MetaCommunications has released Approval Manager 2011, available in both Standard and free Express editions. For the first time it’s available separately from the  MetaCommunications Workgroups 2011 suite.

Approval Manager 2011 includes features for automating online proofing and review for marketing, creative and production environments. It focuses on automating the workflow of your team and how it interacts with reviewers to gather approvals, feedback, or variation selection, says Robert Long, president of MetaCommunications.

Demos of Approval Manager and a comparison of its editions can be found at http://macte.ch/irzGz . Manager Express edition is free and includes unlimited users, storage, and proofs. Approval Manager Standard edition starts at US$995 and includes complete workflow management.