FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2003
EMS Enterprise 2.2 Incorporates Mail Server Integration
Dean Evans & Associates' latest release breaks new ground in event management
software field
DENVER -- Dean Evans & Associates (www.dea.com)
today announced the release of EMS Enterprise 2.2, the latest in their EMS (Event
Management System) product line. In Version 2.2, the optional Virtual EMS component
of the program can be integrated with Microsoft® Exchange, allowing users to view
the Microsoft Outlook® calendars of people they intend to invite to a meeting and
thereby simplifying the process of choosing the best date and time for all attendees.
EMS products are used by corporations, higher education facilities, schools and
school districts, churches, hospitals, cultural venues and other organizations to
manage the scheduling of rooms and resources for a wide variety of events.
Kevin Raasch, executive vice president of Dean Evans & Associates, believes
that Virtual EMS is the first software package in the event management field to
provide Microsoft Exchange integration.
“We strive to be responsive to our customers’ needs,” says Raasch. “And it has become
very clear in recent months that our customers want and need the capability to confirm
attendee availability, find an available room, request services like catering, and
schedule resources like A/V equipment all from one centralized location. The Exchange
integration available with Virtual EMS 2.2 gives them that capability.”
Enabling staff members to communicate more efficiently was the focus in this latest
EMS release. “In today’s do-more-with-less workplace, ‘collaboration’ is not a buzzword,
it’s a necessity,” says Raasch. “If someone can’t attend a meeting because it’s
been scheduled at an inconvenient time, valuable input is lost. Virtual EMS 2.2
allows meeting planners to quickly scan a number of dates and times to find a slot
that will work for everyone. No more key players missing, and no more blizzard of
‘What works for you?’ emails.”
After checking attendees’ schedules, a Virtual EMS 2.2 user can book a room for
the meeting or event and an email invitation automatically goes to all attendees
indicating the date, time, location and name of the session. Attendees can accept
or decline the invitation with a single click of the mouse. If they accept, EMS
automatically generates an entry that they can save to their calendar to block time
for the meeting.
The new version of Virtual EMS can also incorporate an optional “Integrated Authentication
Module.” This function supports both Microsoft integrated authentication (also known
as “Active Directory” authentication) and customized portal authentication. In either
case, Virtual EMS works with the customer’s portal or authentication methodology,
automatically processing the User ID and password that the user provided when logging
on to the network. This eliminates the Virtual EMS “log in” process and speeds access
to the program.
About Dean Evans & Associates
Founded in 1986 and based in Denver, Colo., Dean Evans & Associates develops,
markets and supports a line of sophisticated software products for facility scheduling,
event management and office hoteling. Their Event Management Systems (EMS) family
of products is ideal for scheduling and managing the rooms, services and resources
needed for events taking place in a wide variety of educational institutions, government
sites and corporations. Thousands of organizations, including four of the six largest
U.S. banks and more than a dozen Fortune 100 companies, rely on EMS software. Other
users include conference and convention centers, cultural venues, sports facilities
and churches. Online demonstrations of the software are available at
www.dea.com, or call 1-800-440-3994 and ask to speak with Tom Schek. Screen
shots of EMS Enterprise and Virtual EMS are available at
www.dea.com/EntNew.asp.