(August 05, 2008) SoftCare, the Hamburg-based provider of the K4 Publishing System, today announces the introduction of its new publishing platform with the codename "Xanthos", which will set the new standard for the industry. "We have developed an innovative workflow engine for 'Xanthos' that is going to offer publishing houses and corporate publishers completely new production methods that have not been feasible with conventional publishing systems," explains Andreas Schrader, Managing Director of SoftCare. SoftCare will first present its new publishing platform at the SoftCare User Conference in Hamburg, to be held on October 10, 2008. The public introduction of "Xanthos" is scheduled for the IFRA Expo in Amsterdam October 27 to 30, 2008.

The new workflow model can be customized, takes interdependencies between individual media channels into account, and is able to control any kind of content to the full depth of the corresponding output channel, such as Web, print, mobile media and IPTV. "Because of factors such as the upcoming Web 3.0, media houses and corporate publishers already are facing complex new requirements for process management and data handling", says Schrader. "Our Rich Media Distribution Architecture responds to exactly these challenges."
SoftCare is taking completely new integrative approaches, using open standard interfaces and implementing available state-of-the-art technologies. The use of Web Services results in a scalable and flexible architecture that no longer depends on specific platforms or programming languages. This makes "Xanthos" quick and easy to integrate with complex systems, such as asset-management or advertising- and page-planning software. The system also allows for the use of plug-ins from completely different areas and vendors. With these developments, SoftCare is responding to the increasingly shorter cycles of software implementation, while placing the highest priority on intuitive interfaces and user-friendliness. "In multiple tests of 'Xanthos', users have been enthusiastic about the ease of handling and the rich set of options in the platform," says Andreas Schrader.