GroupSystems to Develop On-Demand Project and Program Management Solution for WebEx Connect Application Platform - 01/07/08

GroupSystems to Develop On-Demand Project and Program Management Solution for WebEx Connect Application Platform

WebEx Connect Brings Together People, Process and Applications in a Collaborative Workspace Designed for the Way Business People Work Today.

BROOMFIELD, Colo., – January 7, 2007 – GroupSystems, a collaborative teamware pioneer, and on-demand collaboration applications and services leader WebEx, now part of Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), today announced that GroupSystems will offer BrainStormer^TM, its interactive team brainstorming solution, through the WebEx Connect mashup platform and application ecosystem. Increasingly, innovation initiatives owned by project or program managers rely on brainstorming for requirements gathering, solutions development, and scenario evaluation.  BrainsStormer transforms ordinary meetings into interactive, creative sessions in which participants assist each other to harvest their best ideas and suggestions. 

BrainStormer is an easy-to-use brainstorming tool which promotes idea development and organization, and simple prioritization for teams of 220. Derived from the GroupSystems award winning ThinkTank™ platform, BrainStormer is easy-to-use, intuitive and allows users to work together in highly creative ways. Team members can see each others’ contributions, share comments and help trigger new ideas within the group.  BrainStormer works like a basic instant messaging application.  Participants simply type ideas into the submission panel on the bottom of the screen. Ideas are then edited, deleted, moved into an outline format or copied into other applications.  BrainStormer then allows a team to deposit ideas into one or more “buckets” to organize them. 

“In conjunction with WebEx Connect, GroupSystems is addressing the number one issue facing project or program management teams: effective requirements gathering across time and place,” said Luis F. Solis, CEO and president of GroupSystems. “WebEx Connect users will be able to sample the powerful group Intelligence capabilities encompassed by our ThinkTank total team solution.”

BrainStormer is one of the many applications users will be able to access through WebEx Connect. WebEx Connect will enable users to integrate data from multiple applications into collaborative workspaces custom designed for their particular workflows and business processes. Unlike traditional transactional applications, WebEx Connect is designed to improve productivity by enhancing collaboration and interaction between individuals within the context of a business process. By leveraging open Web 2.0 protocols and collaborative WebEx applications programming interfaces (APIs), WebEx Connect will make it easy to adapt on-demand, desktop, and enterprise applications to create composite, “mashup” applications.

WebEx Connect partner marketing services can help partners create and execute go-to-market strategies, promotions and even generate leads. To learn more about the WebEx Connect ecosystem, go to, http://community.webex.com/connect

“As a leader in group intelligence tools and technology, we are pleased to add GroupSystems to the list of WebEx Connect development partners,” said Shankar Iyer, vice president, strategic initiatives, Cisco WebEx. 

About GroupSystems

Founded by the University of Arizona in the 1980’s with backing from IBM Corporation, GroupSystems is a world pioneer in collaboration teamware for innovation, decision-making and team leadership. GroupSystems has created an important segment of the collaboration marketplace called Group Intelligence, which focuses on the processes and technologies required to seize the collective wisdom of many.  The company supports the largest global customer base in Group Intelligence in Government, Military, Education and Corporate segments.  Products are structured either as on-demand solutions or as on-premise, installed software.  GroupSystem’s pioneering products and customer work resulted in its selection as an AlwaysOn100 top technology company in the United States in 2007, among many other awards.

About Cisco

Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com

With 2.5 million registered users, WebEx, now part of Cisco, is the global leader in on-demand applications and services for collaborative business on the web. WebEx offers a full suite of web collaboration applications for specific business processes including marketing, sales, training, and support. Companies of every size gain strategic advantage by using WebEx to replace high-cost/high-touch interactions with efficient web-touch interactions. WebEx applications work across firewalls and across platforms, making them ideal for both internal and external collaboration. WebEx provides its services over the WebEx MediaTone Network, a secure global network specifically designed for on-demand applications. WebEx is based in Santa Clara, California and has regional headquarters in Europe, Asia and Australia. Please call toll free 877-509-3239 or visit http://www.webex.com for more information

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WebEx and MediaTone are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. Other brands and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Copyright © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.