(2006-11-11) Suite Two

Intel announced Suite Two, a bundling of multiple Social Software apps for integrated Enterprise Two use: SocialText, MovableType, NewsGator, Simple Feed. Intel will distribute Suite Two through its channel partners, distributors and through direct sales. Spike Source have integrated all the products in the suite and have included a portal which will allow users to view all the main information (via feeds) from the different product installs. The cost of the full suite will be between $150 and $200 per seat per year, which is a premium over the cost of each component individually, but Spike Source and Intel hope that by integrating the products to make them easy to use together that they have added enough value to make the suite appealing to businesses.

Jan'2009 update: they're pulling the plug. "The problem with Suite Two wasn't the idea. The problem was the execution. They were trying to cobble together products from five or six independent companies, and it never looked like anything more than a bunch of applications that were duck-taped together," Oliver Young said... While Suite Two failed to gain traction, vendor partners like NewsGator and SocialText noticed that demand for a suite like that was real and expanded their own offerings beyond their niche areas to offer more comprehensive collaboration and communication functionality.