19 May 2009 07:00
Embargoed Release: 07:00hrs Tuesday 19 May 2009
SOPHEON PLC ("Sopheon" or the "Company") Sopheon Launches Idea Labâ„¢ Software Solution: Linking Idea Development to Strategic Product Planning and Execution Sopheon, the international provider of software and services for productlifecycle management, today announces the introduction of an addition to itsflagship software system, Accolade®, designed specifically for use ingenerating, nurturing and developing new product ideas. Called Idea Labâ„¢, thenew solution is the result of a partnership between Sopheon and Hype Software,a German-based supplier of idea management software. The new offering expandsAccolade's capacity to strengthen the front-end of the product innovationprocess, creating the first solution in the industry to provide all-in-onesupport for strategic product planning, idea development and innovation processexecution.In most companies, ideation efforts suffer from a lack of focus: too many ideasand not enough resources. Idea Lab can be used to launch and manage campaigns,publicise and motivate participation, and to establish communities ofinnovators who can solicit, share and evaluate ideas. Idea Lab supports scoringand filtering of ideas, as well as voting-based assessment. The softwarecontains process elements that allow submitted ideas to be challenged andexpanded. High-value ideas are forwarded into a gated process for conceptdevelopment. The rest can be stored in an idea bank for future consideration.Idea Lab allows users to arrange ideas by categories such as innovation type,product line, enabling technology or target market, making it easy to findthose that are relevant to specific business issues. Ideas can be ranked,merged or rejected, and similar ideas can be grouped inside portfolios. Staffare incentivised by built-in reward and recognition mechanisms. Idea Lab alsofeatures a navigation engine, Idea Browserâ„¢, that enables easy discovery withinthe solution's repository of concepts, campaigns and idea challenges, inspiringfurther ideation.One of the greatest shortcomings of traditional idea and innovation managementsoftware is that it focuses entirely on the generation, organisation and, inthe best cases, evaluation of ideas. There is no systematic alignment ofideation with strategic planning, and no support to help users traverse thepotential "dead zones" that separate the generation of ideas from getting thoseideas into the developmental pipeline and through to the market. Idea Lab,however, can be linked out of the box to Accolade's broader capabilitiesincluding product planning, product portfolio management, and innovationprocess automation and governance. This integration surmounts the challenges oftransitioning from one process stage to another. At the front end of theinnovation cycle, Accolade's Vision Strategistâ„¢ component delivers automatedsupport for the development of strategic product plans. The plans feed intoIdea Lab, where they contribute to the evaluation of the strategic fit andviability of submitted ideas. The most promising concepts seamlessly migratefrom Idea Lab into the user's Accolade-supported gate- or phase-basedinnovation processes, reducing the time it takes to turn ideas into products.Accolade also supplies the product portfolio management, commercialisation andpost-launch support required to manage newly created products until they areretired from the marketplace."Many organisations struggle to effectively integrate ideation with otherphases of the innovation process," said Andy Michuda, chief executive officerof Sopheon. "In the absence of such integration, potentially valuable ideas areeasily mired in repositories or fumbled in the hand-off to development. Withthe introduction of Idea Lab, we can help companies bridge the process gaps atthe front-end of the innovation cycle and establish direct connections betweenproduct planning, ideation and execution. We expect that Idea Lab will havestrong appeal both to current Accolade customers and to the broad population ofcompanies that are looking for ways to ensure that they get maximum businessbenefit from the ideas they generate."
Accolade® is a registered trademark of Sopheon plc. Idea Labâ„¢, Idea Browserâ„¢ and Vision Strategistâ„¢ are trademarks of Sopheon plc. All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners
For further information contact:
Barry Mence, Chairman Sopheon plc + 44 (0) 1483 685 735
Arif Karimjee, CFO Vikki Krause Hansard Communications + 44 (0) 207 245 1100 + 44 (0) 7515 922906 Claire Verhagen Citigate First Financial + 31 (0) 205 754 010 Paul Davies Seymour Pierce + 44 (0) 207 107 8000 About SopheonSopheon is an international provider of software and services thathelp organisations improve the business impact of product innovation. Sopheon'ssolutions automate and govern the innovation process, enabling companies toincrease revenue and profits from new products. Sopheon's solutions are used byindustry leaders throughout the world, including BASF, Cadbury Schweppes,Corning, Electrolux, General Motors, Honeywell, Motorola and SAB Miller.Sopheon is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and on theEuronext in the Netherlands. For more information, please visitwww.sopheon.com.
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