SuccessFactors Launches Innovation Lab to Bring to Life Applications That Delight and Engage Enterprise End Users

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Monday, January 22, 2007; 09:02 AM

SuccessFactors, Inc., the global leader in on-demand performance and talent management solutions, today announced SuccessFactors NEXT Labs (http://www.successfactors.com/next/), a new initiative in user-centric innovation that is solely focused on creating highly interactive, engaging applications for the companies and individuals that are ‘On SuccessFactors.’ SuccessFactors NEXT Labs has developed more than 30 prototype offerings, several of which have already been integrated into the SuccessFactors Performance & Talent Management Suite and are available today.

With more than 2 million individual end-users and more than 1,000 customers, SuccessFactors is now pushing the innovation envelope to make interactions with the SuccessFactors web-based suite even easier, more engaging and fun for every person that uses it.

Historically, enterprise software applications have been developed for a specific type of user or business unit in mind. For example, CRM is used by sales and marketing groups while ERP applications are targeted mainly for use by accounting groups. Unlike these highly specialized applications, SuccessFactors is used by nearly every employee in an organization and therefore must be as easy to use and as engaging as popular consumer-facing applications. SuccessFactors NEXT Labs is taking the consumer standard for design and interactivity in online applications to the enterprise, leveraging the latest Web 2.0 technologies to make user-centric enterprise applications a reality.

“With the SuccessFactors NEXT Labs innovation effort, Meredith Corporation had the opportunity to ‘peek under the hood’ and see the future of human capital management,” said Thom Powell, Organizational Excellence Leader at Meredith Corporation. “SuccessFactors’ maniacal focus on creating applications that not only deliver immediate results, but also provide our users with an experience that is easy, engaging and fun, is ushering in a new wave in the way people work with enterprise software.”

SuccessFactors NEXT Labs is leveraging the latest Web technologies including AJAX and Web services along with Web 2.0 concepts like social networking, mashups, and dynamic information tagging to create value for end-users. The focus is on creating visionary Human Capital Management applications that grow the relationship between a company and its employees.

Today, SuccessFactors announces the official launch of NEXT Labs and is already in the process of rolling out the first wave of their end-user endorsed innovation concepts including:

• SMART Goal Wizard: A just-in-time goal writing assistant that aids employees in creating goals that follow the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound). Methodology.
• Employee Directory: An internal social networking platform for employee collaboration across the enterprise.
• Quick Cards: An electronic business card feature that allows users to instantaneously connect to other employees and access their goals, profile, and other relevant data.

Future innovations target all areas of the SuccessFactors Suite including Goal Management (http://www.successfactors.com/goal-management/enterprise/), Career and Development Planning (http://www.successfactors.com/career-development/enterprise/), Recruiting (http://www.successfactors.com/recruiting-management/enterprise/), and more. SuccessFactors NEXT Labs prototypes are slated for ongoing releases throughout 2007.

“Human Capital Management applications are of greatest value when used as part of an employee’s regular routine,” said Rob Bernshteyn, vice president of product marketing. “The more engaging, intuitive, and fun an application, the more people will use it. SuccessFactors is pushing the envelope in innovation and user-centric computing to make the experience addictive and on par with the world’s most engaging consumer Internet sites. That’s what SuccessFactors NEXT Labs is all about.”

SuccessFactors delivers performance and talent excellence, on demand. The company’s software promotes visibility, accountability, and results, enabling organizations to eliminate the politics that destroy motivation and impede performance. Fueled by the industry’s highest renewal rate, SuccessFactors has grown in the past 12 months from 275 customers to over 1,000 customers and from 1 million users to over 2 million users in 139 countries, across 40 industries, and in 18 languages—all while becoming easier to use. During that period, the company nearly doubled its employee base, currently employing over 400 people passionate about effective human capital management. Carefully managed and executed internal growth has allowed the company to provide the same caliber of absolute excellence in execution for customers that catapulted SuccessFactors into the product, customer and revenue leader in the performance and talent management space. Customers include Kimberly-Clark Corporation, MasterCard Worldwide, T. Rowe Price, Textron, Sutter Healthcare, Direct Energy, Arrow Electronics, Quintiles Transnational, Volkswagen of North America, Lancaster General Hospital and Salesforce.com. The company continues to execute at a level of global excellence by providing an industry-leading, scalable and secure global hosting operation. Founded in 2001, SuccessFactors has 15 worldwide offices collaborating for strong local support of customers. For more information, visit http://www.successfactors.com/.