Central Desktop Ups the Ante on Web Collaboration

JR — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:54:50 +0000

Central Desktop is boosting its Web 2.0 collaboration platform with a handful of new features announced today.

The utility — a clear competitor to offerings such as Microsoft SharePoint and Google Apps — adds a database API, time tracking options, and an integrated help desk feature into its summer release. Existing features such as e-mail, instant messaging, and interactive calendar functions remain constant from previous versions.

“We do feel that a lot of customers really want a lot more functionality within a single app,” CEO Isaac Garcia told The Inquisitr.

Central Desktop is trying to carve its niche by focusing on the small- to mid-sized business markets — the area Garcia believes SharePoint is leaving behind as it targets larger enterprises.

“I don’t think we’ll move nearly as high enterprise as they are. We see lots of opportunity in that mid-market area,” he explained.

Central Desktop first launched in 2005 and is headquartered just outside of Los Angeles.

Our vote: Central Desktop offers a strong alternative to the big players in this field. As the relative underdog in the competitive landscape, the company has to fight to pull customers from the marquee names — and its efforts are apparent. The database API strikes us as the most significant of the new version’s additions, with its ability to build custom searchable fields and also to integrate and dynamically link to third-party data. For smaller businesses not connected to a massive corporation, Central Desktop is an option well worth investigating.

The Inquisitr » sharepoint

Central Desktop Ups the Ante on Web Collaboration