WOBURN, Mass., Feb. 11, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bridgeline Software, Inc. (Nasdaq:BLSW), a developer of SaaS-based web application management software and award-winning web applications, announced today that in the current challenging economic environment, its existing and future customers benefit from cost efficiency and productivity gains from the web software solutions and services that Bridgeline Software provides. The Web continues to play a critical role in enabling companies to maximize operational efficiencies, interact with customers, and increase sales. Bridgeline Software provides world-class web solutions and services that include web application development, web content management, web analytics, eCommerce, and search engine optimization and marketing (SEO/SEM).
Even during recessionary times, organizations look to maximize efficiencies and discover cost savings by leveraging web based technology. According to recent survey data from Forrester Research, "over 70% of IT and business decision-maker respondents indicated that their organizations plan to increase usage of web content management in the next 12 months." Other trends impacting the importance of the Web to businesses include the increasingly rapid adoption of website access through mobile devices, the unrelenting growth of social networking applications, and the overall pervasiveness and affordability of high-speed internet connectivity. These, along with competitive forces driven by increasing customer demands around ease-of-use and real-time access to interactive content options, indicate that even during the current economic downturn, companies continue to make web technology investments.
An innovation leader in offering integrated web application management software through the iAPPS product suite, Bridgeline Software has developed its solutions and services based on experience gained from developing hundreds of web applications for both large and mid-size companies in multiple vertical markets. The iAPPS Product Suite is an innovative SaaS solution that unifies Content Management, Analytics, eCommerce, and eMarketing capabilities-- enabling users to swiftly enhance and optimize the value of their web properties (for more information, visit www.bridgelinesw.com/iapps). Bridgeline has focused its development of web applications to achieve targeted cost reductions, streamline identified operational efficiencies, enhance customer or vendor communication, and increase sales.
Web Content Management (WCM) remains a key investment for any company so they can effectively reach their target audiences with dynamic, persuasive content in a cost efficient manner. According to Forrester Research, "63% of survey respondents indicated that customer experience needs drive their increased usage of web content management." A WCM system like Bridgeline's iAPPS Content Manager helps customers publish a higher volume of content that is more up-to-date and less expensive to administrate, as well as manage and publish to multiple websites from a single implementation. Beyond customer experience, critical administration and compliance needs are made less costly through an easy-to-use interface that promotes content author adoption, offers an automated workflow/approval process, and simplifies management of archived content. iAPPS Content Manager allows non-technical staff to manage and publish website changes that in other systems, are often handled by expensive information technology personnel causing publishing bottlenecks and unwanted delays.
Web Analytics is a powerful and compelling requirement for both basic and sophisticated web applications. Analytics-driven web applications fine tune web content by enabling better understanding of visitor behavior and needs. These insights allow for more effective delivery of persuasive content (i.e., speaking to the right audience with the right message at the right time). Ultimately this translates into driving more qualified leads to a sales force, higher registrations for a seminar or event or greater conversion of cross-selling of merchandise during checkout. Bridgeline's iAPPS Analytics is directly integrated with iAPPS Content Manager, providing many customer benefits including more accurate and relevant data and the ability to take action in real-time on results learned. Because of the iAPPS approach, Bridgeline customers eliminate two major expenses: (1) costly maintenance of manual page tags, and (2) the need to keep a web analytics specialist on staff as standard content contributors and administrators can easily access and use the reporting within the software. Bridgeline customers that use iAPPS Analytics are able to make significant changes to site content in just three clicks as soon as triggers, such as low homepage conversions, are recognized. Once changed, it's simple to compare trends before and after an update in a single graph and follow those trends over time. With iAPPS, it's easy to manage content, measure its effectiveness and change that content in a single user-friendly interface.
eCommerce solutions continue to increase in sophistication and importance to many companies' distribution models. A quality eCommerce system can dramatically improve your sales lifecycle and provide greater revenue at a much lower cost. Beyond the standard benefits of eCommerce solutions such as 24 by 7 customer access to products, and elimination of geographic limits on distribution, Bridgeline's eCommerce software helps customers achieve greater online conversions, and more effectively drive up-selling and cross-selling opportunities, discovered through conventions such as usability and multi-variate testing. Bridgeline's powerful and easy-to-use eCommerce solution offers back-end dashboard technology that provides real-time performance data and critical system alerts for inventory levels and cart abandonment rates. Bridgeline eCommerce solutions manage online stores for some of the best known brands in the United States. A leading professional sports organization recently saw immediate improvements on its newly launched eCommerce site. Overall sales and total visitors grew significantly, driven by a 200% increase in onsite time, a 35% increase in unique visits, and a 22% improvement in monthly page views.
Software-as-a-Service or SaaS applications are available from any computer, or any device, at any time and from any location. Because most people are familiar with using the Internet to find what they need, SaaS applications tend to have high adoption rates with a lower learning curve. Additionally, SaaS applications are subscription based; so no license fees mean lower initial costs. Having Bridgeline manage the IT infrastructure means lower IT costs for hardware, software, and staff needed to manage it all. Finally, because Bridgeline manages all updates and upgrades, there are no patches for customers to download or install. Bridgeline also manages availability, eliminating the need to add hardware, software, or bandwidth as the user base grows. Bridgeline's iAPPS software is a SaaS-based solution.
Web Application Development is a preferred option over standard desktop software development due to its speed of implementation, relative low cost, and overall versatility. The thin-client approach of web software makes updates effortless-- users need only a web browser to access the latest version, newest feature, or recently added report. Bridgeline Software is able to develop web applications for its customers on a standardized product platform with the iAPPS Product Suite, reducing much of the risk and cost from a build-it-from-scratch effort. Field tested templates and versioned code-libraries are utilized and re-purposed for custom needs, ensuring consistency, quality, and speed. Furthermore, leveraging a standardized software language, such as .NET, offers significant advantages for customers due to its vast ecosystem of available developers, product support, and training. Because of this, customers can more easily and inexpensively support these applications, even utilizing their own resources to develop supporting applications. Additionally, developing on Bridgeline's iAPPS Framework can substantially mitigate risks of home grown applications that can become legacy systems tied down to institutional knowledge of only a small group of people.
A major life insurance company recently engaged with Bridgeline to develop a sophisticated online enrollment engine for sales of its disability insurance product. By developing this as a web application, the insurer is able to push out completely branded and customized enrollment sites to new customers on the fly. Overall management of the enrollment engine is now handled by a small administrative team, minimizing larger staffing requirements and expense. Additionally, personalized educational content for each potential applicant has dramatically improved enrollment conversions and vastly exceeded minimum success metrics initially developed for the system.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is critical in today's highly competitive internet environment. Simply having a website isn't sufficient for promoting products or services on the web. In order to add value to a business, qualified website traffic must be increased through internet marketing campaigns. With millions of sites on the web and the constantly changing parameters employed by the major search engines to determine rankings, a comprehensive internet strategy is required to get to and remain at the top of the search engine listings. Bridgeline's team of experienced Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professionals maximize the effectiveness of online marketing activities and ensure that its customer sites are exposed to prospects that use search engines every day to find their products and services. Bridgeline's SEO programs address every aspect of web marketing, while delivering a high return on investment by increasing website traffic and converting visitors to customers.
About Bridgeline Software
Bridgeline Software is a developer of web application management software and award-winning web applications that help organizations optimize business processes.The iAPPS Product Suite is an innovative SaaS solution that unifies Content Management, Analytics, eCommerce, and eMarketing capabilities-- enabling business users to swiftly enhance and optimize the value of their web properties. Combined with award-winning application development services by Microsoft Gold Certified development teams, Bridgeline Software helps customers to cost-effectively maximize the value of their rapidly changing web applications. Bridgeline Software's teams of developers specialize in web application development, information architecture, usability engineering, SharePoint development, rich media development, and search engine optimization.
Bridgeline Software is headquartered near Boston with additional locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, New York, Washington, D.C., and Bangalore, India. Bridgeline Software is a recipient of the Inc. 500 award for America's fastest growing companies and currently has over 600 customers ranging from middle market organizations to divisions within Fortune 1,000 companies that include: The Bank of New York Mellon, Marriott International, Berkshire Life, Honeywell, EMC, Washington Redskins, T. Rowe Price, AARP, National Financial Partners, The Packard Foundation, DTCC, Cadaret, Grant & Co., PerkinElmer, UBS, JBHanauer & Co., the Gill Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, and the Smithsonian Institute. To learn more about Bridgeline Software, please visit www.bridgelinesw.com.
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