Ubiquity. It's a great word, meaning "existence everywhere at the same time" or "omnipresence." And while ubiquity is usually the stuff of myth or legend, DataViz is attaining it with its wildly popular software titles for smartphones such as the MOTO Q family.
"The company's true emergence in the mobile market began in 1996 with the launch of the Palm Pilot," said Rob Hoxie, DataViz Director of Business Development. But as mobile productivity began to move from a niche market towards the mainstream, DataViz saw an opening that would eventually cross over to a broader audience.
With Documents to Go, DataViz was poised to go big, to take a shot at gaining the type of ubiquity and Microsoft Office enjoys by bringing fully useable Microsoft Office documents (Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint) to the mobile user. It's a great idea. Bringing Office Suite functionality to the portable screen has the potential to let users exist everywhere at the same time, themselves.
"One of the challenging issues developing a Microsoft mobile office solution is adapting the form factor into an environment where there is limited real estate," Hoxie said.
Instead of cramming every Microsoft Office feature into, or stripping all the useful tools out of the final product, the team of developers at DataViz concentrated on making the most important features usable in all settings – desktop or mobile. Current versions sport InTact Technology – a clever method of separating the complex formatting from the mobile document, while preserving the, well, "intact" document for desktop users, even after edits.
"With InTact Technology, desktop documents and the formatting associated with them are always kept to their original form," Hoxie said. "Customers can remain confident in using their files on their smartphone and never having to worry whether the original has been compromised."
That attention to detail has Documents To Go in use in a variety of demographics, from students to professionals.
"Documents To Go has its roots in the pro-sumer market. Business professionals use it to actively work on business contracts, sales numbers, presentations and budgets. But we also find students using it to keep track of their exam papers, and other consumers who use it to track Christmas wish lists or even as a personal wedding planner."
That broad usage makes Documents To Go a natural pairing with the globetrotting MOTO Q. Bring users the ability to read, edit and create the most common document types, on one of the most widely-distributed smartphones on the market and not only do you bring true mobility to your customers, you begin to appear everywhere at once yourself.
Extending the reach of these innovative applications, though, required an extra level of access, and a dedicated program for the developers at DataViz to get quick access to information from the manufacturers. When DataViz wanted to go big with the new QWERTY tablet-based Q handsets, they drew on their MOTODEV membership.
"The MOTODEV developer program is a great resource for applications to get developed, promoted and recognized by Motorola and other industry partners," Hoxie said. "Our participation in the program has opened doors for us."
Through MOTODEV, DataViz has access to 24/7 technical support, knowledge base articles, the most up-to-date documentation, industry-standard development tools, topical articles, application signing support and certificate support, loaner handsets and more. MOTODEV members also have the opportunity to market their products through the Motorola Solutions Catalog, where Documents To Go is a popular and frequently featured product.
"Great communication is a key factor in our relationship with Motorola," Hoxie said. "It's very helpful to have an open line of communication through the MOTODEV program. This helps us quickly address any questions and technical issues that may arise during our development. Thus helping us get to market quicker and capitalizing on the new market opportunities being created by Motorola."
Now that Documents To Go is preloaded on the MOTO Q family, DataViz is beginning to enjoy the benefits of having ubiquitous software. With hundreds of thousands of copies sold in 2007, Hoxie said that DataViz will be working to bring other DataViz applications to other Motorola products.

