IGLOO Launches an Innovative Framework for Building Online Community Solutions

KITCHENER, Ontario - Open API’s and Widget-Based Architecture Enhances Ease of Use and
Flexibility of IGLOO’s Online Community Platform

IGLOO Software (www.igloosoftware.com), a leading provider of on-demand
community and social software solutions is announcing their new framework for
building community solutions at the upcoming Web 2.0 conference in San
Francisco. This modular framework provides developers with a flexible set of
tools for customizing and extending IGLOO online communities — quickly,
easily and cost effectively.

IGLOO’s new framework consists of four critical key components for
solution development:

- A Theme Manager to create and manage the layout, design and branding
of the community.
- A Global Configuration Panel to toggle application settings “on” or
“off”.
- A drag and drop Widget Manager to create and configure custom
application widgets.
- A core set of Open API’s for integrating with enterprise applications
like ERP and CRM systems, as well as cloud-based applications and like
Google widgets and Salesforce.com.

The platform’s widget-based architecture will allow developers to create
custom content widgets sourced from almost any third party application.
Eventually, organizations will be able to create a library of content widgets
that can be dropped into any page within the online community. This modular
approach aligns with IGLOO’s Web 2.0 philosophy; using lightweight
applications to create and share community content which are fast to set up
and easy use.

The flexibility of the new platform allows for tight integration with
almost any external application or data source. Initial support to view and
interact with external content from within the community includes:

- Salesforce widgets to allow a real time view into the sales pipeline
and easy access to other sales and customer data.
- A Facebook widget to securely connect with discussions happening
outside of a community.

In future releases of the widget architecture, the range of available
functionality will evolve to allow:

- Community content and functionality to be shared as an iGoogle gadget
for easy access to your community data on portals supporting the
iGoogle protocol, including their desktop integration.
- Bringing a community closer together with other social sites, such as
MySpace, LinkedIn and Yahoo! using Google’s OpenSocial.

In addition to the openness of IGLOO’s widget architecture, the Open API
allows developers to access community content for their own purposes in a
secure and flexible way. The API makes it easy to create web and desktop
applications that view content or actually perform actions on the content.
The IGLOO API has been in Beta for some time, during which it has been used
by BlackBerry(R) and Windows desktop clients for “where you are” access to
your community. It has also been used to:

- Create custom import/export tools for community data
- Community content analysis and auditing
- Facilitate single-sign on with external systems
- Allow access to data from other mobile devices or desktop environments

IGLOO understands that community content is also valuable intellectual
property; its Open API gives organizations complete control and access to it.
Some of IGLOO’s key customers are already using this new architectural
framework to create custom branded communities, enable desktop integration
and provide fast and secure access to content from mobile devices.

“The new platform is all about flexibility and modular applications that
enable interconnected networks of teams and individuals within an
organization to work together more efficiently and effectively,” says David
Shak, VP of Platform Development for IGLOO Inc. “Companies no longer have to
spend millions of dollars and wait for months to deploy an application. They
can have team-based communities up and running — with business users already
working in them — in a matter of weeks. It’s all about fast, easy and
affordable access to people and expertise. It’s solution deployment and
delivery at internet speed and our mobile client is very much an extension of
this.”

Discover how easy it is to manage the layout and design of your online
community using widgets; visit:
www.igloosoftware.com/company/downloads/media/widgets

About IGLOO

IGLOO develops online community and social software solutions for groups,
teams and organizations of any size. Our solutions combine Web 2.0 technology
with on-demand hosting, consulting, e-engagement and all of the community
support services necessary for a sustainable and successful deployment.
Organizations use IGLOO communities internally to improve employee
productivity (Workplace Communities) or externally to foster relationships
with members, customers, partners and suppliers (Marketplace Communities).
Fully integrated collaboration, content management and Web 2.0 social
networking tools enable organizations to quickly and cost-effectively create
online communities to leverage talent, knowledge and relationships across
organizational and geographical boundaries. IGLOO is funded by RBC Venture
Partners. Jim Balsillie is Chair of the IGLOO board. For more information
visit: www.igloosoftware.com.

Source: IGLOO Software

Cerys Goodall, High Road Communications, +1-416-644-2254, mobile +1-416-407-2978, cgoodall at highroad.com