Apple + Corel = A Software Powerhouse?
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- June 19, 2000
If you've been paying attention the tech headlines, Corel has been
making a lot of noise lately.
With its big Linux push, purchase of a number of MetaCreations
products, failed negotiations with Inprise, and recent announcement
that they may go bankrupt, Corel has been making waves (or at least
thrashing about wildly).
It shouldn't be news to anyone that Corel is a basket case. Losses
year after year, a pummeling from Microsoft in the Office suite market,
and a drubbing in the graphics market from Adobe, adds up to a company
that lurches from one crisis to the next.
Corel is a company with some pretty great products and very lousy
management that could probably be picked up for a song. Should Apple
take the bait?
At the very least, Apple would gain control of a company that, while
mismanaged, turns out great products. Corel graphic packages and the
Corel Office suite remain excellent products that are worthy
alternatives to Microsoft and Adobe offerings. Corel's stable of
products is strong. Apple could easily take advantage of these products
to assist Apple's acceptance in the business market.
A huge stumbling block for Apple is that Corel produces mostly
Windows software. Various versions of WordPerfect, CorelDraw, and a few
other titles have made it to the Mac, but the majority of Corel's
business remains on the Windows side. To put it bluntly, Corel Mac
support sucks. While this changed somewhat with the MetaCreations
purchases, the focus remains on Windows.
With the recent verdict in the Microsoft case, Apple has an
excellent opportunity to look elsewhere for support in the office suite
market. A less powerful (or more closely watched) Microsoft would have
less leverage if Apple decided to back another office suite. Less
dependency on Microsoft Office would also help Apple shed the chain
that Microsoft tugs when Apple gets too far out of line.
There are, of course, a few problems that would make an Apple
purchase of Corel less than sensible.
- No matter how good Corel office software is, it's still so far
behind Microsoft in terms of market share that owning this software
would do little to help push Apple forward.
- Apple would be purchasing a very troubled company that would drain
their resources.
These problems would be very real. Solutions exist, however. If
Apple could revive WordPerfect for the Mac, port the entire Office
suite over, and ensure that the products could work seamlessly with MS
Office products, users would have a compelling reason to make the
switch. There are already many
word processors available for Mac users. This clearly indicates
that there is a market for competing products. Mac users are also
anticipating the port of Star
Office, indicating that there is interest in the business community
for an alternative professional office suite.
There's no doubt, however, that pushing Corel Office anywhere would
be a huge job. Corel Office sells on the PC side, and Apple would have
to gain market share there as well. Now that's a Herculanean task if I
ever saw one! Excellent support of existing Mac products such as the
Bryce line may help stem the blood from the Office market in the short
run.
While Apple would be purchasing a very troubled company, Mr. Jobs
has made it quite clear that turning a company around is something he
can do. If all else failed, Apple could sell the software off to the
highest bidder to recoup its losses.
The ultimate question is, I suppose, why bother? Apple is now
stable, has great potential and is completely focused on OS X. Why
muddy the water with Corel's troubles?
I guess it's just how much they want to break their dependency on
Microsoft Office.
So what's your take? Should Apple buy Corel and gain a great company
that could help turn it into an even more powerful software vendor?
In any event, check out the free
Corel WordPerfect for Macintosh if you're looking for an
alternative to Microsoft Word.
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