CrownPeak Technology Announces Program of Domestic Software Service Offerings as Alternative to Offshore Outsourcing.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MARINA DEL REY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2004

Package Unifies Outsourcing of Website, Intranet, Knowledge

Repository Management To U.S. Software Services Firms for Lower

Risk, Higher Return Than Going Overseas

CrownPeak Technology, the leader in hosted content management solutions, today announced an integrated program of unified onshore software service offerings aimed at providing companies with a U.S.-based alternative to offshore outsourcing.

With a powerful lineup of service partners that includes NTT Verio, EmailLabs, DoubleClick, PicoSearch, MondoSoft and Lionbridge, CrownPeak provides a completely unified offering, along with a full API and SDK, which third-party developers or client IT groups can use to manage their solutions or implement new projects. Built entirely around industry standard developer environments, the program features ease of implementation, streamlined vendor management, comprehensive training and a monthly fee structure. By drawing upon local experts in specific IT domains, the program places a premium on immediate delivery and customer satisfaction.

In pursuit of cost savings, core business management focus and reduced management overhead, many IT organizations are outsourcing portions of their functions overseas. In late 2002, Forrester Research predicted that 500,000 computer software and services jobs in America would move offshore by 2015. Just last week, Gartner forecast that the number of businesses starting new outsourcing deals will grow by 30 percent this year, amid a shift away from full-service, multibillion-dollar outsourcing deals. In the future, Gartner said, the trend will be toward smaller outsourcing agreements with specific business goals.

Along with potential controversy from overseas outsourcing comes a series of real challenges for corporate IT organizations: the risk of little or no cost savings, increased overhead for communication, project overruns, language barriers, risk of poor service, loss of business knowledge and security breaches.

"Outsourcing to companies with specialized expertise and a fully configured infrastructure is smart business, and it's not necessary to go half way around the world to realize the considerable benefits of this emerging trend," said Jim Howard, CEO, CrownPeak Technology. "Outsourcing at home can deliver cost savings that are as good or better than typical offshore engagements. Software services are often 50 percent or less the cost of installed and internally managed software, while most analysts predict between 15 percent and 30 percent cost savings from overseas outsourcing.

"With our partner companies and our new integrated offering, we provide a much lower-risk solution to offshore outsourcing, enabling companies to obtain the cost/benefit they seek without the gamble of going overseas," Howard said. "We have every aspect of site management covered. We don't hold the application, the data, or the knowledge hostage. And we aren't building custom software, or writing customization code for an installed application, so focus and response time are significantly better than in offshore engagements."

A Bid to Reduce Risk

As a rule, Howard said, software services companies provide fixed costs on long-term contracts, delivering on service level agreements (SLAs) guaranteeing service levels. If a software services firm doesn't deliver, it can be replaced quickly. The better software services providers include an API for internal IT staff to implement and manage the application, if desired. Most software services provide industry-standard developer environments.

Software services companies often provide as good or better cost advantages, according to Howard. Overseas outsourcing can often take years to see the cost benefits, given knowledge transfer and process issues. Software services, on the other hand, can often be live in weeks or months, and cost benefits begin to accrue immediately.

In this domestic outsourcing alternative, the risk of project failure is minimized in part because software services firms are paid monthly. If the system isn't being used, it can be shut down. Software services companies are specialized and typically only provide and manage one or a few applications, and typically have hundreds of clients running on their software. These providers are especially security-conscious, since most stake their reputations on high security.

Onshore outsourcing also bypasses the complications of communicating across multiple time zones, cultural and language barriers. By virtue of the contracted revenue model, software services firms typically have a high percentage of their revenue committed years ahead and, accordingly, tend to be highly stable, Howard noted.

About CrownPeak Technology

Based in Los Angeles, CrownPeak Technology is the first company to provide world-class Web content management software as a service. The company's Advantage CMS(TM) platform is the only solution that combines enterprise-level power and flexibility with the cost and speed-of-implementation of a hosted software application. Advantage CMS(TM) features the easiest-to-use interface of any CMS, and is the only hosted CMS to offer a full API and developer environment. Serving such clients as Crain Communications, Honeywell, The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the University of Southern California, and the State of Virginia, Advantage CMS(TM) manages and publishes hundreds of thousands of Web pages. CrownPeak has been named to eContent's 100 most influential companies list, has won eWeek's prestigious Analysts Choice Award and is a 2003 and 2004 SIIA Codie Award finalist as Best Content Management System.