SmartPath MAS
Q: What is SmartPath MAS?
Q: What benefits should I expect?
Q: Can SmartPath MAS scale to handle large organizations?
Q: Do I need an IT group?

Features/Functions
Q: How are users notified that they have new tasks?
Q: Do we need to carry out client-side installs on each user desktop?
Q: Can solutions integrate with Document Management Systems?
Q: Can we still attach and route documents if we do not have a Document Management System?
Q: What E-mail systems can the workflow software support?
Q: Can I audit changes to my processes?
Q: Can SmartPath MAS access mainframe systems and data?
Q: What is SmartPath
Q: Does SmartPath require special software on all machines?
Q: How does SmartPath differ from E-mail and collaborative products?

Process Automation
Q: What is Workflow?
Q: What is business process automation?

General
Q: Who is Marathon Innovations Inc. and what do they do?
A: Marathon Innovations is a Research Triangle Park, NC, based software company focused exclusively on developing technology for web based media development and business process management. Marathon Innovations has created, refined, and tested scaleable Internet-based technology called SmartPath that unites disparate business applications and manages process intensive tasks.

Fueled by the explosion of the Internet and increasing pressure from businesses to harness its potential to streamline functions, reduce costs, and improve quality, SmartPath positions Marathon Innovations as a leader within the emerging market of business process automation.

We are the first company that is first to deliver a comprehensive solution for automating disparate functions - manual, semi-automated, and automated tasks - into a complete business initiative. Another first is SmartPath MAS which offers a solution specifically tailored and packaged to automate the complex tasks that support the creation of promotional materials and content development for media.

Q: How are the products sold?
A: The product can be purchased directly from Marathon Innovations or through one or Marathon Innovations' reseller partners.

SmartPath MAS
Q: What is SmartPath MAS?
A: The SmartPath Marketing Automation Solution (MAS) solution is the first business-process application specifically targeted at automating the management of media development. SmartPath MAS solves time-to-market issues that many companies face today. It leverages the most advanced process management technology available, incorporates a powerful document management engine, and utilizes a proven application model for product promotions and product packaging.

Users can easily define systems to automate process workflows, manage associated documents, and integrate with existing application data. The process owner, such as the Marketing Traffic Department, uses out-of-the-box predefined templates to define process flows. A powerful feature of SmartPath MAS is that process flows can be dynamically modified to fit an individual job or all active ones while the process is still under execution.

SmartPath MAS provides a business-level approach that empowers marketing organizations to focus on the development of media material rather than the manual tasks to manage and coordinate the effort. The SmartPath MAS graphical approach provides business managers visual models to analyze and respond to change with unprecedented speed and flexibility.

Q: What benefits should I expect?
A: No other product makes it as easy as SmartPath to automate your essential business processes. SmartPath makes an immediate impact on your bottom line by:

• Reducing media development time
• Reducing media development hard dollar costs
• Improving overall media development quality
• Improves communication by providing real time status reporting

Q: Can SmartPath MAS scale to handle large organizations?
A: SmartPath MAS is a proven solution and has been embraced by the most demanding of customers, customers that produce over 3,000 promotional jobs regularly, customers that market multiple brands in multiple divisions, and customers that market in highly regulated security-focused industries.

Q: Do I need an IT group?
A: SmartPath MAS is a tool that nonprogrammers can use to design and modify automated business processes. The graphical icon-based Process Definer is used to develop, view, and update process workflows. Active processes can be modified for a given instance or for all successive executions.

Features/Functions
Q: How are users notified that they have new tasks?
A: The workflow system notifies users of new tasks via their Web In-Box. Users can also choose to be additionally notified by E-mail alert that a new task or tasks are awaiting their attention. Late tasks are automatically escalated within the User Web In-Box. User E-mail notification messages is fully customizable. The workflow can also be configured to automatically activate multiple other tasks, actions, and steps if a task is late.

Q: Do we need to carry out client-side installs on each user desktop?
A. No individual client side software installs are required, either for workflow participation or database connections. All-important information is kept on the server, and workflow information is transported to the client using TCP/IP protocol. Zero desktop administration and thin-client environments are therefore fully supported.

Q: Can solutions integrate with Document Management Systems?
A: Yes, workflow solutions can seamlessly integrate with any ODMA (Open Document Management Association) compliant Document Management Systems.

Q: Can we still attach and route documents if we do not have a Document Management System?
A: Yes, you can still attach and route files and documents on your Intranet throughout your workflow process even without a DMS. The user interface must be the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser in this case.

Q: What E-mail systems can the workflow software support?
A: The workflow software supports Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes Mail, Lotus cc:Mail, Novel GroupWise, and SMTP mail. Support is therefore provided for Microsoft MAPI, Lotus VIM, and SMTP/POP mail protocols. Since the system uses database driven workflow versus E-mail based workflow, E-mail is used only for user notification. E-mail messages can also be sent to the workflow server to launch processes.

Q: Can I audit changes to my processes?
A: SmartPath MAS maintains a complete and permanent audit trail of every process. The audit trail can be used to demonstrate compliance or improve future process designs.

Q: Can SmartPath MAS access mainframe systems and data?
A: Yes, many batch and on-line mainframe systems can interface with SmartPath. We have customers accessing legacy environments to extract buget information, inventory or stocking levels, etc. The legacy systems were interfaced with using standard Application Programming Interfaces (API) supplied with SmartPath and required no modifications to the legacy environment.

SmartPath
Q: What is SmartPath
A: SmartPath is the only solution designed from the ground up to be offering stand alone solution or be embedded into vertical applications. The SmartPath Process Server is advanced technology built embracing open standards. Built by a team of developers who have been creating workflow solutions for a number of years, the SmartPath Process Server combines proven best-of-breed process technology with a product architecture and business model focussed exclusively on the needs of the business user.

SmartPath is the solution to the age-old problem of managing and supporting multiple business processes. Designed to automate business processes, it harnesses the power of information technology by matching people to tasks, and providing a global view of a business initiative. SmartPath is a valuable solution that is empowers businesses worldwide to automate their business.

SmartPath supports the individual tasks that a process comprises and brings together the human and information resources needed to complete those tasks. SmartPath gives organizations global control over the flow of work, reduces bottlenecks and coordinates people, processes and information - all of which leads to improved project cycle time and a reduction in hard costs.

Q: Does SmartPath require special software on all machines?
A: SmartPath allows companies to move their business processes to the Web automating the essential business processes over Intranets, Extranets, and the Internet without having to install any client software on users' desktops. Users need only a Web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator to participate in processes and access information.

Users are able to use their Web browsers to do all they need to successfully complete business tasks and processes. SmartPath therefore:

• lowers the cost of software installation, management, and administration
• reduces the cost of training to zero since users already understand their browser software
• is currently the only application that allows you to quickly and easily roll out applications to internal users, external suppliers, partners, and even customers.

Q: How does SmartPath differ from E-mail and collaborative products?
A: No other product makes it as easy as SmartPath to automate your essential business processes. Key features of SmartPath are its graphical process and forms designer and Web-based architecture for easy use and scalability. SmartPath was designed from the ground up for complex business process automation. Other systems offer extensions to technology such as E-Mail or groupware. There are three main methods for communicating electronically over the Web:

1. Dumb Automation such as E-mail. Automates information flow only.
2. Simple Automation such as collaborative, groupware-oriented tools. Automates information or document flow only.
3. Complex Automation such as administrative workflow tools that can automate simple, complex, structured and unstructured processes from beginning to end. Automates the flow of the actual work itself, including information, documents, data, signatures, etc.

Process Automation
Q: What is Workflow?
A: Workflow is a series of events that have to take place to finish a task or a combination of tasks that make up a process. For example, the Purchase Order Requisition Process requires a series of tasks such as...fill out the PO, check the Budget if necessary, approve and sign the PO, send the PO to the supplier, receive the goods or service, update the Inventory database, match the goods to the PO, receive the Invoice from the supplier, approve and sign the Invoice, pay the Invoice, make the Accounting General Ledger entries. An advanced workflow system can automate all the above tasks to complete the entire PO process online.

Q: What is business process automation?
A: Business process automation, defined by Marathon Innovations, is a comprehensive solution for the proactive analysis, compression, automation, inspection, and integration of global business processes. As this definition enumerates, business process automation provides the tools to understand and define your enterprise processes. Additionally, through execution and automation of these processes, you are provided the status and details of the execution allowing for inefficiencies to be recognized. Then, using process-modeling tools, the process can be changed and tested, allowing fine-tuning of the process for maximum efficiency.