July 2003: Imaginatik Announces Release of Idea Central 4.5

BOSTON, MA (23 July, 2003) - Imaginatik announces the immediate availability of Idea Central 4.5, the most widely used web-based Idea Management software.

The new version continues to advance the use of Idea and Innovation Management software, helping clients like Georgia-Pacific, Grace Chemicals and Cadbury Schweppes, tap into the collective brainpower of their employees to generate new product concepts, market opportunities and process improvements.

In addition to the standard-setting features of Idea Central such as directed idea generation, advanced idea capture functionality (for example identity control, categorization, file attachments, etc), collaborative idea development environment, structured evaluation processes and automated workflow – Idea Central 4.5 introduces a host of revolutionary new capabilities.

The highlight is a new method of Campaign Management, helping companies manage the internal communications with their employees. The feature allows the project manager or administrator to set up a series of e-mail communications in advance of an event, configuring the text and the timing of the communication. "E-mail generates around 70% of the activity for an Idea Management program," says Mark Turrell, CEO of Imaginatik. "Campaign Management makes the task easier and significantly increases the volume of quality contributions."

The latest release includes a number of enhancement to user navigation, particularly useful for advanced users who are often loyal contributors. There are also improvements to the review process, with new collaboration possibilities for private comments. Document security has been extended with improved presentation of restricted documents to help reviewers and senior executives manage confidential documents and protect intellectual property.

Idea Central 4.5 integrates into a number of add-on modules that extend the functionality of the core Idea Management application. The Idea Warehouse is a global repository of ideas, and the new 2.0 version seamlessly integrates with Idea Central, extending the archive search capabilities. The Reward Module, a points-based system that is rapidly becoming best practice for long-term incentives for Idea Management, is now even more tightly integrated with both the Idea Central and the Portal Module.

With over forty installed customers and a five-year year track record of successful implementations, Idea Central 4.5 confirms Imaginatik's position as the most successful, lowest risk software vendor and consulting organization to help companies implement Idea and Innovation Management solutions.

About Idea Management

Idea Management is a relatively new term for a hundred-year old concept, that of listening to employees to find ideas for improving the business. It involves the capture, development and selection of focused business ideas to help achieve corporate objectives for innovation, growth, and cost control. Idea Management is one of the most critical factors for successful innovation, alongside Leadership and Organizational Climate (Source: PwC Innovation Survey 2001). With 80% of senior executives reporting that innovation is the most important business issue today, tools such as Idea Management software are becoming the foundation for growth initiatives amongst the top companies (Source: Bain & Co., 2002).

In the past, many companies have resorted to in-house development of Idea Management systems, although industry experts from practitioners to consultants recommend commercial software rather than bespoke development. Indeed few companies have the knowledge or expertise to approach the area, with less than 40% of companies having any formal process for Idea Management, and just 15% of companies with any form of supporting IT system (Source: CBI and 3M Innovation Survey 2001).

About Imaginatik

Imaginatik is the long-time leader in enterprise Idea Management software, designed to elicit ideas and insights from employees and extended enterprise partners, to provide a shared collaborative space to develop ideas, and sophisticated tools to evaluate and select the top ideas for implementation. The core product is Idea Central, a web based application to collect ideas from employees and third parties. Clients include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cadbury Schweppes, W. R. Grace, Georgia-Pacific, Hallmark Cards and Goodyear Tire & Rubber. Our software has helped these and other companies discover significant sources of additional revenue, as well as tangible cost savings, process improvements and an increased product pipeline. Our commitment to developing the field of innovation is demonstrated through the Imaginatik Research group which is dedicated to developing the underlying theories and best practice together with academic institutions such as the London Business School and the Cass School of Business, London, as well as leading practitioners of corporate innovation.

Imaginatik and Idea Central are trademarks of Imaginatik plc.

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