The fact of the matter is, (another theory on this), the underlying applications of an office suite are just not that darned interesting though they are very functional.
Corel has been right to build their suite around quicktasks--I for one don't want to know how to use a spreadsheet (a useful skill, but not for everyone) when I could just have it automate a particular spreadsheet task for me. Also, who knows what the format is for a press release, etc. is? With quicktasks you get a template that takes the guesswork out. But they probably have done a poor job of marketing this, even though people sure must be familiar with the name Corel by now.
So, on one hand, I think a company like Corel is right to not just say: a suite is a word processor, a spreadsheet, and a database management program. Ho hum, that's all it is? Just three computer programs? And here I thought it was larger than life. If you actually tell people what it is, it could sound pretty dull.
On the other hand, their software is in fact way better and more exciting than that. As things get better integrated with the Web and e-mail, you can really do a lot seamlessly with this software. I have found many of my friends amazed that I could do a loan amortization, publish a newsletter, design a banner, and publish a WP document complete with charts to the Web, all with ONE piece of software. If it comes with graphics software too, this eliminates the need for many, many, standalone products. A lot of people think you need Excel, Pagemaker, Corel Draw, and the list goes on and on, when 99% of tasks could be accomplished with WP Suite 7 (soon 8) or MS OFFICE.
Perhaps the marketing does need to focus on these "quicktasks for dummies" as well as the power of the underlying software and the 'one-stop shopping' aspect. They do say "finish faster with Wordperfect Suite"...but the question is: FINISH WHAT? The list is almost endless. |
