Intraspect Brings Workgroup Knowledge To Wireless Devices

Intraspect

The company's new software version, Intraspect 5.5, goes beyond enabling a workgroup member to get e-mail notification of any changes to a shared workgroup space, and using e-mail as the medium for contributing and receiving changes. A new feature, C-Mail, enables Intraspect 5.5 to extend that functionality to wireless devices like the RIM Blackberry, said Don Tirsell, director of product marketing for the company, based here.

The earlier versions of the product were integrated with SMTP-based e-mail, whereas Intraspect 5.5 "makes e-mail the central interface for how you interact around the collaborative business processes," said Tirsell.

"A sales rep on the road may be asked for a white paper or pricing. In the past, his answer would be he'd get back to the customer on that. Now, he can use his device to search the workspace for the appropriate document or price and [then request it. The RIM device might not be able to interpret the attachment, but Intraspect will know and forward [the information directly to the customer," Tirsell said.

"We've extended that Intraspect view out, so you can execute commands through e-mail from these devices," he added.

Integrators said making project data available to nontethered employees is crucial. "That e-mail integration is huge; customers have been asking about that, and a lot of them use Blackberries. People don't turn off when they leave the office," said Warren Karlenzig, knowledge services lead for Dimension Data, San Francisco.

Intraspect 5.5 will be available next month. Pricing starts at about $650 per seat, per user, depending on applications used, with volume discounts available.

The software runs on Windows 2000 and Solaris 8 operating systems and Oracle and SQL Server databases.