Project Management System Joint Contact Gains Momentum Small Businesses Benefit from Easy, Affordable Online Project Management Tool

Seattle, July 14th, 2008 -  The web-based project management system Joint Contact gains momentum with small business owners, freelancers, and independent professionals. "Just like any business, small business owners want to manage information related to their projects in an effective way," said Wayne Bishop, CEO of Arbutus Software Inc., the Seattle-based software company that developed and launched Joint Contact in January 2008.

"We notice that small business owners are getting hooked on Joint Contact because it's an easy-to-use tool that extends the usefulness of e-mail and allows them to share and manage content at the same time," said Wayne Bishop. Joint Contact enables people to collaborate on multiple projects using a secure online environment where they can share, store, and organize information.

Managing Project Communications
Compared to other web-based project management tools, such as LiquidPlanner, Joint Contact enables its users to track and manage the entire communication and information flow associated with a project. Users can link ongoing discussions to content, such as documents, images, spread sheets, presentations, contacts, and tasks. "Before we used Joint Contact, we preserved ideas by memory and documents were buried in e-mail attachments," said Julie Vieira of A Nun's Life. The ability to connect "conversations" with "work documents" helps users stay focused and organized while working on a project.

Easy Project Management Tool
Joint Contact provides small businesses with a straightforward project management tool that helps them collaborate with their customers, partners, and employees. How does Joint Contact work? First, a business owner creates a shared online workspace dedicated to a specific project. Then, the business owner invites anyone involved in the project to enter the online workspace. Next, the project members start collaborating: they share, store, and manage discussions, documents, tasks, contacts, and other content. In addition, project members can also notify each other of updates by sending e-mail messages directly from Joint Contact.

Affordable Service
Joint Contact is a subscription based service, can be tried out for free, and requires minimal set up. "Because small businesses typically have limited resources we offer a project management tool that fits their budget and that skips the hassle of installing software," said Wayne Bishop, CEO of Arbutus Software Inc. Users only need to create an online account to start using Joint Contact. By logging in to their account users can access Joint Contact anywhere and anytime.

 

About Arbutus Software Inc.
Established in 2003, Arbutus Software Inc. is a Seattle-based software development firm that provides custom software applications and internet systems for businesses of any size. Arbutus has developed web-based scheduling, supply chain, inventory management, and content management solutions for private companies and government organizations. Arbutus' vision is to help shape technology to meet business challenges by increasing workplace productivity and streamlining automation.