Micrografx Inc. of Allen, Texas, which in 1985 offered the first graphics program based on Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system, is now putting much of its effort into staying a step ahead of the software giant–if not out of its way altogether.
Recently, Microsoft has been adding graphical capabilities to its PhotoDraw program, part of the Office 2000 suite, tapping a market that had been critical to Micrografx. In September, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Visio Corp., a rival to Micrografx in the graphical software market.
Although many of the new features that Microsoft continually adds to its products are generally welcomed by customers, they also have made a lot of small and not-so-small software companies fearful of Chairman Bill Gates.
“Nothing personal against Micrografx, but without a doubt, they’re going right after those guys,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst who follows Microsoft for the Gartner Group, a market research firm.
“It’s less about Microsoft than what Micrografx is doing,” responded Doug Richard, who was named Micrografx’s chief executive in February 1997 and was charged with turning around the company.
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At Micrografx’s annual shareholder meeting last week at its new Allen headquarters, Richard is expected to elaborate on his effort to transform Micrografx from a company that once made greeting-card software into a designer of programs for the largest corporations.
One of his first efforts, a program that helps employees using Windows-based computers to create graphics for their reports and presentations, is gradually being phased out, Richard said, as Microsoft moves more aggressively into that area with PhotoDraw.
Now, Richard said, he is targeting markets that are generally too narrow for Microsoft to pursue.
Micrografx’s flagship product, called iGrafx, was introduced in January. It seeks to help companies graphically represent and then analyze everything from the efficiency of purchasing components to the productivity of a telemarketing call center.
“It allows for `What if’ analysis,” Richard said. “You can create a model a replica of a company’s actual business processes. The biggest impact of e-commerce on businesses is the mandate to focus on their processes.”