ProtoShare 5 Delivers on the Promise of SaaS

PORTLAND, Ore., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Site9, Inc., developer of the industry's fastest growing collaborative prototyping tool for websites and web applications, today announced the launch of ProtoShare 5. The new generation of ProtoShare features improved usability, a redesigned interface, and desktop-like performance. The renovation of the already popular tool emphasizes Site9's effort to help teams communicate quickly and effectively with project stakeholders throughout the interactive development process, thereby reducing rework and creating better digital experiences.

Site9 CEO Andrew Mottaz explained the benefits of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for both individuals and companies as IT cost reductions, accessibility, and massive productivity increases associated with collaboration. However, he added that, "A chronic pitfall of web-based applications is that they lack the speed and complexity of their desktop counterparts. I use a number of SaaS applications and I have to say, the wait for a page or document to load bothers me the more I use the application. With ProtoShare 5, our goal was to match desktop performance."

According to Mottaz, the most important optimization was re-engineering the application to provide fast, simple workflows. "We worked closely with customers to ensure workflows supported by the product were simple, close-at-hand, and didn't require navigating from page to page. Desktop applications have a long history of adopting standardized, familiar interface options. Until recently, some of these options were not possible to emulate on the Internet."

To increase performance, engineers optimized the back-end and client-side code, realizing speed gains between 70 and 200 percent. "Web browsers have made great strides in rendering speeds and in the performance of their JavaScript engines. Because ProtoShare is written exclusively using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, we're able to take advantage of this new power."

Site9 also improved the application's speed by transferring as little data as possible, while improving user experience. "The result is around a 50 percent reduction in data loading over the previous version," added Mottaz.

Mottaz also reported additional features in the new release, but the performance improvement in ProtoShare 5 cannot be ignored. "Web-based applications are still relatively young, and they will keep improving. ProtoShare 5 puts us on the cutting edge of performance. Our early adopters have told us that they can't believe it's not a desktop application."

More details on this milestone release can be found on the ProtoShare website (www.protoshare.com/5).

About Site9, Inc.

Founded in 1999, Site9, Inc. is the developer of ProtoShare, recognized in 2009 by O'Reilly Media as a "Top 50 Usable RIA." Fortune 500 companies, leading interactive agencies, and web developers in over 84 countries around the world use ProtoShare wireframe software to deliver better digital experiences while cutting time and costs.

SOURCE Site9, Inc.