail-based calendaring and task management features, said Schoettle.

The latest generation of Intraspect now integrates with Oracle, SQL and J2EE. The platform also offers single sign-on capabilities, allowing users to sign on only once across collaborative applications and portals, Schoettle said.

Both Intraspect 5 and Intraspect Applications 2 are available immediately. Licensing begins at $650 per seat.

www.intraspect.com