In The Press
ChannelAdvisor Bases New Online Help on Flare From MadCap Software
Leading Online Marketing Solutions Provider Uses Flare to Convert FrameMaker® Content into State-of-the-Art Online Help Systems and Documentation
San Diego, CA, USA – March 12, 2007 — MadCap Software, the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Visual Studio 2005 showcase company, today announced that ChannelAdvisor Corporation has implemented MadCap Flare to deliver state-of-the-art online Help and user documentation. ChannelAdvisor is a leading provider of channel management solutions for online marketplaces. The company is using Flare, the first native XML content authoring application for single-source, multi-channel publishing, to transform content created in Adobe® FrameMaker® into online Help systems and a range of PDF documents. Flare's transparent single-source capabilities are enabling ChannelAdvisor for the first time to provide updated online Help every two weeks and create customized Help systems for customers.
ChannelAdvisor, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, is empowering industry-leading retailers and manufacturers to sell their products across multiple ecommerce channels, including eBay, Amazon.com, Google, Shopping.com, Shopzilla and many others. In 2006, ChannelAdvisor managed over $1.6 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) on behalf of its customers. The company's flagship product is ChannelAdvisor Merchant™, an on-demand platform designed to give retailers an automated way to manage and grow their sales on online marketplaces. Recently, the firm added SearchAdvisor™, a paid search marketing solution for managing large, complex search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns across multiple search engines.
In August 2006, ChannelAdvisor decided to enhance its customer support by providing a context-based online Help system that would complement the company's print documentation. Because much of the documentation had been created in Adobe® FrameMaker®, integration with this product was a top priority. After confirming that Adobe® RoboHelp® lacked direct FrameMaker® integration, ChannelAdvisor evaluated several content authoring products, including MadCap Flare. The firm then evaluated the products and obtained counsel from several technical communications experts. Ultimately, ChannelAdvisor selected MadCap Flare for its XML architecture, which facilitates single-sourcing, and the modern look of its output.
"We are providing retailers with state-of-the-art solutions for marketing and selling on some of the world's most prestigious ecommerce channels, so it's important for our online Help and print documents to have a modern look that is in keeping with what they see on their websites," said Rebecca McMurry, a documentation product manager with ChannelAdvisor. "MadCap Flare provides the attractive, up-to-date image we're looking for, and it is very easy to color-code our Help content in line with our branding: orange for Merchant and red for SearchAdvisor. Flare is also the most intuitive product we evaluated, and the integration with Adobe® FrameMaker® is very clean."
ChannelAdvisor had committed to deploying its online Help system in Fall 2006, so choosing MadCap meant starting the Help system with the beta version of Flare 2.0 in order to get the FrameMaker® integration and complete the project on time. There also was the learning curve of using a new product. As a result, MadCap Software's superior support and fast response to ChannelAdvisor's inquiries played an important part in the company's ability to meet its deadline.
"Going with the first version of Flare to support FrameMaker® might have been considered a risk, especially with a major deadline fast approaching, but we wanted to put in place the right solution for the long-term," said Ann-Marie Grissino, a technical communications consultant working with Ms. McMurry. "Flare has the right functionality, and equally important, MadCap has some of the most knowledgeable experts in the industry. With MadCap's support, we made our deadline, and the ChannelAdvisor developers were so excited by Flare's cool, colorful context-sensitive Help that they immediately started suggesting new projects."
Ms. McMurry added, "The whole MadCap team was very supportive and provided a strong complement to Ann-Marie's expertise. I don't think we could have met such a tight project deadline working with another vendor."
Since launching the first Flare project in October 2006, ChannelAdvisor has been able to achieve some important firsts within the company. In support of its new SearchAdvisor solution, ChannelAdvisor has rolled out its latest Help project in record time, taking just six weeks from original content development to publishing the online Help system and PDFs. The company also can now publish updated online Help content for ChannelAdvisor Merchant every two weeks in line with the on-demand solution's bi-weekly enhancements. In the past, Help documentation updates were only published with major releases. ChannelAdvisor also is beginning to deliver customized online Help for its customers.
Key enabling functionality in Flare includes the use of variables that allow ChannelAdvisor to make a change once and then with the click of the re-import button have it automatically replicate throughout a Flare project and all of the output, whether to ChannelAdvisor's online Help system or any number of its PDFs. Also important is the ability with Flare to create a connection between a source FrameMaker® document and a Flare project during the import process, retaining the ability to continue editing content in those source files. Any changes to the source documents are re-imported into the project automatically and included in Flare's output. As a result, ChannelAdvisor has been able to take conditionalized text in FrameMaker® and link it to variables within a Flare project to automatically select which content will be published across the different outputs.
"As one of the world's leading solution providers for online marketing, ChannelAdvisor recognizes the value of content that is timely and tailored to the needs of Internet retailers," said Anthony Olivier, CEO of MadCap Software. "We are honored to play a role in ChannelAdvisor's delivery of right-time, best-in-class online Help and documentation through Flare, which provides an important bridge between the power of single-source, multi-channel publishing and the rich legacy content in applications like Adobe® FrameMaker® and Microsoft Word."
About ChannelAdvisor Corporation
ChannelAdvisor Corporation provides technology and services that enable industry-leading retailers and manufactures to sell their products across multiple online marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon.com and Overstock.com, comparison shopping engines such as Shopping.com, Shopzilla, Nextag and Froogle, and search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN. In 2006, ChannelAdvisor managed over $1.6 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) on behalf of its customers. ChannelAdvisor solutions combine best practices, innovative software applications and integration technology to dramatically accelerate online channel sales. ChannelAdvisor's customers include Nokia, GSI Commerce, Sears and Motorola. ChannelAdvisor Corporation is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC with offices in Seattle, the United Kingdom and Germany. For more information, visit, www.ChannelAdvisor.com.
About MadCap Software
MadCap Software is a trusted resource for thousands of companies around the globe for single-source, multi-channel authoring and publishing solutions designed to streamline the process of developing and delivering training content, learning and development programs, technical documentation, online Help, knowledge bases, and more. From authoring, publishing and translation, to cloud-based content management system, to contribution and review in the cloud, you can streamline content delivery and manage the entire content development lifecycle with MadCap Software. MadCap Software’s services include product training, consulting services, translation and localization, and an advanced developer certification program. Headquartered in San Diego, California, with offices in Austin, TX, MadCap Software is home to some of the most experienced software architects and product experts in the content development industry.
