Claris

Claris is a software company which was spun-out from Apple Computer in 1987 and produced a number of productivity applications for the Macintosh.

Claris' successful approach to creating cross-platform (Macintosh and Windows) software which blends true power with industry-leading ease of use has paid off. Independent surveys of customers have ranked Claris products as most usable in the industry and as #1 in customer satisfaction.

Claris applications are best-sellers in several Macintosh categories and for the past two years Claris has been the world's largest Macintosh software vendor (measured by units shipped). This fiscal year, Claris will ship about 6 million units (excluding upgrades), including 1 million Windows units.

In 1995, Claris began publishing software under both the Claris and Apple brands. Claris also has worldwide responsibility for distributing and selling all Apple software, including system software which Apple continues to develop. Leading Apple software products which Claris sells include Mac OS System 7.5 upgrades, Apple Internet Connection Kit, and Apple Remote Access.

Claris Internet Solutions and Product Strategy - 1996

Internet is the universal computing platform ­ the great equalizer. For the first time in history, the power to publish globally rests in the hands of anyone with a computer and $100 worth of software. The Internet, therefore, is potentially the ultimate embodiment to date of the Claris philosophy: a simply powerful tool that magnifies creativity and productivity while decreasing technical obstacles. As one of the world's eight largest vendors of personal computing software, Claris belongs in the vanguard of companies providing technology that empowers everyday people to harness the Internet's power.

The Claris Internet strategy is to "clarify" the Internet for its customers by infusing its products now, and in the future, with the ability to deliver the best of the Internet. This evolution will be achieved by transparently integrating technically powerful innovations into the Claris line of popular productivity software. Claris products will do more than ever, and be just as easy to use.

In recent months, Claris has moved strongly toward clarifying the Internet by providing its customers with these successful Internet solutions:

• Claris Home Page software, the cross-platform Web authoring tool that creates dynamic Web pages without technical expertise, was introduced in the summer of 1996 to enthusiastic reviews and robust sales. The next version is scheduled to ship before the end of the year.
• ClarisWorks 4.0 software for Windows 95 and Macintosh, the popular integrated productivity package with word-processing, spreadsheets and database an all-in-one application, has built-in translation of Hypertext Mark-Up Language (HTML) ­ the standard document format for the Internet's World Wide Web ­ that allows direct-to-the-Web publishing of ClarisWorks word processing documents.
• FileMaker Pro 3.0 software, the company's award-winning relational database, became one of the leading solutions for database publishing on the Web, running on literally thousands of Web sites throughout the world.
• Claris Emailer and OfficeM@il email packages deliver powerful email management solutions for Macintosh users in the home or office.
• Claris Organizer 2.0 software, the new version of the leading personal information manager for the Macintosh, just shipped with built-in instant links to email and Web sites.

And these represent just the beginning.

As it moves forward, Claris is committed to "clarifying the Internet" for its customers in two distinct and important ways:

• By expanding its product line based on key initiatives designed to bring the productivity power of the Internet to customers. These areas of focus include:
  • Dynamic database publishing for Internet and Intranets
  • Web authoring
  • Internet email

• By infusing its award-winning product line with the ability to utilize the best Internet technology available, including:
  • Integrated application
  • World Wide Web access
  • Support for the latest Web standards
  • Pervasive product line HTML output
  • Web-based support and registration

This paper outlines Claris' strategy for bringing Internet-enabled productivity solutions to the rapidly expanding number of non-Information Systems (IS) supported customers seeking to harness the new global communication powers of the Internet.

The Claris Mission

Claris has always designed its software to increase the productivity and creativity of customers in the home, small business, education and large business workgroups who may have little or no technical support from the IS departments. Empowerment and ease-of-use have been hallmarks of the Claris mission from its inception. Claris has now recommitted itself to extending this mission to the Internet.

"The Claris obsession with creating 'simply powerful' productivity software has made us the leader in customer satisfaction. We bring the same philosophy to Internet software as we continue to design products with unique ease-of-use, cross-platform elegance and depth of features," noted President Guerrino De Luca, in a recent speech. "We are committed to making the Internet truly usable for our customers."

In meeting this goal, Claris will continue to provide the lowest cost-of-ownership productivity solutions on the market. Claris will combine traditional cost of ownership benefits ­ lower product cost, shorter learning curves, a dedicated network of custom application developers (Claris Solutions Alliance) and reduced hardware and software upgrade requirements ­ with new Internet benefits, saving customers both additional time and money.

In short, the Claris Internet philosophy is straight-forward:

• Provide software solutions that require little or no IS support
• Serve customers with either full-time or intermittent connections
• Internet-and intranet enable the existing Claris product line
• Expand the Claris portfolio consistent with its customer focus

An Expanded Internet Product Line

Claris is expanding its product line based on key initiatives tailored to bring the productivity power of the Internet to customers. The most important functions customers need to harness that power are:

• Web authoring
• Dynamic Web database publishing
• Internet email

Easy, powerful Web authoring is the way customers access the new personal publishing/global distribution power of the Internet. To that end, Claris recently began shipping the premier Web authoring tool, Claris Home Page, a complete WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) Web solution for Windows 95 and Macintosh that creates Web pages without the need for programming expertise or previous experience. By combining advanced capabilities like multimedia support, tables, frames, and embedded Java applets with usability breakthroughs like reusable libraries and interactive HTML preview and editing, Claris Home Page uniquely serves both the beginner and the Webmaster. In addition, ClarisWorks 4.0 for Windows 95 and Macintosh, the company's integrated productivity software, now comes fully equipped with HTML translators for easy publishing of documents on the Web.

In the future, the Claris line of products will include new products and product-line extensions that continue to build on the Web publishing standards set by Claris Home Page. For example, will be integrating FileMaker Pro and Claris Home Page, as appropriate, to allow users to easily create effective Web sites with database content

Dynamic database publishing ­ creating, managing and updating large quantities of searchable data on the Web ­ is key to helping individuals take full advantage of the Internet's new power. Claris has equipped FileMaker Pro 3.0 with built-in TCP/IP networking support that allows users to provide remote access and networking functions to targeted audiences such as employees via an intranet or a specific customer base on the Internet.

Additionally, Claris, in partnership with several third-party developers, has equipped FileMaker Pro 3.0 with the ability to publish dynamic database content on the World Wide Web via custom Common Gateway Interfaces (CGIs) ­ small computer programs that allow Web servers and databases to communicate with each other. Several CGIs are currently available that allow users to publish existing or new database content on the Web and update that information in real time, without HTML programming, letting browser users on the Internet or internal intranets search for information in or post data to FileMaker databases. Currently available solutions include: FileMaker CGI, available free from Claris, WebFM from Web Broadcasting Co., Lasso from Blue World Communications, Tango for FileMaker from EveryWare Corporation, ROFM CGI from Russell Owen.

In subsequent versions of FileMaker Pro, Claris plans to incorporate tools necessary for Web browsers to access a FileMaker database on Windows or Macintosh without requiring advanced programming skills.

For the majority of customers on the Internet today, sending and receiving electronic mail has become the primary value-added activity. Claris has two solutions, Claris Emailer and Claris OfficeMail, that provide effective email management and distribution solutions for individuals and businesses of up to 100 users. Claris Emailer automates and manages the process of sending, receiving and attaching documents to email messages, on the Internet or a proprietary service such as America Online or CompuServe. Claris OfficeMail is the networked version of Emailer, enabling 5 to 100 users on Macintosh networks to get up and running with email in a matter of minutes with a simple six-step installation, including Internet Service Provider (ISP) access and company domain registration.

Infusing Internet Technologies Across Product Line

Claris will bring customers the benefits of the Internet by adding the best Internet technologies available to all of its products. Because Claris software is designed to boost customer creativity, the Internet will become integral to everything Claris makes and does. Among the Internet-enabling features Claris plans to add or is currently adding across the product line:

• HTML translation
• Integrated World Wide Web access
• Support for emerging standards on the Internet
• Platform-optimized support for key component technologies, including
  • Active X, OpenDoc (Live Objects) and Java
  • Web-based support and registration

Claris plans to incorporate built-in HTML output and translation capabilities across its product line. Products such as FileMaker Pro will join such currently HTML-enabled products as ClarisWorks 4.0 to easily convert content to HTML text for fast posting on the Web. In addition, Claris will be unveiling advanced integration between its complete line of products and Claris Home Page. This integration will simplify Web content creation by allowing drag and drop editing and seamless file exchange among programs. Claris plans to upgrade HTML functionality as new specifications are issued by the HTML standards committee.

To further increase Internet accessibility for all customers, Claris plans to integrate World Wide Web access features and support for leading Internet browser technology directly into its products. For example, Claris Organizer 2.0 currently features the ability to automatically send email or link to a Website by simply clicking on an address stored on a contact card. Claris Organizer automatically launches both email packages and Web browsers respectively to perform each of the desired tasks.

Future product offerings will include this ability to launch Internet programs directly from Web links or email addresses embedded in Claris programs. These features will allow users to select and open text-based Universal Resource Locators (URLs), or ones associated with objects, using their browser of choice. In addition, Claris products, like the current Claris Home Page, will continue to be optimized for both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer and their extensions.

In addition to HTML, Claris will continue to support a host of emerging open technical standards that it believes are necessary to assist customers in communicating via the Internet. To this end, Claris will be incorporating support for a wide-range of evolving standards, such as GIF, JPEG and QuickTime file formats, across its product line in the near future. Claris will continue to evaluate and support further Internet standards as they develop.

To continue to provide customers with the best cross-platform solutions for Windows, Macintosh and the Internet, Claris is dedicated to completing its migration to across-the-product-line cross-platform transparency, and to building platform optimized component support into its products. To this end, Claris will leverage both OpenDoc (Macintosh) and Active X (Windows) component frameworks in future product versions. By supporting these frameworks, Claris customers and developers will be able to take advantage of such platform-specific program customization features as seamless Internet browsing, animation and 3D graphics. For example, Claris has announced that the next version of ClarisWorks for the Macintosh will be an OpenDoc container, allowing the embedding of live Web content via Apple's Cyberdog product and future OpenDoc versions of Netscape Navigator.

In addition, the Claris long-term goal is to foster future platform independence by supporting Java and Java components. Support for Java will enable customers to download and run platform-independent software from the Internet via a Java-enabled browser.

Finally, Claris sees the powerful potential of customer service on the Internet and is focused on several communications initiatives to bring that potential to its customers. Claris is now offering software updates on the Claris Web site (www.claris.com) and is working with its dedicated resellers to provide upgrades and new products via the Internet.

For the future, Claris is working to support electronic software distribution initiatives now in development, provide future electronic registration and offer automated updates via the Internet. Claris also plans to continue offering Web-based customer surveys, promotions, market specific content, and contests to further two-way communication with customers.

To facilitate customers' connection to the Internet, Claris recently partnered with Internet service provider HoloNet to offer its customers ClarisLink service, an out-of-the-box, automated Internet connection and email hosting service. Users creating Web pages with Claris Home Page currently receive an out-of-the-box coupon good for six months of free Web site hosting.

Products

• ClarisWorks - ClarisWorks (later AppleWorks as a product from Apple) is an office suite which offers a word processor, drawing, spreadsheet and other abilities.
• Claris FileMaker
• Claris FileMaker Pro
• Claris FileMaker Pro Server
• Claris Resolve
• Claris Home Page
• Claris CAD
• Claris Emailer
• ClarisImpact
• Claris AppleWorks - Earlier Apple II software
• Claris AppleWorks GS - Earlier Apple II software
• Claris MacProject II
• ClarisDraw
• Claris Organizer
• Claris OfficeMail
• Claris MacPaint
• Claris MacWrite Pro
• Claris MacProject Pro

Documentation

• Picking Up The Tab

HyperText Markup Language