At CorasWorks™, we believe there is great value to be derived by organizations that use the Internet and web-based applications to get people to work together more productively. The Internet is the perfect interactive medium for people but, to date, it has largely been used for content publishing. People need to collaborate, communicate, and interact with internal team members, external partners, vendors, and customers, and in communities. More and more each day, success depends on distributed teams of people working together.

Such a message concerning the Internet is not new. However, only recently has the technology and infrastructure matured to allow us to build robust collaborative solutions that are web-based and that can impact real productivity by real people at a cost-effective price.

CorasWorks began in 2003 building its products on the Microsoft collaborative platform. This platform consists of Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft SQL Server, and the Microsoft .Net Infrastructure. We believe this platform is the best choice for building the next-generation collaborative solutions because of Microsoft's commitment to each of the elements of this foundation platform and their commitment to making platforms broadly accessible and affordable. Our products allow organizations to transform this foundation collaboration platform into a next generation system for integrated business applications, with a much lower level of cost and technical skill.

We call this next generation system "the workplace." It is simply a front end environment where people go to work. They can be any people, allowed by your organization, working from anywhere, at any time. And this workplace is no longer just static information. It can contain the key business front-end business applications that your organization needs, customized to the way you work. Further, the workplace is not something you buy. It is something that gets created by YOUR organization, as your way of working evolves. Every organization's workplace is unique. This requires an entirely new level of flexibility in how software is designed and packaged. We believe that the key to this required flexibility is embodied in the way that we have designed and built our CorasWorks software to consist of modular components and solutions that are easily snapped together by non-technical people.

Using CorasWorks' software, you can create, without programming, one or more business applications/solutions that are all part of a single, inter-connected workplace. Instead of having to go from application to application to do your work, the work that you need to do and the information to do it are brought to you by the workplace. You can have structured business applications that address specific needs. And you can leverage these applications and the information throughout the workplace. You can even create custom "dashboards" for individuals or roles that show provide people with a unique view of information in the workplace and just the functionality that they need to be most effective with their work. It is no longer a "one size fits all" world.

Many in the software industry are focused on concepts and approaches with names such as Services Oriented Architecture, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, and composite applications. These appear to be advanced technical concepts. In fact, CorasWorks is pursuing the same technical foundation and, to a large degree, the same vision. However, our approach is simply to continually to evolve our workplace forward, working with our many customers and partners, leveraging the technical platform advances of Microsoft, and focusing on ease, convenience, and practical usefulness.

Using the CorasWorks Workplace modular software, you can create, without programming, one or more business applications/solutions that are all part of a single, integrated workplace. Instead of having to go from application to application to do your work, the work that you need to do and the information to do it are brought to you by the workplace. You can have structured business applications that address specific needs. And you can leverage these applications and the information throughout the workplace. You can even create custom dashboards for individuals or roles that show people a unique view of the workplace.

In many ways, we are just at the beginning. Our core product, the CorasWorks Workplace Suite™, is in its 9th version. Yet, there is much more to come. Our vision, stretching into the year 2010, is of truly powerful business workplaces providing an integrated set of collaboration, communications, and work management capabilities as a single integrated system. How does this change things?

• Many, many of the stand-alone business applications, whether custom programmed or off-the-shelf, will disappear over time.

• The need for middleware to cobble together stand-alone applications will disappear over time.

• Shared directories on file servers will disappear over time.

• The distinction between e-mail, IM, intranets and extranets will disappear over time.

• You'll have a single workplace with all of these capabilities, built without any custom programming.

• This workplace will tie into your back-end systems.

• Your workplace will connect with other workplaces.

• You'll have a simple, common, secure infrastructure and platform managed by IT, and the workplace environment will be the province of the business managers, supported by workplace architects, designers, and builders.

Whether you are a small business, medium-sized company, government or non-profit organization, or enterprise corporation, you may have wondered when that virtual workplace of the future, so prominent in science fiction movies, will be practical and fully available. Today, it is practical.

You can start adding value through the core set of platform, software, and solutions that are available now. In the process, you will be leading your colleagues, customers, vendors, and partners toward a more effective way of working together - and earning the rewards of leadership. Over the next few years, the tools, solutions, and services available to you will continue to expand your capabilities. By 2010, you will be spending most of your time at work using a virtual workplace that caters to your needs, and, being able to do your work from the car, the beach, or an airplane.

Our mission is to be a leader in making this vision a reality. With the support of leading partners and customers, we are well on the way. Stay tuned...