Denver, Colorado-based Four Winds Interactive [1], an enterprise software company providing visual communications solutions, has been named a ‘Cool Vendor’ based on the April 28, 2015 report titled, ‘Cool Vendors for Content Management, 2015” by Gartner Inc. [2].
[3]David Levin, FWI President and CEO
“There is only one company named per category,” says David Levin, FWI President and CEO. “Our honour is in Enterprise Content Management. We believe it confirms our commitment to providing the most powerful software platform available to help organizations connect data and content from any source and display it on any screen.
“Part of our strategy is to go after the enterprises. We’ve made a it a point to develop relationships with IT industry analysts and they cover this sector. We’ve been sharing what we do and they found it unique and interesting and powerful. We now have 1,000 customers in employee communications and have been growing steadily.
“Further, we’re seeing customers going deeper with what can be done in. Manufacturers are wanting to show things like key metrics, quality control. They and others want logistics, integration with systems and more.”
Levin told us that the company is moving into a larger, 50,000 sq. ft. building in September, remaining in the Denver area. It will house 280 of the company’s total 330 employees. The other 50 are spread out in what are mainly sales offices, These are largely across the US, although there are three people in Dubai, two each in Hong Kong and Mexico City and one in the UK.
“We are under-covering some of these areas,” Levin admits. “Of our sales, 85% to 90% are in the US.”
He says that the new FWI offices not only have an executive briefing centre, but as a whole will also provide a prototype of what a digital office should be.
FWI is the visual layer for digital businesses, providing a comprehensive platform – including integrated software and diverse display options – that gives companies the power to engage their audiences with the right information, on the right screen, at the right time from a single software platform. With applications like executive dashboards, HR information, sales leaderboards, wayfinding, directories, emergency messaging, and more, customers use FWI’s software to engage their audiences and drive results.
Being designated as a Cool Vendor by Gartner “confirms our commitment to providing the most powerful software platform available to help organizations connect data and content from any source and display it on any screen,” says Levin.
Gartner’s report notes: “Enterprises need new content management solutions that can be deployed in the cloud and easily integrate the disparate content silos,” and provides the following recommendations for IT leaders, HR and marketing strategists:
- Assess the ease of use and the user experience for these content management solutions, as well as how the content is consumed and communicated to optimize delivery;
- Look at SaaS alternatives for deploying solutions such as search and WCM, which have predominantly been on-premises. This approach may offer greater agility, flexibility and economies of scale;
- Identify options for the integration and interoperability of the different content repositories in the enterprise. These solutions can enable easier access to the content in those numerous content stores.
The average person switches between devices as many as 21 times an hour, making it difficult for organizations to effectively communicate with their audiences. FWI helps organizations adapt to this new scenario by providing the platform to integrate multiple data streams and highlight the most pertinent information to employees and customers.