User:Tomcat66 g500/Sopheon Corporation

Sopheon Corporation (lse: SPE) is a U.S.-based software developer with operating units in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company has affiliate relationships and partners that sell and implement its products and services throughout the world. Sopheon’s principal offering is a Product lifecycle management (PLM) software suite called Accolade®. Accolade functions include strategic product roadmapping, ideation, and innovation process execution. Accolade is most commonly categorized as a product portfolio management (PPM) application. Sopheon is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands.

Sopheon’s software is designed to help companies make strategic business decisions associated with product innovation by enabling users to assess the value potential and performance of product portfolios. It allows cross-functional teams to collaborate in the conception and development of new products. Accolade’s capabilities reinforce innovation governance by helping to define, align, and manage innovation activities across the product lifecycle.

Sopheon’s customers are in a range of industries, and include companies such as BAE Systems, BASF, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Electrolux, General Motors, Honeywell, Merck, Motorola, Parker Hannifin, PepsiCo, SABMiller and Verizon Communications.

History
Sopheon was incorporated in 1993 in the Netherlands under the name PolyDoc. The company originally created software that enabled organizations to capture, organize and access knowledge through advanced linguistics and language management techniques. Its early products focused on specific processes such hospital protocol management. Through the rest of the decade, the company expanded its capabilities into product lifecycle management and it 1999 changed its name to Sopheon. The company introduced its core PLM product in 2001. The capabilities of the product were subsequently expanded through M&A activity both in the U.S. and Europe. In 2003, Sopheon divested itself of several non-core research services businesses.

Timeline

 * November 1999: Sopheon acquires AppliedNet, a software integration services company originally founded in Berkshire, UK in 1985.
 * September 2000: Sopheon acquires Teltech Resource Network Corporation, a research and knowledge management services company founded in Minneapolis, MN in 1984.
 * July 2001: Sopheon acquires the German-based Technology and Information Services division (AIT) of Aventis Research & Technologies.
 * November 2001: Sopheon acquires Orbital Software Holdings, a knowledge management solutions provider that was founded in Edinburgh, UK in 1994.
 * July 2003: Sopheon divests its U.S. information management (IM) business.
 * August 2003: Sopheon divests its German software and services and information management (IM) business.
 * June 2007: Sopheon acquires Alignent Software Inc., a vendor of collaborative roadmapping software solutions that was founded in Irvine, CA in 2001.

Product lifecycle management software vs. product portfolio management software
The PLM market is made up of three distinct submarkets. One focuses on the transaction layer of PLM and largely consists of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. A second submarket focuses on the technical aspects of PLM with product data management solutions. A third market focuses on the business layer of PLM with products that assist strategic product planning and process execution. Sopheon’s Product Portfolio Management software falls into the last category.

A number of prominent analyst firms have recently reported growing end-user interest in product portfolio management software. In December 2009, Forrester Research noted increasing levels of investment in project portfolio management tools for product development and identified Sopheon as one of the market share leaders in the space.

Accolade Product Suite
Sopheon’s Accolade product portfolio management suite provides four sets of capabilities:
 * Idea development and management
 * Innovation management
 * Integrated portfolio prioritization
 * Dynamic resource alignment for product management planning

Specific Accolade modules include:

Accolade Process Manager, which automates Stage-Gate®, PACE®, [Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act|DoD 5000]] modeling, DFSS, and other new product development methodologies with a centralized best-practice system that supports process execution from the time a product is conceived until it is retired from the marketplace.

Accolade Vision Strategist, which structures and automates market, technology and product planning and standardizes product roadmapping processes. The Sopheon Innovation Process Accelerator, a configurable process designed to reduce the time required for an organization to put a fully functioning product innovation process in place.

The Sopheon Portfolio Accelerator, a series of charts, reports and guidelines designed to help companies analyze their portfolios to determine their short- and long-term strategic revenue targets and meet financial goals.

The Sopheon Roadmapping Accelerator, a visual roadmapping tool designed to enable companies to visualize and anticipate the potential impact of key market drivers, industry trends, and technology developments on product planning.

Customers
Accolade software is used by Global 1000 companies in 58 countries. The company services the following market segments:
 * Aerospace & Defense (customers include BAE Systems, the US Army, Bell Helicopter and Northrop Grumman).
 * Chemical & Specialty Paper (customers include BASF, Celanese, Cytec and Glatfelter).
 * Consumer Packaged Goods (customers include Beiersdorf, Church & Dwight, Reckitt Benckiser and Benefit Cosmetics).
 * Food & Beverage (customers include Cadbury, FrieslandCampina, SABMiller, PepsiCo, Land O'Lakes and Burger King).
 * High-Tech & Electronics (customers include Honeywell, Verizon Wireless and Motorola).
 * Industrial Manufacturing (customers include General Motors, Parker Hannifin, Pall Corporation and Itron).