Huddle unveils first enterprise content discovery and recommendation technology for iPad

26 June 2012

Huddle today announced that its enterprise content collaboration platform with intelligent file recommendation technology is now available for Huddle users on iPad. The new Huddle for iPad app responds to increasing enterprise demand for mobile collaboration tools that combine content management and social interactions.

Using Huddle’s intelligent recommendation technology, the new app automatically delivers and syncs the most relevant files to workers’ iPads. This ensures that workers always have secure access to the latest version of their documents, online and offline.  It also allows people to discover previously unknown content from across the enterprise that may be relevant to their job.

Huddle for iPad, available today on the iTunes App Store, brings together content, social and mobile to unlock the true potential of anywhere, anytime working. It seamlessly integrates with Google QuickOffice, Readdle and Fileboard to enable true mobile working, including file creation and interaction when on the move, while meeting the data security and management needs of IT. Huddle for iPad is the first technology debut since the company completed a $24 million Series C round of funding in May.

“Enterprise needs are clear: IT departments must be able to securely manage all content across the organization while empowering workers to access and edit relevant documents when on the go. Huddle for iPad is the first mobile technology that satisfies the needs of both workers and IT,” said Alastair Mitchell, CEO, Huddle.  “Huddle for iPad seamlessly combines enterprise content management and social collaboration in a central, secure platform that enables organizations to easily embrace mobile working across the workforce.”

With analyst house IDC estimating that the mobile worker population will reach more than 1.3 billion by 2015[1], there is an increasing need for technology that enables people to work as effectively on their tablets as they would from their desktops. By combining secure content management and social collaboration with intelligent file recommendations, Huddle for iPad ensures that enterprise workers can get their work done easily and efficiently.

“Collaboration is, at its core, a social process, so in the crowded online enterprise collaboration marketplace it is no longer sufficient for business software to specialize in either file storage or social collaboration; businesses today should choose solutions that thoughtfully and elegantly combine content management, file sharing and social collaboration so that workers can be more productive,” said Terri McClure, analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. “And because business users are using personal devices to access data on corporate networks, sometimes circumventing IT policies to do so, next-generation software should securely extend these socially enabled collaboration applications to mobile devices such that they meet the security and oversight needs of IT while offering users a simple way to interact with content on any device like they would on their desktop.”

HUDDLE FOR IPAD FEATURES AND BENEFITS

• Intelligent recommendation technology – Discovers, selects and securely syncs relevant files from Huddle to desktops and mobile devices. Whether online or offline, it ensures that workers have secure access and can work on the latest version of important documents with colleagues, on any device.
• Social activity stream – Discover, view and comment on content that your colleagues are working on in real time. See and follow up on tasks that have been assigned to you.
• Full-feature Microsoft Word and Excel editing — Huddle for iPad leverages the power of QuickOffice, the leading mobile productivity suite recently acquired by Google, to allow users to create and edit Word and Excel files easily on their iPad and then easily save them back to Huddle.
• Mark favorites for even easier access — Favorite items appear in a favorite section for quick access. These items are the first to be synced and remain securely encrypted on iPad for offline viewing and editing.
• Task and approval delegation and management — Assign tasks for colleagues, view upcoming deadlines and manage approvals right from the app.
• Robust PDF annotation — With Readdle PDF Expert, Huddle’s iPad for business app allows users to read and annotate PDF documents, highlight text, make notes, fill forms, sign documents and draw on the go.
• Email integration – Files received as email attachments can be directly uploaded to Huddle, unlocking the knowledge stored in inboxes and ensuring that data is securely and centrally stored.
• Save directly to Huddle – Documents created or edited on iPad or received in email can be saved directly to Huddle as a new document or a new version of an existing document.
• Share and track web-based presentations – Huddle has integrated with Fileboard to automate CRM for sales teams and help them manage presentation collateral, attachments, and files online and on iPad.
• Complete mobile security — Granular permissions allow IT managers to easily control who has access to which files on iPad and how the files are shared among workers. Files are encrypted at 256-bit SSL when transmitted and are encrypted when at rest on iPad.

"The new Huddle iPad app is going to be transformative for the way in which we work and collaborate across Redington both internally and externally with our clients,” said Robert Gardner, Co-CEO at Redington. “The ability to quickly and easily see what’s going on across the firm’s various Huddle workspaces and effortlessly read documents from my iPad is game changing. My email-centric approach looks set to change and we’re excited about the impact the iPad app will have on our ability to collaborate seamlessly in the office and on the road."

The Huddle for iPad app is available now, for free, from the iTunes App Store.

[1] http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23251912