MADCAP SOFTWARE INCREASES YEAR-OVER-YEAR REVENUES BY 67 PERCENT; CAPTURES 25 PERCENT OF MARKET IN FIRST 19 MONTHS OF SHIPPING FLARE
Rapid Adoption of Flare Comes as Demand for Older Authoring Tools WanesSan Diego, CA, USA – November 13, 2007
— Madcap Software, the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Visual Studio 2005 and Microsoft XPS, today announced that as of October 31, 2007, year-to-date revenues represent a 67 percent increase over the same period last year. In the same timeframe, MadCap has also seen an equally impressive gain in its cash position, and the company continues to build on the profitability that it has recognized from product inception.MadCap’s strong financial performance is matched by a rapid rise in market share for its native-XML content authoring software, Flare. Just 19 months after its debut, Flare continues to outperform as the fastest growing technical authoring and documentation tool and commands 25 percent of the market, according to the 2007 WritersUA Skills and Technologies Survey published October 21, 2007. Flare’s gains over its 16 percent market share in 2006 come at a time of declining demand for legacy HTML-based authoring tools, which have shown double-digit declines in market share since the launch of MadCap Flare.
“As more communications move to the Internet, documentation and Help content professionals are seeking future-proof, state-of-the art software that can capitalize on the rich, interactive experiences possible on the Web,” said Olivier, CEO MadCap Software. “MadCap’s ability to increasingly grab market share from older companies in the industry is a testament to the innovation and power of our modern, XML-based content solutions.”
Debbie Richards, president of ANIMATRIX Computer Arts, says, “Customers come to us for our state-of-the-art online training. With its native-XML architecture, Flare supports the best of the Web today and provides the flexibility to adopt new forms of interactivity with Web 2.0. And if our needs change in the future, we do not need to worry because Flare and XML are future-proof, allowing us to easily adapt according to our needs and continually improve our documentation.”
Ms. Richards adds, “I like that Flare is based on the newest design principles that separate the content from formatting. This is available with new XML-based tools like Flare, but not with older legacy HTML tools. Now, because the same style sheet can support different media types, we can concentrate on the content and then publish for either online or CD distribution when we’re ready. Also, I love cascading style sheets, which let me easily edit the style sheet using the powerful built-in editor—or even use Notepad for quick fixes. We’re offering more value in our training content in less time.”
MadPak, the “dream suite” that bundles MadCap’s core products, continues to drive growth for the company. MadPak allows customers to benefit from MadCap Software’s integrated, native XML documentation solutions, combining Flare, Mimic (for movies and video tutorials), Capture (for screen captures and graphics editing), and Echo (for Web 2.0 audio capabilities).
MadCap also is seeing high demand for its recently launched MadCap Feedback Server and hosted Feedback Service, which revolutionize how enterprises get live user feedback on documentation, whether Web-based or on the desktop. The solutions are the first among Help authoring tools to feature cutting-edge Web 2.0 capabilities that allow readers to comment blog-style directly in documentation, as well as rate different topics.
“We continue to be solidly profitable at a rate that is rare for a company, which launched its first product less than two years ago,” said Olivier. “The financial gains are gratifying, but even more exciting is our ability to reinvest in delivering new cutting-edge products aimed at transforming the documentation professional’s experience.”
In 2008, MadCap’s research and development investments will translate into enhanced versions of its current ground-breaking products, as well as the launches of MadCap Blaze, a modern XML solution focused on print publishing; MadCap Lingo, the industry’s first integrated Help authoring tool and translation memory system to ease localization; and MadCap Analyzer for improving the efficiency and consistency of Flare and Blaze projects.
About MadCap Software
MadCap Software, headquartered in San Diego, is just a new name for a group of familiar faces that have been leading the technical writing and documentation community for over a decade. With its flagship product, MadCap Flare, MadCap Software is leading the documentation industry into the future. Through its strategic partner, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), MadCap is delivering solutions optimized for Microsoft Vista, Visual Studio, and the .NET environment. MadCap is home to some of the most experienced software architects and product experts in the industry, including many former core members of eHelp® Corporation, creators of RoboHelp®. Learn more about MadCap Software and its Help authoring suite at www.madcapsoftware.com.
