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Kubi Software Defines Collaborative
Email with the Introduction of Kubi Client
First Solution to Transform
Microsoft® Outlook® and IBM Lotus Notes Email Software into an Effective
Collaborative Environment; Combines the Power of Collaborative Capabilities
with the Familiarity and Ease of Use of Email
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - February 17, 2003 - Kubi Software Inc. today
announced Kubi Client, the company's Collaborative Email solution, at the
prestigious DEMO 2003 conference. Kubi Client makes it simple for business
Email users to work together in structured team spaces, without leaving their
familiar Microsoft® Outlook® or IBM Lotus Notes Email client. Unlocking the
potential of individuals and teams to work together more effectively, Kubi
Client enables spontaneous and secure collaboration within the familiarity and
ease of use of Email.
Email is universally deployed by businesses as a primary means of communication.
More than half a billion business users worldwide will work in Email this year,
and Email is where an estimated 90 to 95 percent of collaboration is done,
according to IDC. But making Email function effectively as a tool for
collaboration involves a constant struggle. While Email is well suited to
sending messages and attaching files, it lacks five key attributes - context,
structure, a shared space for project work, consolidated views of project data,
and security - that are essential to teams trying to work together on projects.
Kubi Software's Founder and CEO, Julio Estrada, brings a wealth of experience
developing commercially successful enterprise software, including collaborative
solutions used today by tens of millions of users, to defining the company's
vision. "Business people today are caught in the chasm between Email's
well-known usefulness for communications, and its inadequacy for supporting
collaboration among individuals and teams," said Estrada. "Kubi Client bridges
that gap, by consolidating all of the information and tools people need to work
on projects - including messages, documents, calendars, contacts, tasks, and
timelines - into a single view and within Email. By building powerful
collaborative capabilities into the environment where business people spend
most of their time, Kubi Client dramatically increases the likelihood that
people will take advantage of these capabilities, to share knowledge and
coordinate activities more effectively than ever before."
"For the present and foreseeable future, email remains the dominant
collaboration tool," said Mark Levitt, vice president for Collaborative
Computing at IDC. "Other collaborative tools must not only emulate email's ease
of use and reliability, but also be seen and structured as extensions to email.
Kubi Software is taking the logical approach in providing access to rich
collaborative functionality from within the familiar email environment."
Designed to Be User-Centric, Ubiquitous, Unifying and Secure
"Cognizant understands the importance of collaboration, and of technologies that
enable business people to work together more effectively," said Craig Potter,
CRM Regional Practice Leader, Cognizant Technology Solutions. "We are excited
by the innovation in Kubi Software's approach, and look forward to testing Kubi
Client."
Making its debut today at DEMO 2003, Kubi Client is designed to be easy to use,
yet robust enough to support effective collaboration. For the first time, users
of Microsoft Outlook and IBM Lotus Notes can truly collaborate with each other,
extending the ability of teams to work together within organizations as well as
with external partners. Kubi Client automatically synchronizes project spaces
within the Email environment, while protecting sensitive documents and
restricting access to only invited team members.
"Kubi Software exemplifies what we look for in new technologies that will impact
the way people work," said Chris Shipley, Executive Producer of the DEMO
Conferences. "Email is where business users live a good part of the day and yet
it doesn't provide efficient management of information. Kubi Software has
addressed this issue with an approach that leverages existing technologies
while providing an application that, in a single view, enables individuals and
teams to collaborate seamlessly, securely and spontaneously."
Without duplicating information already stored in Microsoft Outlook or IBM Lotus
Notes, Kubi Client provides team members access to all the types of information
required for collaboration, including:
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Discussions, where any team member can post a message or respond;
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Documents, such as word-processing files, spreadsheets, and presentations, that
can be shared with team members and updated;
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Calendars, for scheduling project events or linking to live online events;
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Contacts, both project-related and personal, to share with team members;
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Task lists, to track who is doing what, when;
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Project timelines, for tracking milestones;
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Team Folders, to display invited members and their status; and
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Kubi Home Page, a consolidated view of all relevant information at a glance.
Kubi Software's innovation encompasses both its user-centric approach to the
application interface and its baseline protocol technologies. The company has
created a new, patent-pending protocol that is:
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SMTP-based, crossing firewalls and leveraging the worldwide messaging network;
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XML-formatted, unifying differences between competing Email platforms; and
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PKI-secured, transparently encrypting and authenticating sensitive data.
Kubi Client leverages Microsoft Exchange Servers, IBM Lotus Domino Servers, and
POP3 servers, while storing project information on the client computer.
Additionally, Kubi Software will offer Kubi Server, to enable organizations to
centralize storage of multiple team spaces, provide Web access, deliver
enterprise scalability, create access to back-office applications, and
administer centralized collaboration policies for all Kubi users.
Now in beta, Kubi Client will be generally available in early Q2 2003, with
pricing announced at that time. Kubi Server will be available in Q3 2003.
Integration with real-time collaborative applications, such as instant
messaging and synchronous conferencing, is planned for future releases.
About Kubi Software
Kubi Software was founded in 2001 to create a new class of business software
called Collaborative Email that enables employees, customers, and partners to
collaborate easily and securely. Collaborative Email combines the power of
collaboration with the familiarity and ease of use of Email. Founder and CEO
Julio Estrada has extensive experience in developing commercially successful
software, including chief-architect roles for Lotus QuickPlace and Lotus Domino
Web Server - collaboration solutions used today by tens of millions of users.
Kubi Software's world-class executive team brings management expertise from
enterprise software companies, while its blue-chip investors include Lazard
Technology Partners and Venture Investment Management Company LLC (VIMAC).
All trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
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