RIM steals Microsoft’s thunder by buying DataViz
By Wilson • Sep 9th, 2010 • Category: Industry News
- Photo: RIM
RIM recently confirmed purchasing a big stake in DataViz, the company that makes the mobile productivity app, Documents To Go. Included in that deal was the out and out acquisition of the intellectual property and talent behind the popular app.
As smart a move as it is for RIM, one has to wonder where Microsoft was when all of this was unfolding, especially considering all their data portability initiatives relating to Office 2010 and Office for Mac 2011.
Eyes wide shut
Documents To Go, which is available for various mobile platforms, including iOS, Android and Blackberry, is widely considered the best way to interact with Microsoft Office documents on a mobile device. Surely there is no way it wasn’t brought to Microsoft’s attention.
On the heels of pulling the plug on the webOS development for Documents To Go, RIM confirmed the DataViz acquisition, suggesting that it’s put its talent to work on its own BlackBerry platform. In short, this means, moving forward, all the other platforms Documents To Go is currently available on will have to fend for themselves while RIM tries to get greater BlackBerry integration with Microsoft’s suite of Office products.
Of course, that’s not to say that RIM will pull the app. Why do that with that nice $15 (about £10) per purchase flowing in from iOS? But DataViz will gradually fade from these platforms.
Office 2011 for Mac marches on
Speaking about productivity apps, Microsoft recently showed off more footage of Office for Mac 2011, highlighting sharing features and other key additions. Looking to negate the advantages Google Docs presents, the incoming productivity suite will allow for easier collaboration with docs – yet another reason MS should have bought DataViz. MS will release Office for Mac 2011 in October, and if you’re keen to see what they’re bringing to the table, you can check out this video.
Tags for this article: microsoft, rim
