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© 2002 by Rick Altman. All Rights Reserved.
On the one hand, I should be flattered. Corel Corp. officials have authorized CorelWORLD and its 2002 Ventura Summit to be one of the first public events in which the new version of Ventura Publisher will be shown and discussed. Until the first day of the conference, on July 12, all who are involved with the project are bound by contractual agreements not to discuss any aspect of it. In fact, technically, I might be in violation of that agreement right now, as I think I’m not supposed to say that I’m not supposed to say. Or I’m not supposed to acknowledge that there is something I’m not allowed to talk about...or something like that...
While it is an honor that the Summit will be the site of one of the first public showings of the new Ventura, it is also a maddening notion. The software is just months from release, and nobody is talking about it. And equally maddening is the fact that Corel officials have refrained from explaining this vow of secrecy, even to those of us who have been taken into confidence.
What does all of this mean? Nobody outside of Corel knows, and most inside of the company do not know, either. In fact, many involved in developing the software do not understand. The secret strategy surrounding Ventura Publisher is limited to the highest echelons of the company.
And this strategy might be killing the software.
Why is Corel doing this? Nobody knows. All we can do is speculate, and there is plenty of that going on. Here is just a sampling of the comments we received from those who are not bound by a non-disclosure agreement and therefore free to offer their conjecture (those of us who are bound would not be able to offer any better guesses; it’s just that we’re not really allowed to even make the attempt).
“It’s obvious—Corel wants to be able to back out altogether if it can’t get the software out the door. They can make the whole thing go away quietly and not have to explain themselves.” [This theory was widely touted before Corel acknowledged even the existence of the new version. Now it is not as plausible.]
“They have no idea how to market Ventura. It’s nothing like DRAW, it appeals to an entirely different audience, and they just don’t get that.” [Ventura does indeed need to be marketed differently, but Corel officials cannot claim ignorance of this. They asked for, and a team of us delivered to them, a complete prospectus on the marketplace for Ventura. Read that prospectus right here.]
“I guess they want to make sure that Adobe and Quark don’t find out about it.” [This is a truly laughable notion. Ventura Publisher is so far off the radar screen today, its potential competitors pay it no regard whatsoever.]
“Keeping software under wraps is typically done to create maximum impact—the big bang of software.” [True in theory, but not after a program has seen no movement and garnered virtually no attention in over five years.]
“Keeping a new version under wraps is stupid.”
Maybe it’s not stupid. Maybe it’s brilliant. Maybe Corel’s marketing team has a well-thought-out plan that will indeed create maximum impact. I certainly hope so, but don’t ask me to explain how that is going to happen. Number me among the hundreds who have expressed near-total bewilderment over Corel’s choice to not publicize the coming new release of Ventura.
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Ventura Publisher has been given up for dead many times in its enigmatic history. Its staunchest supporters have predicted doom for it, magazines have not deigned to give it even a mention in relevant software roundups, and newsgroup threads have frequently posed the notion that Ventura is a drowning ship.
Normally, when this happens, the makers of the software are quick to offer up carefully-worded statements in support of the software, and more important, the leaders of the user community pledge their allegiance to the software and to the community. But for many months, users’ cynicism and frustrated queries were met with nothing but silence. Corel would refuse to discuss the situation, and the afore-mentioned leaders were under a gag-order so stifling, they were not even allowed to disclose the fact that they were under a gag-order. Once Corel officials announced the pending new version, those of us under NDA could point to that announcement, but not say much else. For many of my colleagues, the easiest thing for them to do, when asked directly about the new Ventura. was to simply refer them to
vpsummit.com
where the conference web site goes right up to the edge of allowable disclosure, and maybe a tip-toe beyond, and as such, represents the most forthcoming public announcement.
Here is a recent exchange on the Ventura8 public newsgroup:
DOUG CHAPLIN: Does anyone have any idea roughly when we can expect Corel to release some info about the next Ventura.
ERIC WEBER: Even if we knew anything, we couldn’t say because Corel would have us under strict NDA.
RICK COXHILL: At [the Summit Web site], there is a paragraph: “At the Summit, you will be able to buy the new Ventura at the very best price we can offer.” So presumably the new Ventura will be released by then?
ERIC WEBER: Feel free to draw any conclusions you want — just understand that these are your conclusions, not Corel’s or anyone else’s. I can neither confirm nor deny anything about the next version of Ventura, other than Corel has announced that one is under development.
DOUG CHAPLIN: And in the meantime a whole lot of people may wonder whether to commute to those products that are here now, without waiting to find out what’s coming from a company that isn’t interested in selling a superior product! Nothing like shooting yourself in the foot.
This is just too weird for words. If ever there were a software program that needed publicity for a new version, it’s Ventura. After years of neglect by two different custodians, Ventura Publisher has lost virtually all standing in its marketplace, except for its extraordinarily loyal existing user base. But in the last nine months, we have begun to see an erosion at that very core. Decade-long users have wondered out loud if it is time to switch to a program that is better supported, and on the basis of our NDA-hindered milk-toast replies, many of them have left the fold altogether. Here is one of the prototypical exchanges, which took place last year.
CLIENT: My boss’s boss has made some rumblings about our moving to Adobe, and I am concerned that my boss will fall in line. I need some ammo to keep things steady over here.
ME: Have you told them that Ventura 8 still does everything you want it to do, and more?
CLIENT: Yes, but that won’t fly anymore, with Adobe pushing InDesign so heavily. I have sent over a dozen emails to Corel, asking them about the future of Ventura. I finally got a response back from someone in their public relations department: “Corel is evaluating the future of this fine product and is committed to making an announcement soon.”
ME: I can see why you are frustrated. All I can tell you is that, if I were in your position, I would be frustrated too. But from where I sit, I am not frustrated.
CLIENT: Rick, I mean no disrespect when I say this, but that is one of the lousiest answers you have ever given me.
ME: And at the same time, it is the very best answer I am allowed to give? [that right there was probably a violation of my NDA].
CLIENT: I think I understand the constraint you are under, but I don’t think I will be able to wait around to see how this plays out.
And he didn’t. His company moved to FrameMaker for its documentation, it has just poured $25,000 into the conversion, he hates it, and there is nothing he can do about it.
This is not an isolated incident. There is a handful of us around the world offering third-party support for Ventura, and each of us has stories like this to tell. This is simply the wrong application and the wrong time in its life for a marketing strategy shrouded in secrecy. In the eyes of even its loyal core, Ventura is seen to be dying on the vine; Corel’s choice to not disclose its plans for the new version fuels that impression.
Maybe I’m all wrong. Maybe Corel has a brilliant plan for Ventura X (I’m not allowed to tell you its version number). But if so, those of us in the “inner circle” have not been entrusted with it. So you have the people at Corel not discussing Ventura, those of us who have been the pied pipers of the community not able or equipped to discuss anything, all of the users wondering about the silence...and that adds up to a whole lot of nothing.
And the shame of it all is this: Even if the new version of Ventura were nothing more than a modest and incremental upgrade, the mere fact that Corel has taken that step should be hailed by all as a major step forward.
Corel has chosen not to play that card.
The fact that Corel has acquired technologies related to document production should carry at least the inference that the company has made a stake in the program’s future.
Corel has not really played that card, either.
This is not a resource question—this is not a question of spending millions or even thousands on an advertising campaign. Sure, we’d love that, but all we want is a bit of public discourse. All Corel would have to do is turn us loose, and we would do all of its bidding. Rarely does a company have at its disposal such free marketing support, and rarely does such rabid enthusiasm remain so bridled.
In July, that will all change. Corel has granted the Ventura Summit speaking team a three-day
reprieve from its respective non-disclosure agreements. At that time, you can bet that
one of the most oft-heard remarks will be:
Why didn’t
I know about this before??
We hope we will hear the answer to that question soon. Before it’s too late.
Copyright 2002, All rights reserved. Have an opinion? Share it with the Corel community at the CorelWORLD Forum. There is already quite a bit of discussion about this story. Join in.
May 2007: As simple as possible, but not simpler... · April 2007: Killer Keystrokes · March 2007: Resolution Confusion · January 2007: Fearless Forecasts for 2007 · November 2006: Epiphanies at PowerPoint Live 2006 · August 2006: Escaping Death by PowerPoint · July 2006: Notes from the Floor of InfoComm · June 2006: Beyond PowerPoint--Making Movies for Business and Pleasure, Part II · May 2006: Beyond PowerPoint--From Photos to DVDs · April 2006: It’s Your Music!--Overcoming the oppressive restrictions of iTunes · March 2006: CorelDraw X3—A few must-haves and a few missed opportunities, all in all, a credible upgrade · February 2006: Making Windows Inhabitable · January 2006: Fearless Forecasts for 2006 · September 2005: Just What is a Background Anyway? · August 2005: Meet David Dobson, Corel's New CEO · July 2005: Community, Blind Dates. and Albert Einstein: An Interview with the PowerPoint Live Conference Host · June 2005: CorelWorld 2005: Image Editors, Executive Appearances, and Krispy Kremes · May 2005: As Adobe's Shadow Grows, Is Corel Better off or Worse? · March 2005: Delivering Your Presentation: How Close to the Source Can You Get? · February 2005: Digital Photography: The Killer App of this Generation Part II · January 2005: Digital Photography: The Killer App of this Generation · November 2004: A Killer Deal for Corel Or Another Distraction? · September 2004: The Scourge that is Kazaa and AOL Instant Messenger · August 2004: The Golden Triangle: Presenter, Audience, and Slides · July 2004: A Blast from the Past: How Fast is Fast Enough? · June 2004: Guilty Pleasures · May 2004: A Personal Wish List for PowerPoint 12 · April 2004: Eyedropping: Version 12 makes a good tool even better... · March 2004: Deadly Sins Of Modern PowerPoint Usage · February 2004: Is the even-numbered curse finally over? · January 2004: Another take on Achieving Absence of Ugliness · November 2003: What can we do it again??--Debut of PowerPoint Live Leaves Unquenchable Thirst with the Host · September 2003: Corel Corp. Has a New Custodian · July 2003: Candor and Contrition at CorelWORLD · June 2003: What a Long, Great Trip It’s Been! · May 2003: The Boat that Corel is Missing · April 2003: No Fooling...Is Corel Breaking Up? · March 2003: The Annual Design-a-Brochure Contest · February 2003: Symbolism is Everything · January 2003: Mania, Our Semi-Annual Pilgrimage to Holland · October 2002: On Creativity, Problem-Solving, and Paper Bags · July 2002: CorelDRAW 11: Surprise, Surprise... · May 2002: The Sound of Silence: What does it mean when a company plays its cards so close to its chest? · April 2002: The Art and Science of Presentation Graphics--Creating for the Screen Has its own Challenges · March 2002: CorelDRAW 11: What kind of personality and attitude should a software program have today? · February 2002: Oy, my aching fingers... · December 2001: Digital Photography · November 2001: Can we say goodbye to the Rolls Royce Mentality? · October 2001: An Unforgettable Week: The drama that unfolded around CorelWORLD · August-September 2001: The Art of Paragraphics: New-age ingredients for success with Corel VENTURA · July 2001: Your Very Own Interface: How to make Corel applications read your mind · June 2001: Fighting the Font Wars: How to stay sane with your sans · May 2001--Turning the Key at Nicholas-Applegate · April 2001--A Modest Proposal for Reviving VENTURA Publisher
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