PLUM Plumtree Software (MM)

Plumtree Launches Executive Dashboard Solution Based on the Enterprise Web Suite Dole Foods and ADC Telecom Give Executives Insight Into Key Metrics Through Service-Oriented Executive Dashboards SAN FRANCISCO, April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Enterprise Web leader Plumtree Software today released a new services solution for building executive dashboards via the Plumtree Enterprise Web Suite. The services offering, called the Plumtree Executive Dashboard Solution, combines new integration products with a deployment methodology designed to deliver a dashboard application rapidly and at low cost. The typical application combines performance metrics with enterprise search, online collaboration and knowledge management, to give executives a way to respond to events as they emerge across the business. As part of the announcement, Plumtree is organizing its services group to support the development of service-oriented applications at customer sites, and forming a new dashboard solutions team. To support the offering, the dashboard solutions team has developed a new set of dashboard indicator portlets, which are designed to provide executive-level integration of data from many systems. According to an October 2003 Line56 survey, 49 percent of all organizations that deploy a portal have built or plan to build an executive dashboard; among Plumtree customers, the percentage is higher, at 60 percent. Plumtree customers ADC Telecommunications, Cinergy, Hamilton Sundstrand, Mazda, Pioneer Natural Resources, Pratt & Whitney and NetJets have already deployed successful Plumtree-powered dashboards. Dole Foods and ADC Telecom Build Dashboards with Plumtree Dole Foods is working with Plumtree Consulting Services on an IT Performance Dashboard Project which is currently in the pilot stage. "We had a tight timeline for deployment but wanted a highly customized dashboard for our CIO and other IT executives. Plumtree's consultants helped us define a vision for the dashboard and helped us deploy a set of dashboards that give contextual, actionable updates on our financial and IT performance. Working with Plumtree, we had a top-notch dashboard application designed in two weeks and developed in just four weeks," said Dorice Kohanim, Project Manager at Dole. ADC Telecommunications, a provider of global network infrastructure equipment and services for communications service providers and enterprise networks, deployed a Plumtree-powered dashboard that gives executives a real-time view of performance across its six business units. "As ADC grew through acquisition in the 1990s, the company inherited many different back-end systems. We built our dashboard with Plumtree because its framework was flexible enough to assemble information from diverse systems from across our business," said Dan Bridgeman, vice president of Information Technology at ADC. "Through the dashboard, our executive team sees color-coded performance indicators for net sales, cash, operating expenses, headcount and more. We've integrated data from SAP, Hyperion, Microsoft Excel and ADC Analyzer, an internal business intelligence system. The dashboard provides forward looking, diagnostic information that helps our executives see challenges and take action faster -- it's been enormously successful," added Bridgeman. Many Dashboards, One Cohesive Delivery Framework Building on the best practices gained through engagements such as these, Plumtree Consulting Services is now offering a structured program to help companies deploy a variety of dashboards including: -- Executive Dashboards: to compare quantitative data to enterprise-wide objectives, for better accountability; -- CIO Dashboards: to monitor the availability of key systems throughout the organization, for better service; -- Finance Dashboards: to monitor financial data from operating units, providing greater transparency to executives and board members and timelier month- and quarter-end closes; -- Sales Dashboards: to monitor sales metrics across regions and operating units, allowing companies to improve forecasting and react to shortfalls earlier; -- Customer Support Dashboards: to highlight call center metrics, customer issues and customer satisfaction data for better customer service; -- Production Dashboards: to contrast real-time production figures with projections and averages, for better operational visibility and agility. "We believe that the Plumtree Enterprise Web Suite is the most open, powerful framework for building service-oriented applications, but the technology alone is not enough," said Glenn Kelman, Plumtree's vice president of product management and marketing. "To drive our applications strategy, we are forming solutions teams that can provide business and technology support for customers' efforts to build applications such as executive dashboards. This effort, combined with new developer support program for application partners, will allow us to support far more applications that we could develop by ourselves." As part of the services offering, the dashboard solutions team engages with both business and technical teams to identify business drivers, processes and systems involved in the dashboard initiative. Customers can take advantage of Plumtree's existing relationship with Cognos for dashboard integration. Plumtree also has experience integrating other business intelligence technologies from software companies such as Business Objects, Hyperion, Oracle and SAP. The services offering is available for the Plumtree Corporate Portal 4.5, 4.5WS and the 5.0. About Plumtree Consulting Services Plumtree Consulting Services (PCS) provides industry-leading strategic and technical expertise to Plumtree customers through all phases of an Enterprise Web deployment. With a worldwide team of consultants, Plumtree Consulting Services has helped hundreds of customers deploy successful portals, including the U.S. Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Weyerhaeuser, AspenTech and the Apollo Group. PCS provides full lifecycle strategy, design and implementation service, co-deployment services, portal performance tuning, upgrade services and a series of business and technical workshops aimed at helping companies build rich, high-ROI applications. Using the Plumtree Enterprise Web Deployment Methodology, Plumtree Consulting Services helps customers realize their portal vision, from establishing business value and building the technology foundation, to implementing the solution and driving enterprise adoption. For more information on Plumtree Consulting Services, go to http://www.plumtree.com/services/pcs.asp . About Plumtree Software Plumtree Software is the Enterprise Web leader. Plumtree's mission is to create a comprehensive Web environment for employees, customers and partners across the enterprise to interact with different systems and work together. Plumtree's Enterprise Web solution consists of integration products for bringing resources from traditional systems together on the Web, shared services such as collaboration, content management and search for building new Web applications, and a portal framework for delivering these Web applications to broad audiences. Plumtree's independence and its Web Services Architecture allow its solution to span rival platforms and systems, helping maximize customers' return on their existing technology investments. With offices in more than a dozen countries, Plumtree has licensed over 600 customers, NOTE: Plumtree is a registered trademark of Plumtree Software, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries. All other registered and unregistered trademarks in this document are the sole property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Carilu Dietrich of Plumtree Software, +1-415-399-7047, or . DATASOURCE: Plumtree Software CONTACT: Carilu Dietrich of Plumtree Software, +1-415-399-7047, or Web site: http://www.plumtree.com/

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