Group Chat Solution promotes business communication.
Share:
Press Release Summary:
Featuring complete integration with MS Office Live Communications Server 2005 unified communications platform, MindAlign(TM) 2007 offers federated persistent group chat capability utilizing SIP/SIMPLE unified communications standard. Software offers identity management, protection from spam and viruses, and word filtering as well as ability to transition between different forms of communication directly within MindAlign.
Original Press Release:
Parlano Releases MindAlign 2007, the Most Powerful Group Chat Solution for the Enterprise
CHICAGO, April 11 -- Parlano Inc. today announced MindAlign(TM) 2007, the most advanced persistent group chat solution and the foundation of a growing number of organizations' unified communications strategies.
MindAlign 2007 represents a significant advance in the MindAlign family of products and includes complete integration with a leading unified communications platform and the industry's first federated persistent group chat capability utilizing the leading unified communications standard, SIP/SIMPLE. Other new features include a sleek new user interface, increased user configuration options, advanced high-availability features, simplified compliance architecture, and more advanced security configuration tools.
Integration with a leading unified communications platform -- Microsoft(R) Office Live Communications Server 2005 (LCS) -- provides numerous benefits to users. MindAlign 2007 displays "presence" indicators for users (e.g., online/offline status) that are shared consistently across other communications applications such as those in the 2007 Microsoft Office System and those of Microsoft partners. The integration also provides identity management, protection from spam and viruses, and word filtering with other Microsoft products. With upcoming support for the soon-to-be released Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, MindAlign 2007 users will be able to easily transition between different forms of communication, such as voice, web conferencing, and video conferencing, directly within MindAlign. Parlano is the only group chat provider that has earned Microsoft's exclusive Gold Partner Certification.
By providing a way for knowledge workers to come together around critical topics, clients and initiatives, MindAlign 2007 becomes the ideal starting point for any mode of communication and the logical foundation of any company's unified communications approach.
MindAlign 2007's new federated group chat capability lets organizations build secure internetworks of business-class chat rooms that include customer, partner, and supplier organizations. These federations improve collective business performance through efficient collaboration and knowledge management and are logged to achieve compliance requirements for regulated industries such as financial services.
"Companies are looking for new ways to collaborate and exchange information with their own employees as well as partners, suppliers, and customers," said Jonathan B. Spira, CEO and chief analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm. "The ability to support persistent group chat through intercompany federation is a key element in a company's unified communications strategy that goes beyond its borders."
Other new features and capabilities of MindAlign 2007:
-- Sleek new interface - Vibrant design elements, emoticons, configurable contact lists, and a thin-format "channel-only" view.
-- Improved user configuration - More powerful filters, alerts and folder management capabilities.
-- High-availability architecture - Unlimited scalability through a peer- to-peer architecture that eliminates single points of failure and supports hot backup/recovery.
-- Simplified compliance - Simplified adapter framework that integrates solutions from all the major compliance vendors and provides easy enforcement of "ethical walls" for highly regulated industries.
-- Enhanced security administration - New administration console, increased integration with Microsoft Active Directory, and channel categorization, permitting fine-grained access to group chat channels and automated group invites.
-- Integration with MindAlign Mobile - The first mobile client for persistent group chat, available for Windows Mobile(R), Research in Motion(R) and Palm(R) Treo devices.
As with previous versions, MindAlign 2007 supports connectivity to the major public IM services (e.g., AOL, MSN and Yahoo!) through Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 Public IM Connectivity, a proven capability being utilized by customers in capital markets and energy trading in addition to numerous other industries.
"MindAlign 2007 is an important leap forward in our already proven and successful approach to persistent group chat," said Jeff Schultz, senior vice president of marketing at Parlano. "By fully embracing the leading standards for unified communications, MindAlign 2007 helps put the unity in unified communications, providing a logical launch point for any conversation, whether a web conference, conference call, or one-on-one chat. Everything about MindAlign 2007 is designed to build on our heritage of enabling teams to achieve a competitive edge through better information awareness and higher productivity."
"Microsoft's Unified Communications platform enables information workers a variety of communication options, from both Microsoft and our partners," said Ken Ewert, group program manager of Microsoft Unified Communications. "MindAlign 2007 is a valuable solution for any organization looking to improve communications for dispersed, cross-functional teams, and demonstrates the power of developing and deploying solutions on top of Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005."
MindAlign 2007's features enhance the already proven value of persistent group chat, a communication form with the immediacy of instant messaging and the persistence of email. MindAlign makes it easy for users to follow and participate in hundreds of ongoing conversations even when they are not always online. The result is more effective and productive group dialogue between cross-functional teams around an organization's activities and work processes.
MindAlign has delivered documented returns on investment for sales, trading, wealth management, and IT groups in the financial services industry, including four of the world's top five banks. Results from those installations have sparked recent adoption across other industries where dispersed, cross-functional teams are key to success, such as sales, marketing, product development, customer service and manufacturing operations.
Availability
MindAlign 2007 is available immediately with pricing depending on installed options.
About Parlano, Inc.
Parlano is a leading provider of persistent group chat solutions. Parlano's MindAlign solutions deliver instant, intelligent and persistent group and topic-based messaging to securely connect employees, customers and partners with the right people, information and context to execute business processes more efficiently. Companies including ABN AMRO, Bank of America, Cantor Fitzgerald, Cargill, Citigroup, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, UBS and others rely on Parlano to utilize messaging as a strategic business tool. Backed by Longworth Venture Partners and Oak Investment Partners, Parlano supports its customers and partners from its worldwide headquarters in Chicago, Illinois and EMEA headquarters in London. For additional information please visit parlano.com/ or contact HQ in Chicago at +1 (866) 727-5266 or +1 (866) PARLANO or the EMEA office at +44 (20) 7743 6480.
Parlano, MindAlign and the Parlano MindAlign logo are registered trademarks. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Jeff Schultz of Parlano, +1-312-655-8330 x233, jeff.schultz@parlano.com
