Spiceworks Embeds Social Networking Features into Free IT Management Software
First Social Business Application for IT Delivers Newsfeeds for Servers, Software and Networked Devices into Daily IT Workflow
AUSTIN, Texas (February 03, 2009) –
Spiceworks(TM), Inc. today announced the addition of several new social networking enhancements to its free IT management application, including a feature that works like Facebook newsfeeds to help users track changes to the hardware and software in their networks. In addition, Spiceworks has included Twitter-like messaging for users. These new capabilities are designed to help IT professionals stay better informed on what is happening in their networks and to more easily collaborate with peers by using features similar to the ones found in the social networking tools they already use.
“One of the best things about the Spiceworks IT Desktop is you don’t need a Ph.D. to use it,” said John Schnegelberger, IT Tech, Morgan County Rural Electric Association. “Everyday it looks more and more like the consumer and social networking applications I’m familiar with, which makes it a heck of a lot easier for me to do my job and keep my networks up and running.”
The new social networking and community features of the Spiceworks IT Desktop include:
* IT Activity Timelines — allows users to view changes, updates and alerts for hardware devices and software in a similar way that popular social networking applications allow people to track the activity feeds of their friends. It makes complicated IT “change management” as simple as keeping up with your friends on Facebook. The feature also makes it easy for IT managers to see the complete change history of hardware and software – allowing them to quickly resolve issues when they come up.
* IT Network Feeds — brings IT news, community discussions, educational content, product and vendor updates directly into the user workflow. This information is displayed in-context of the user’s specific hardware, software, industry and network size so IT pros get the critical information they need to do their jobs more quickly and easily.
* Twitter-like Micro-Messages — allow users to quickly share status updates about themselves with thousands of other IT pros and groups in the Spiceworks user community. These include updates on managing their networks, attending a professional conference, or negotiating with a vendor. IT pros can also use it to more quickly and efficiently get the information they need to do their jobs, such as researching a storage-area network to solve a backup problem.
Growth of the Spiceworks user community expanded significantly over the past year. Half a million IT pros are now just a click away from a growing library of knowledge covering more than 34,000 topics in 300 special interest groups and reviews on over 12,000 IT products. This information can be streamed in real-time into the Spiceworks user interface just like updates on your friends are streamed into Facebook or received via Twitter.
“The way IT professionals manage their networks hasn’t really changed much since the early ’90s,” said Jay Hallberg, co-founder and CMO of Spiceworks. “By borrowing ideas from consumer and social media applications we’re making managing your network truly collaborative. We’ve already seen how this approach makes it easier for our users to connect with the people, products and services they need on a daily basis.”
The Spiceworks IT Desktop is a free IT management application designed for small and medium organizations with up to 500 devices. More than 500,000 IT professionals worldwide use the application to automatically inventory, monitor, troubleshoot, report on and run a help desk for their IT networks. It is the first business application to embed crowdsourcing, social networking and community collaboration features directly into an IT professional’s daily workflow.
The Spiceworks IT Desktop is available for free at www.spiceworks.com. To follow Spiceworks on Twitter go to http://twitter.com/spiceworks. To connect with Spiceworks on Facebook visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spiceworks/15382903707.
About Spiceworks
Founded by network and systems management software pioneers, Spiceworks develops the first free collaborative IT management application that incorporates crowdsourcing to help over 500,000 small businesses simplify everything IT. Spiceworks makes it easy for IT pros to manage their networks, collaborate to solve technology problems, and find the best practices, products and services they need day-to-day. Spiceworks is a privately held company headquartered in Austin, Texas with funding from Austin Ventures and Shasta Ventures. For more information visit www.spiceworks.com.
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Spiceworks is a trademark of Spiceworks, Inc. All other names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Media Contact:
Karl Scholz
For Spiceworks
karl.scholz@virtualprdirector.com
(512) 493-0909
Source: Spiceworks