June 2004
Macromedia Breeze Expands its Global Reach
New localised languages and worldwide hosting facilities make Breeze globally accessible
AUCKLAND, New Zealand- June 8, 2004 - Macromedia (Nasdaq: MACR) announced that Macromedia Breeze has expanded its global
reach through localised versions of the solution and the expansion of its worldwide hosting facilities. With the full
Macromedia Breeze solution now available in English, French, German, Japanese and Korean, global end-users (see quote
sheet below) are able to select their desired language for content, courses and meetings in order to optimise their
communications.
Macromedia Breeze is the first rich web communication system that enables organisations to communicate, collaborate and
train via a single, easy-to-use, integrated solution that includes everything from live meetings to on-demand
presentations. Breeze has also added enhanced document support, custom forms and fields, and improved voice over IP
functionality. For more information on the new features in Breeze, visit http://www.macromedia.com/go/breeze/.
"Macromedia Breeze has already established itself as a global solution which is speeding knowledge transfer within
enterprises," said Tom Hale, senior vice president and general manager. "With the expanded hosting facilities and
increased language support, Breeze is taking the necessary steps to become a critical piece of how global businesses
communicate."
"Corporate buyers are focusing on global web conferencing solutions that are flexible and user-focused to support
critical interactions between colleagues, partners and customers," said Robert Mahowald, research manager, IDC. "The
newest web conferencing products provide close links to other productivity applications, allowing users to launch,
conduct and re-use conferencing sessions without the help of an administrator."
Siemens Medical Solutions, a group of Siemens AG with headquarters in Erlangen, Germany and in Pennsylvania, is one of
the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical
technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting and support services to help customers achieve
tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. The Siemens Medical Solutions’ Computed Tomography division,
headquartered in Forchheim, Germany, uses Breeze to reduce expensive in-person meetings between employees in Germany and
the Joint Venture SSME that produces and develops computer tomography equipment in Shanghai, China.
"The investment in Breeze and all associated investments were very easy to scope. In addition to the software license
and server, only web cams and microphones are required for the individual workstations," says Bjarne Erik Roscher,
Division Information Officer (DIO), Siemens Medical Solutions, CTI. "Breeze saves us money for in-person training,
reduces problem resolution times between the teams and has made us more efficient working together."
Cable & Wireless is one of the world's leading international communications companies providing voice, data and IP services to
business and residential customers in more than 80 countries around the globe. The company uses Breeze as part of its
multilingual learning infrastructure across the UK, Europe and the United States. After only developing four courses,
Cable & Wireless repaid its initial investment in Breeze. The company estimates that Breeze saves them anywhere from six weeks
to four months in bringing a course online.
"Breeze provides a valuable addition to complement our e-learning solutions," said William Ward, e-learning manager,
Cable & Wireless. "It enables the speedy, cost-effective development of basic e-learning and its successful integration with
the learning management system further leverages the investment in both technologies. The multi-lingual support in
Breeze will make the solution even more useful to our global employees."
The Ecole des Mines de Douai (EMD) is one of seven schools that develop common actions such as pedagogic methods and
exchanges (students and teachers), international actions, training (Master of Science) and strategic guidelines.
"The goal of the NTE cell at Ecole des Mines de Douai is to increase awareness, train and support the teachers in the
field of educational new technologies," said Mathieu Vermeulen, ingenieur pedagogue multimedia, Ecole des Mines de
Douai. "With this in mind, we chose to deploy Breeze on our servers. Choosing Breeze was done according to three main
criteria: the portability of the content on every type of browser, the ease of use for the teachers and especially the
integration of Flash animation, video, multiple-choice questionnaires and audio comments within the presentations. The
server aspect of the software, which helps us avoid the installation of large components on the authoring computers, was
also a decisive factor."
ABOUT MACROMEDIA Experience matters. Macromedia is motivated by the belief that great experiences build great
businesses. Our software empowers millions of business users, developers and designers to create and deliver effective,
compelling and memorable experiences - on the Internet, on fixed media, on wireless and on digital devices.
GLOBAL CUSTOMERS BENEFIT FROM POWER OF MACROMEDIA BREEZE
Centro Peruano Americano El Cultural "Breeze allows us to create rich multimedia content very quickly, easily manage
this content and use it to build complete courses. It makes the follow-up process very efficient for the teacher to see
what content has been reviewed by a student in a glance. Also, we found that Breeze is the best solution currently
available in the market to keep our staff up-to-date in the quickest, simplest and most efficient manner." - Carlos
Fernandez, director, Centro Peruano Americano El Cultural, a bi-national institution that promotes the cultural exchange
between Peru and United States
Deutsche Post AG "Deutsche Post AG uses Macromedia Breeze Live in our sales efforts. We were looking for a cost
efficient solution to help us optimise communication between our corporate decision makers throughout Germany. The web
conferencing features including audio and video transmission via web applications are of particular importance to us." -
Oliver Gentges, IT consulting - project cooperation manager Deutsche Post AG, a global shipping leader
National University of Singapore "Our academic staff find it simple to create media rich and interactive online lecture
content using Macromedia Breeze. Furthermore, Breeze allows them to reach out to more students through delivery on
multiple platforms such as PDAs, laptops and desktops." - Melvyn Song, systems engineer, Centre for Instructional
Technology, National University of Singapore, Singapore's first national university with more than 23,000 undergraduate
and 9,000 graduate students
ENDS