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CNN Access: Corel exec on the future of graphics

Ian LeGrow
Ian LeGrow, executive vice president of creative products with Corel Corp.  

"Since January we announced our strategic vision to focus back on graphics, to go back to where we started from."

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (CNN) -- Corel Corp. is a graphics software company based in Ottawa, Ontario. It is involved with developing applications for a range of platforms, including Linux and Microsoft's .NET initiative.

 

Ian LeGrow, executive vice president of creative products with Corel, took time out from Comdex Canada West 2001 to discuss how a Canadian company maintains a share of the world market, what consumers can expect and whether the Ottawa Senators are a company favorite.

Q: Why is it important for Corel to be here at Comdex Canada West 2001?

LeGrow: Corel is really excited to be here at Canada Comdex. This year we're making a complete emphasis on the graphics market. Since January we announced our strategic vision to focus back on graphics, to go back to where we started from and put emphasis on our graphics base. We've been doing shows such as MacWorld, doing this show and showing off the product we've acquired in the last 18 months like KnockOut and Painter. As well here we've been showing off CorelDRAW 10, which was released in November. It'll be released on the Macintosh in the next few months.

Q: How does a Canadian company like Corel compete against some of the bigger U.S. firms?

LeGrow: Well, Corel is a very global company. The fact we're in Canada doesn't really have a bearing. We're very strong both in North America and in Europe, and around the world for that matter. We have a presence in Asia, as well as Australia and South America.

Q: What are the most exciting developments in the graphics software field?

LeGrow: In the last few years we've seen a real shift toward the Web. We've seen an increased number of standards. Corel has been participating in the SVG standard. (Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a new text-based language for describing two-dimensional graphical objects in Extensible Markup Language.) And so over the next few years we're going to see more and more emphasis on standards, especially in the Web space. So SVG, which we've been a part of, has been very exciting.

Q: What is the latest product out there for the personal consumer to use?

LeGrow: We've got some technology to appeal to both the personal consumer and the more professional user. On the consumer side, we're seeing more in the digital imaging space. Digital cameras have exploded over the last few years so something you'll be seeing from Corel in the next few months is called Photo Paint X, which a new technology for that consumer -- the digital camera owner. It's a collection of image editing components designed specifically for them.

Q: Last question, are you an Ottawa Senators fan? (The arena where the NHL team Ottawa Senators play is named after Corel)

LeGrow: I am definitely an Ottawa Senators fan. I went to see a game a few weeks ago against the (New York) Islanders and they tromped them.



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