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| October 11, 2006 | Pres Release |
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| Coghead Launches Era of Powerful Do-It-Yourself Business Applications |
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| Portfolio Company: Coghead |
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Self-Service Website Enables Tech-Savvy Businesspeople to Create, Manage, and Deliver Their Own Web-Based Applications
SAN FRANCISCO--Coghead today unveiled a radically new way for tech-savvy businesspeople to create, manage, and deliver their own web-based applications. With Coghead, the people closest to a business challenge can create a solution in just hours or days -- instead of weeks or months -- at a fraction of the cost of large packaged applications or custom development projects.
Most companies are facing software rigor mortis, shackled by inflexible and monolithic packaged applications. The alternative -- custom application development -- is notorious for being time-intensive and cost-prohibitive. Designed for small to medium businesses (SMBs) and workgroups of larger corporations, Coghead allows tech-savvy businesspeople to create and run powerful business applications, complete with customizable forms, business logic, and database capabilities. Coghead applications require no additional IT infrastructure and can be accessed using any standard browser and Internet connection.
The do-it-yourself web is poised to completely change the way software is developed and accessed. According to John Seely Brown, the former director of Xerox PARC and a Coghead advisor, “Bringing do-it-yourself to the office is the beginning of a new movement to free up creativity at the individual office worker level. I think we have the perfect storm for some major changes in the creation and use of software that will impact the evolution of the market for years to come.”
Private beta subscribers are already using the Coghead service, including Gear6, InsideTrack, Morrison Express, and Primitive Logic. The range of applications that Coghead members can develop is nearly limitless. Popular applications have been for project management, asset tracking, incident management, customer relationship management, and HR provisioning. Coghead members can also create applications to sell to other members or can choose to contribute those applications to the Coghead community.
“With Coghead we rapidly created a customized sales management application to meet our specific needs,” said Paul Fu, CIO and vice president of corporate development for Morrison Express, a global supply chain services and logistics provider. “More importantly, we can extend and adapt this solution to changing needs -- without the need for a dedicated software development team.”
Once members register at www.coghead.com, they can begin using the visual tools to create a new application from scratch, or they can start with one of dozens of pre-built applications available in the Coghead library and modify it as necessary. Coghead members will have access to other forms of community-generated content including support forums and discussion groups.
“There is a gap in the software market that has long gone unfilled. Packaged software is inadequate for solving many business challenges, while custom application development is simply too costly or time consuming. As a result, many businesspeople have been forced to settle for manual processes or emailing spreadsheets as a solution,” said Paul McNamara, Coghead CEO. “Coghead puts control in the hands of the people who are closest to a challenge by giving them a simple and adaptable way to create an application that meets their exact needs.”
Availability
A public beta version of the Coghead service is available today and the service is expected to be generally available in the first quarter of 2007. Coghead will be available as a subscription service and the company plans to offer free single-user accounts and fee-based multi-user accounts. Members will have access to online support from Coghead, as well as support forums and discussion groups with other Coghead members. Coghead also plans to provide the infrastructure to enable software entrepreneurs to build a business around their Coghead applications. To register for the beta version, go to www.coghead.com. |
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