CINCINNATI; DALLAS; REDMOND, Wash.; PORTLAND, Ore., July 9, 2003 — The Sant Corporation, a leading provider of proposal and RFP response automation software, today announced it has joined forces with Kinko’s Inc., the world’s leading provider of document solutions and business services; PlaceWare Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. delivering Real-Time Collaboration Solutions to the marketplace; and Encounter Collaborative Inc., a provider of comprehensive audio and Web conferencing solutions, to offer a complete solution unlike any before that allows users to create, present, print and deliver sales proposals and presentations faster and more easily, without leaving their desks.
In today’s hectic business environment, businesspeople need to use their time more efficiently than ever. The Sant, Kinko’s®
, PlaceWare and Encounter relationship allows customers to create persuasive proposals and presentations with Sant software; print and ship proposals via the online Sant Print Center powered by Kinko’s; and deliver the presentation live online via the new Sant Presentation Center powered by PlaceWare and Encounter, a PlaceWare business partner. This integrated solution allows businesspeople to save time without sacrificing quality in their documents.
To use the Sant Presentation Center, customers need only access a Web browser, schedule the presentation and provide credit card information. They are billed only for the time they spend online in the meeting. The Sant Presentation Center also enables users to collaborate via toll-free audio conference calls.
“A proposal is an important part of the sales process, and you need to make a great impression. Kinko’s ensures that the document will look professional while PlaceWare and Encounter give you the opportunity to deliver an interactive presentation without leaving your desk,”
said Brian Vass, vice president of marketing for Sant.
“This is a powerful solution that will help salespeople save a tremendous amount of time and money, without sacrificing high-quality customer interaction.”
“Sant chose to work with Encounter and PlaceWare because we offer a flexible pay-per-minute solution that is easy-to-understand and user-friendly,”
said Bruce Frydenlund, CEO of Encounter.
“With the ease of online access that PlaceWare provides, combined with the ease of printing offered by Kinko’s, users have a complete sales-effectiveness solution,”
said Dustin Grosse, vice president of worldwide marketing and strategy of PlaceWare.
“The joint effort of Sant, Kinko’s, PlaceWare and Encounter comes at a perfect time,”
said John McDonald, senior vice president of sales for Kinko’s.
“With greater travel and budget constraints being placed on companies today, this collaboration makes presenting and delivering proposals faster and easier. It’s a big step forward for all four companies and their customers.”
About The Sant Corporation
The Sant Corporation is the leading provider of enterprise-strength tools for automatically generating proposals, sales letters, RFP responses, and sales presentations. Sant’s award-winning software is available for desktop, network, and Web installations. Sant’s mission is to help companies increase revenues by improving win ratios through the use of structure in proposals.
Sant software and services have been adopted by leaders in a variety of industries. Sant is a privately-held corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has sales offices in North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit http://www.santcorp.com/ .
About Kinko’s Inc.
Kinko’s is the world’s leading provider of document solutions and business services. Its global network of more than 20,000 team members and 1,100 digitally connected locations offers access to technology for color printing, finishing and presentation services, Internet access, videoconferencing, outsourcing, facilities management, Web based printing, and document management solutions. Dallas-based Kinko’s is a privately held corporation with locations in nine countries. For more information, please visit http://www.kinkos.com/ . Products, services and hours vary by location.
About Encounter Collaborative
Encounter Collaborative is a leader in comprehensive audio and Web conferencing solutions for the enterprise. Encounter provides, on a global scale, seamless conferencing solutions that enable users to collaborate spontaneously and in real time. Headquartered in Portland, OR, Encounter’s services include integrated audio and Web conferencing that ensure predictability, reliability and security. For more information, please visit http://www.encounter.net or call (800) 290-5900.
About PlaceWare Inc.
PlaceWare Inc., a Microsoft company, is a leader in real-time,
“carrier class,”
multimedia platform and application services for Web-based communication and collaboration both inside and outside corporate firewalls. Enterprise customers prefer PlaceWare Web conferencing because of its scalable, reliable and secure browser-based architecture, which is based on technology developed and tested at Xerox PARC. The company offers unparalleled performance for all types of Web-based communications, from large-scale meetings with up to thousands of attendees through small collaborative meetings, presentations and e-learning sessions. Founded in 1996, PlaceWare Inc. has already attracted more than 3,500 leading organizations that see Web conferencing as a natural evolution in helping their businesses compete more effectively in the global marketplace. PlaceWare helps companies host thousands of simultaneous Web meetings simply using Web browsers and telephones. More information about PlaceWare Inc. is available at http://www.placeware.com/ or by calling (888) 526-6170 to reach the company’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
PlaceWare Inc. and the PlaceWare logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of PlaceWare Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. PlaceWare Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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