Corel Happy To Step Into Microsoft’s Shoes

When you think Corel, you think of its famous visual software — CorelDraw,
Corel PHOTO-PAINT and Corel’s HoTMetaL PRO — but after Wednesday, the company
might just be as well-known in the office suite application arena with the
launch of a new licensing program tailored-made to strike at the heart of
Microsoft Corp. and its wildly-unpopular Software
Assurance program.

Wednesday is the last day for users to buy software from the Redmond,
Wash., giant and not fall under the new licensing scheme, which charges an
annual fee for upgrades in the software application bought.

Companies around the U.S. have expressed their displeasure over the new
licensing strategy, which Microsoft executives hope will bring in
consistent revenue to the company coffers. According to an
internetnews.com survey, 63 percent of those who responded said they
were already evaluating a non-Microsoft alternative.

Corel Corp. hopes businesses owners and technology
officers will look at its WordPerfect suite of applications, which provides
Microsoft Office-comparable and -compatible applications.

The new licensing agreement doesn’t have volume commitments and, more
importantly, doesn’t require an annual fee to upgrade. The Corel
Transactional License option starts Thursday, the same day Microsoft’s
Software Assurance program launches.

The new licensing deal applies across the Corel product line, but is
pitched with an eye toward Microsoft and its customers, said Gary
Klembara, Corel executive vice president of sales.

“The purpose of this promotion is to reach out to Microsoft customers who
are dissatisfied with Microsoft’s enterprise agreement and offer them an
alternative with terms we are confident they will appreciate,” he said.

Like Microsoft Office, it has the business essentials: word processor,
spreadsheet program, presentation program that uses Macromedia Flash for
Web-based presentations, address book and e-mail client. Though it doesn’t
sport a database program, it features a .pdf creator and opens up Microsoft
documents.

A price comparison weighs heavily in Corel’s corner, too. At
AtomicPark.com, Corel WordPerfect Office 2002 Standard edition runs $280
for the full version, a $92 difference from Microsoft’s Office XP 2002
Standard edition.

The trick now for Corel executives is taking a bite out of Microsoft
Office’s 90 percent marketshare. Until the past year, Microsoft was
relatively alone in the business suite application department.

Increasing displeasure over the high cost of software and the high number
of software bugs has prompted other companies to step up development of a
competitive product, companies like Lindows.com (a Windows-Linux hybrid)
and the free OpenOffice.org (a free derivative of Sun Microsystem’s once-free StarOffice).

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