By David Sims
David at firstcoffee d*t biz
The news as of the first coffee this morning, and the music is Aimee Mann's Live at St. Ann's Warehouse, which just keeps getting better and better, as great albums do:
Alexandria, Virginia-based Advanced Solutions International, a vendor of software for non-profits, has announced the release of iMIS 15, which company officials are touting as a "complete, upgradeable, Web-based, not-for-profit and association business software system."
The iMIS 15 product suite provides customer relationship management (CRM), Web site management, marketing communications, fundraising program control, events and education planning, order and inventory processing, billing and financial functions, and business intelligence capabilities.
This latest version of iMIS, company officials say, provides "an easy upgrade path for more than 2,500 companies using iMIS, representing 30,000 staff users and millions of Web users." ASI is also marketing itself as providing "an easy transition from legacy systems to the iMIS 15."
"Massive conversions from old to new systems force associations to grind to a halt and waste money," said Bob Alves, Chairman and CEO of ASI. "The ability to upgrade existing software allows associations to stay current with technology and lower the total cost of owning and maintaining software."
Saying most of ASI's customers need "software with more than just fundraising management capabilities," Alves said iMIS 15 is being billed as a product with "the functionality non-profits need in one database with a single location for name, address, and historical customer information."
The product uses Microsoft's .NET development platform. New features in the initial release of iMIS 15 include browser-based views of iMIS for staff, casual, and public users, improved installation and log-in functionality; and the iMIS System Architect, described by company officials as "a set of administrative and development tools that provide improved product flexibility."
IMIS 15 can be delivered via a hosted model from ASI's facilities or delivered from an alternative location chosen by the customer.
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StraightThrough and salesforce.com have announced the availability of StraightThrough ACE
ACE allows hedge funds to increase fund subscriptions by improving prospecting and service delivery with better client profiling and business intelligence. StraightThrough ACE for Hedge Funds joins the more than two dozen applications in the financial services category on the AppExchange. Built using the Apex on-demand platform, StraightThrough ACE for Hedge Funds is immediately available for test drive and deployment from the Financial Services category on the AppExchange.
StraightThrough ACE for Hedge Funds is an AppExchange product for the information and workflow needs of alternative asset managers. It's supposed to improve the day-to-day operational effectiveness of hedge funds by providing them with the means to share and update key firm-wide information on individual and institutional clients, funds, brokers, custodians, advisors and prospects.
The product is accessed from anywhere with a Web browser, and features integration with Outlook and mobile devices such as Blackberry.
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CRM vendor Seagull Holding N.V. has announced that its shareholders present or represented at the Extraordinary General Meeting held in Amsterdam yesterday "unanimously approved" the resolutions for selling the company to Rocket Software that were proposed by the company.
"During the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders the Management Board and Supervisory Board discussed with the company's shareholders the recommended offer by Rocket Software Europe Holding B.V. for all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of Seagull Holding N.V., as described in the Offer Memorandum dated 15 March 2007," an official Seagull statement reads.
In addition, the company requested its shareholders to approve the appointment of Messrs. Andrew Youniss and Troy Heindel as managing directors for a period of four years; and
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Kintera has announced that Christian ministries across the country are selecting Kintera Sphere software as a service to help their organizations advance their ministries, raise more money, and engage supporters.
Recent additions to Kintera's ministry client base include The Urban Alternative, Christian Research Institute, and Back to the Bible.
Kintera might want to ask their new friends for their prayers as well. The Associated Press is reporting that Kintera "will cut its workforce by 16 percent and refocus resources on its core businesses in an effort to improve financial results."
"Kintera's products have helped many other ministries advance their work and we are confident that it will do the same for us," said Paul Young, chief operating officer for Christian Research Institute. "Because Kintera has combined vital applications like CMS, CRM, e-communications and e-commerce into a single, Web-based platform, we are able to operate more efficiently and focus more on our mission."
The Urban Alternative, whose mission is to equip, empower, and unite Christians to impact individuals, families and churches, selected Kintera because of "the comprehensive product offerings available on the Kintera Sphere platform," according to Kintera officials.
"With this development we are able to customize the entire system to our ministry's needs and add specialized features for conferences and our online bookstore," said Dr. Tony Evans of The Urban Alternative.
Like many Christian organizations, Back to the Bible uses radio, television, the Internet and other media to "share Biblical messages and help lead people into a dynamic relationship with God," according to ministry officials. "We really needed a product that would be able to gather information from various sources and store it in a way that will help us better meet the needs of our listeners, readers, and supporters," said Ron Stranhope, CTO for Back to the Bible.
The AP has reported that after reviewing "all of its acquired technology, services and resources," the software vendor is "discontinuing those not core to its business. Divisions slated for elimination weren't disclosed, but Kintera said it will focus on increasing sales of its social CRM platform, which provides technology for constituent engagement, donor management and fund accounting."
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Element Software has released the 2007 edition of its collaboration tool, Copper Project. Company officials say the product "enables commercial and creative teams to share and manage client, project and file information in real-time."
For the first time, company officials say, "customers can gain access to the full-featured product in a hosted (Web 2.0) environment, from $29 per month, or purchase a server license from $499."
The new Copper edition integrates new features like multi-project dynamic timelines, client timelines, invoicing from projects, finite resource control, CRM functions, and iCal and MS Project integration.
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TeleDirect International, a vendor of customer interaction management products, has announced its merger with Wygant, a call center training products vendor. TeleDirect International officials see the merger as a way to "add significant capability" to its Liberation platform, a B2C CRM product.
"Our merger with Wygant expands our workforce optimization product offerings, and provides a true integrated platform," said Kathleen Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of TeleDirect.
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