In this issue:

• Canto News
• Web Client Live Catalog Tour
• Upcoming Canto Events
• Exploring Cumulus: Workflow Technologies
• Cumulus Power Tips

Canto News

The announcement of Cumulus 7.5 was well received by the Press and our customers. Initial installations and updates went smoothly, and we're happy to say that this has turned out to be the solid release our extensive beta testing suggested it would be.

Adobe + Canto

Within a week of the new of Cumulus 7.5, Canto made a surprise announcement few saw coming: a development partnership with Adobe to integrate Cumulus into Adobe Creative Suite® 3. This news was music to the ears of Adobe customers that had long envied the Cumulus integration available to QuarkXPress users through Canto BrandAssistant.

"Adobe InDesign users were never shy about letting me know they wanted BrandAssistant for InDesign," admits Canto CEO Ulrich Knocke. "But we thought we'd go one step further and integrate the entire Creative Suite."

Adobe users will benefit from direct access to their Cumulus catalogs and asset collections right from within Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications—such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver—without launching any additional software.

"We’re very excited to see that Canto has begun development with the Version Cue CS3 SDK to integrate Cumulus and Creative Suite 3,'' said Mike Wallen, senior product manager for Adobe's Creative Solutions Business Unit. "Our customers will be able to access the robust Cumulus digital asset management capabilities without having to leave their favorite Adobe design tools."

Canto chief technologist Thomas Schleu credits Canto-certified development partner Mark 5 for the quick prototype: "Adobe’s outstanding new SDK is in the hands of some very capable developers who know both products extremely well. This will enable Canto to deliver a water-tight integration that will change the way organizations manage assets without changing the way designers create them."

The first complete version of the integration is scheduled for Q4 this year. Support for all Cumulus 7.5 (and later) and BrandAssistant Servers is planned.

Canto Adds Marketing Muscle

Canto welcomes marketing professional Steffen Setzer to its Berlin office as the company's new director of worldwide marketing. Setzer aims to expand Canto's position as the leading provider of digital asset management (DAM) solutions, as well as identify new market segments.

"Canto is a company I've admired from the outside for quite some time," explains Setzer, a Cumulus user himself. "Over two thirds of this company's customers would recommend Cumulus to a colleague, which is great, but we can increase that number even higher with better customer communications and increased market-focused product development."

Setzer statistic cites a 2006 study conducted by the Palo Alto Consulting Group, which conducted interviews with existing Canto customers.

Setzer was previously head of marketing and communications at Schlott Group AG, a solution provider in the printing and direct marketing industry.

Canto's US marketing team has also expanded to ensure adequate staffing for forth coming projects.