RNS Number : 5565N
Gladstone PLC
19 February 2009
|
Press Release
|
19 February 2009
|
Gladstone plc
('Gladstone' or 'the Company')
Release of key upgrades to flagship product Plus2 and
its extended web-based capabilities
Gladstone plc (AIM:GLD.L), the leading provider of software solutions and services to the Health & Leisure and Education markets, is pleased to announce that it has successfully released key upgrades to its flagship Plus2 membership relationship management ('MRM') solution, and its recently deployed Customer Service suite, the web-based customer service software suite
consisting of the Connect and Kiosk products.
The software upgrades are part of Gladstone's continual investment programme in its products, with the aim of further strengthening the Company's leading position in the health and leisure market while facilitating its further penetration into other sectors and geographies. A number of Gladstone's customers have already purchased and installed the upgrades at their leisure centres and health clubs, to benefit from these latest enhancements.
The upgrades seamlessly integrate three of Gladstone's core products to enable gym owners, health club managers and leisure centre management to substantially improve customer service. Gladstone has developed these upgrades to fulfil the ever growing demand from all its clients to assist them in enhancing the quality of customer service and reducing their operating costs. This is in line with similar demand across all commercial sectors; for instance, web-based customer service solutions are now standard within the broader leisure industry such as travel, cinema and tourism. Gladstone has been developing its products to address the trend towards web-based products and Software-as-a -Service ('SaaS').
A large proportion of Gladstone's extensive customer base has already committed to use Plus2's Customer Service suite. Plus2 is the UK's leading MRM software that provides a fully integrated central database solution for multi-site gyms, leisure centres and health clubs. The latest Plus2 upgrade, Version 9.5, allows this core platform to be integrated with Gladstone's new web-based, self-service customer solutions such as Connect, the on-line booking and transaction platform; and Kiosk, the on-site booking and ticket collection platform which works in conjunction with Connect.
Gladstone has also obtained the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guideline's 'Double-A' compliance standard, which means that a larger group of leisure centre users, especially those with disabilities, can use Connect with ease. In addition, Connect now complies with the coding guidelines set out by XHTML web pages which will provide clients with a user-friendly and accessible service.
Dr Said Ziai, Chairman and Chief Executive of Gladstone plc, commented: 'The ongoing and successful development roadmap for our flagship software, Plus2, and its new web-based service Customer Service suite has already added material bottom-line improvements to a number of our customers' business models.
'We are delighted that our product upgrades are in demand amongst our clients. The Gladstone Board believes that the success of its product development will meet its customers' needs in today's changing economy and software industry.'
- Ends -
For further information, please contact:
|
Financial Adviser and Nominated Adviser to Gladstone:
|
|
|
Grant Thornton UK LLP
|
|
|
Charles Cattaneo
|
Tel: +44 (0) 7774 276512
|
|
Ian Stanway
|
Tel: +44 (0) 121 232 5193
|
|
Gerry Beaney
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7728 2589
|
Media enquiries:
Notes to Editors
Gladstone plc's innovative software products and services, currently targeted at the global health and leisure and education markets, are used daily by thousands of front line staff, managers, end users and students.
Gladstone is a market leader in the provision of member relationship management solutions for a wide range of health and leisure organisations including trusts, leisure centres, and major private leisure chains and is established as the de facto standard for UK local authorities. The Company enables all its clients in both public and private sectors to utilise central database facilities for central and cross-site on-line bookings, Customer Relationship Management ('CRM') and membership management, centralisation of administration, marketing and reporting.
The Company also provides a wide range of integrated systems and software-based solutions for the rapidly expanding Education Facilities Management Solutions ('EFMS') market across the entire spectrum of educational establishments and is a key supplier to the UK Government's Building Schools for the Future ('BSF') initiative.
Gladstone is focused on extending its solutions capabilities, which enable its clients to maximise resource usage, retain customers and improve operational performance, thereby making cost efficiencies, into new vertical and geographic markets aligned with its growth strategy.
The Company's current solutions include the comprehensive Plus2TM product suite which incorporates advanced functionality including web-based remote booking, advanced analysis and the use of kiosks, as well as Gladstone OnRecordTM which serves the education industry with e-registration, biometric and smart card recognition, cashless payment systems, extensive information portals, libraries usage and access control.
Based in Oxfordshire, the Company has sales offices in Glasgow, Dublin (Ireland) and Sydney (Australia), in addition to development facilities in Sonderborg (Denmark) and Karachi (Pakistan).
For further information, visit www.gladstoneplc.com
- Ends -
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCIFFSIFSITLIA