Who is In.vision?
In.vision Research is the leading provider of software that lets knowledge workers author XML content simply by using Microsoft® Word. Headed by John Friske, their CEO, and Michael Boses, their CTO, In.vision has many years of experience developing products to support XML authoring and management.
Quark is acquiring the assets of In.vision for the company’s XML technology, expertise and experience in building scalable XML solutions, all of which are important for dynamic publishing. In.vision’s main product, Xpress Author for Microsoft® Word (XA), is an add-in to Word that is far and away the best in the world for creating XML within Word – and the only XML authoring product that has the potential to become a mainstream tool. By making this product part of Quark’s Dynamic Publishing Solution, we can be the first company to deliver a mainstream solution for dynamic publishing.
In addition, In.vision brings expertise in delivering difficult, large-scale solutions, and industry expertise through their participation on standards committees such as SPL and DITA.
In.vision’s team believes as much in the potential of dynamic publishing as does the Quark team, and the leadership of both companies see tremendous benefits by joining as one company instead of maintaining the arms’ length relationship of partners.
By expanding the market for In.vision’s products through Quark’s much larger global sales channels, we will be able to increase our investment in supporting and developing In.vision’s products. In.vision’s current customers will benefit from this investment as we release newer versions.
In.vision’s customers will also benefit from the larger solution that Quark plans to deliver. Today, In.vision’s customers must piece together the components they need for a complete dynamic publishing system.
By expanding the market for In.vision’s products through Quark’s much larger global sales channels, there will be many more opportunities to provide services to In.vision’s customers.
XML is increasingly important in all types of publishing applications, so In.vision’s XML technology and expertise will help Quark enhance the XML functionality of all its products.
XML is increasingly important in all types of publishing applications, so In.vision’s XML technology and expertise will help Quark partners enhance the XML functionality of all their products and potentially reach new audiences.
In.vision is smaller than Quark, but we have chosen not to disclose details about In.vision’s business.
Like Quark, In.vision is privately held. We have chosen not to disclose revenues.
In.vision currently supports more than 200 financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, Fortune 500 companies, and federal government clients.
Quark is a global company, headquartered in Denver Colorado, with offices around the world. Quark is privately held and does not disclose its revenues.
Quark is not disclosing the terms.
In.vision Research has its headquarters in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and a branch office in Ireland.
Is In.vision moving its operations?
No, we expect that In.vision employees will remain where they are.
Initially, In.vision’s organizational structure will remain intact. We want to learn more about the strengths of and opportunities in each other’s organizations before we make any changes. While it’s likely that In.vision’s operating departments will be absorbed into their corresponding operating departments at Quark, we need time to make sure that’s the right decision.
We have no plans for layoffs related to this acquisition.
Will this product be available globally?
Yes, Quark will make the product available worldwide. However, see the next answer.
Today, In.vision’s products are available only in English. In the future, we will offer localized versions, but the timetable has not yet been determined.
We are still investigating the cost and opportunity of this decision.
No.
We have no plans to change the prices, but we are still reviewing them.
In.vision offers a family of products for authoring and managing XML content. These are:
For now, customers will contact In.vision through its website or the normal email addresses and phone numbers.
To the same place they’re going now.
For pricing, contact In.vision through its website or the normal email addresses and phone numbers.
In.vision’s customers generally have an enterprise license management solution. The desktop products are licensed per user. (No concurrent user licenses are available.)
Does this acquisition mean that Quark is abandoning the desktop or transitioning away from QuarkXPress?
Not at all. We will continue to develop QuarkXPress®, and at the same time expand our support for the growing community of users, such as content contributors, who participate in today’s print and multi-channel publishing workflows frequently via Microsoft Word.
Xpress Author for Microsoft Word was originally an optional component in DPS. Because Word is used by almost all of our customers, we will include it in every instance of DPS. Xpress Author allows content contributors to easily create and review structured XML content that can be utilized fully in Quark DPS. This will make it easier for our existing and new customers to implement a dynamic publishing solution and include all of their content contributors in their publishing workflows.
QPS customers can use In.vision’s products out of the box today. QPS is fully capable of managing XML documents produced through In.vision’s Xpress Author for Microsoft Word.
No. QuarkCopyDesk® lets users view and edit content in its final print form, while Xpress Author is for the initial creation and review of content in its “raw” form, before it is formatted for a specific media type.
Historically, Quark focused on the designer through QuarkXPress and on the copy editor with QuarkCopyDesk. Based on this acquisition, we expect to expand the community of users who can participate in a QuarkXPress publishing workflow to include content contributors.
We plan to integrate the XML capabilities of In.vision with QuarkXPress to power both our desktop and enterprise offerings. We are confident that given the scalability of Quark technology, we will be able to support single users in QuarkXPress as well as enterprises in DPS.
Yes, on a case-by-case basis.
What will happen to In.vision’s product names?
Because maintaining multiple brands is very expensive, we expect to retire the In.vision brand.
Yes. We expect to complete the integration of the websites by October.
What is the In.vision relationship with Microsoft?
In.vision is: (i) a certified partner; (ii) a Microsoft Office Showcase highlighted vendor; (iii) recipient of the Office 2003 Solution Builder Grand Prize; and (iv) a member of the Office 14 Developer Advisory Council. The following is the Microsoft Partner Profile for In.vision: "In.vision Research Corporation is the leading provider of software for Enterprise XML Authoring. In.vision's Xpress Author products enable Microsoft Word users to easily and transparently produce XML content. Customers use In.vision software to create content that is critical to national security, prescription drug safety, publishing processes, financial services, and enterprise content management. With offices in the US and Europe, In.vision delivers and supports its products through a global network of industry focused business partners."
In.vision’s Microsoft certification will be strengthened with the addition of Quark’s Microsoft certified employees.
In.vision is important to Microsoft because In.vision software enables Microsoft Office to become a mission-critical desktop across the organization. Quark will extend the reach of In.vision software many-fold.
Microsoft Word uses Open XML as a file format but that’s very different from In.vision’s Xpress Author, which allows any user to use Word to create XML with user-specified tagging such as DITA. Quark offers a white paper that explains these differences in detail.