Cision, the provider of media research, distribution, monitoring and analysis services to the PR industry and other corporate communicators, has released a major upgrade of its key product, CisionPoint.

The upgraded CisionPoint, Cision’s PR workflow software platform, was released in the US last year. One of the key features with the UK release is the increased media lists, with 1,000 UK magazines and newspapers with forward features lists. Cision claim this can give users 40,000 individual editorial opportunities, through 15,000 features just in the UK alone.

CisionPoint’s latest release also includes an enhanced integrated system which, on one side of the divide will let PR agencies track time spent on individual campaigns and on the other help in-house communications professionals with project management, custom tagging of news as well as journalists and activity tracking.

With more and more PROs moving to a single platform, the battle for the desktop has become increasingly fierce. French firm Augure have been building their presence in London and US-owned Vocus has increased the number of add-ons and services with their PRWeb product. Historically PR services would be found through many-product services, with a minimal learning curve, or else outsourced to an external service provider. The arrival of web-based PR software solutions is expected to increase the retention of users who are less likely to change having invested more, not just financially but with their time.

“Our clients tell us that in an environment where PR budgets are under increasing pressure PR teams need more efficient tools and reliable content to manage their day-to-day workflow” said Giselle Bodie, Managing Director of Cision UK.

Last year Cision sold their press-clipping service to former rival Durrants, ostensibly to focus on their software solutions. Whilst some might have viewed this as the end of an era - Romeike, their clipping division was the oldest in the world – it was a move that seems to reflect the way of the market. In October, CisionPoint passed the 5000 customer mark.

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