IOWA CITY, IA - September 23, 2009. MetaCommunications today announced the release and immediate availability of Workgroups 2010, a major upgrade to its collaborative process and productivity management software suite for marketing, creative design, packaging and prepress workgroups. Workgroups 2010 builds upon its four core modules for project & workflow management, document review & approval, document storage management, and financial productivity management while extending its capabilities with hundreds of new features and improvements. These new features include a powerful Document Organizer, a simple browser-based proofing tool, and an integrated Developer Center community website.

Document Organizer

The powerful Document Organizer allows users to drag-and-drop any piece of digital media, including files, emails, scanned documents and attachments, into Workgroups 2010 and the system will automatically copy or move it to the correct location on the file server. This technology eliminates misplaced files and the need for users to manually navigate the file system.

Document Organizers are now available throughout the Workgroups suite, enabling users to simply drag-and-drop digital media onto different areas of the system and have it automatically copied or moved. "Everyone knows the pain of receiving file attachments from a customer. First you have to know where to save the files, and then you have to navigate there in the file system. Now with Document Organizers, you can select the customer’s job in Workgroups 2010 and simply drag the whole email right onto it. The Apple Mail or Outlook email and its attachments are copied to the correct location automatically. It’s really that simple," said Robert T. Long, Executive Vice President of MetaCommunications.

For more information on the new Document Organizer and other document management features available in the Workgroups 2010 suite, please visit the MetaCommunications website.

Browser Based Proofing Tool

Workgroups 2010 now has an optional add-on browser-based document proofer that includes easy-to-use markup tools for annotating PDF documents and image files as part of a review. No software to install and no training required. With the new proofing tool, users can open a proof review session from a system-generated email, zoom in and out on the proof, change pages, see other people's comments, add annotations, and complete their reviews all through the built in proofer.

"Our new proofing tool is different from others on the market in its simplicity for the reviewer and its integration with an advanced workflow engine. Managers can now route, track, and schedule large volumes of proof approvals while ensuring that reviewers have access to the convenient proofing tools required to complete their reviews," said Mr. Long.

For more information on the new Browser Based Proofing Tool and other approval management features available in the Workgroups 2010 suite, please visit the MetaCommunications website.

Developer Center Community Website

Concurrent with the launch of the Workgroups 2010 suite, MetaCommunications has also launched a community website called Developer Center. The new Developer Center community website provides Workgroups developers, administrators, and users with a place to share resources, interact with each other, and discuss Workgroups directly with MetaCommunications. In addition to familiar forums and blogs for learning about Workgroups, the Developer Center provides a new Resource Exchange area where Workgroups developers and administrators can find, share, and download pre-built Tickets, plug-and-play Solutions, and example Code Snippets for quickly implementing new functionality in their Workgroups 2010 suite.

"We really wanted a better way for us to connect with the community of Workgroups users, and to provide a way for them to connect with each other," said Mr. Long. "We're launching the Developer Center to address this. It is a central pillar of our strategy going forward, and we've even integrated it into Workgroups 2010 so that users can install resources from the Exchange with a single click."

Developer Center is available for free to all Workgroups 2010 users. At press time all resources in the Exchange area are free, though MetaCommunications anticipates providing a mechanism in the near future for independent developers to market their paid solutions. "Right now our focus is on launching the new website, listening to the feedback of our users, and of fostering the community," said Mr. Long. "We've already been asked by some users and independent developers if they'll be able to market and distribute their Solutions through the website. This is something we are certainly going to support, as we're planning on offering a mix of free and fee-based solutions ourselves. For now, however, everything is free."

New users may use the Join page to register for the Developer Center website.

Tour Workgroups 2010

MetaCommunications is hosting live demonstration tours of Document Organizer, Proofing Tool, Developer Center, and many of the hundreds of new features and improvements available in Workgroups 2010. Interested parties can register for a demonstration on the MetaCommunications website.

About Workgroups 2010

The Workgroups 2010 suite is a tightly integrated collaborative process and productivity management suite for marketing, creative design, packaging and prepress. Workgroups 2010 is comprised of four key modules, and provides an open and flexible solution so that users can adopt the modules of the suite that meet their initial needs and retain the ability to easily expand the solution later.

Workgroups 2010 consists of four core components:

• Virtual Ticket, a configurable project and workflow solution that brings together all the components of your work in a centralized location, including project briefs, job tickets, schedules, customer information, associated document files, and more.
• Approval Manager, an approval management workflow tool for managing, tracking, and scheduling any proof review process within and across marketing, creative design and production environments.
• Digital Storage Manager, a powerful storage management solution designed to integrate a workgroup's file management into the overall creative design and production workflow. The solution associates files with projects, archives & retrieves files, and enables users to quickly find digital files for creative design or production processes.
• Job Manager, a powerful suite of financial management tools that enable users to accurately create estimates and quotes, monitor job costs, quickly generate on-demand reporting and invoices, and share information with industry leading accounting systems.

By combining all four components in a streamlined, integrated suite, Workgroups 2010 unites and empowers workgroups by facilitating collaboration, automating processes, centralizing information, managing workflows, tracking files, and measuring key financial and productivity metrics.

Pricing and Availability

The Workgroups 2010 suite is available immediately. Free upgrades are provided to customers who participate in the Meta Assurance support and upgrade program. New systems are priced affordably with complete multi-user suite bundles starting at $4,995. Workgroups component applications --Virtual Ticket, Approval Manager, Digital Storage Manager, and Job Manager-- may be purchased individually, starting at $1,695. MetaCommunications products are available from authorized resellers, system integrators, distributors and OEM partners. For more information, visit the Purchase page for details.

About MetaCommunications

MetaCommunications develops workflow and collaborative productivity solutions that help marketing, creative design, packaging and prepress workgroups around the world be more productive. With over 1000 customer sites worldwide, MetaCommunications has the solid experience and range of solutions to quickly help creative organizations take their productivity to the next level through improved processes, workflows, and communications. For more information about MetaCommunications, please visit www.meta-comm.com.

Press Contact

Robert T. Long
Executive Vice President
MetaCommunications
Phone: (319)337-8599 ext 180      Fax: (319) 337-3635
Web: www.meta-comm.com        Email: blong@meta-comm.com

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