TMO got together
with the President and CEO Alykhan Jetha of Marketcircle at
Macworld to talk about his company, their
Mac only Daylite 3 productivity suite, and
their new Billings 2 software.
Daylite 3
is a software package that elegantly ties together calendaring,
projects, tasks, contacts, and also integrates with Appleis Mail app.
The Mac Observer: Mr. Jetha, how did Daylite come into existence?
Alykhan Jetha: Please. Call me “A.J.”
Daylite was an accident.
Originally, we were trying to better organize
our Website development business. So we
put together an early version on the Mac,
for a single user, for our own internal use.
TMO: What happened next?
A.J.: Well, it was written in Cocoa from square
one. It was still rather crude. But then, by word of mouth,
someone at Apple saw it. They were amazed
and told us, “You gotta sell this!”
TMO: And so you started the Mac development…
A.J.:
Yes. Right away, we came to realize that the Windows
environment was
hindering progress in this area. This was
back in 2001. There was little
competition, people were not on their toes,
and no one was trying to make a difference.
We decided to make a difference.
We started working on a networked version, but the single user version
of Daylite 1.0 shipped April 5th, 2002.
TMO: Can you characterize your current
customers?
A.J.: Weive seen that about 50% of our current
customers are switching, or thinking of
switching, from Windows to Macintosh. Also,
our sweet spot is small busineses. Companies
with, say, from one to fifty employees.
TMO: For awhile, I used Daylite personally
for a project, and I thought it was somewhat
expensive for an individual.
A.J.: Perhaps. But at the sweet spot company
size, weive found the price is just right
because they appreciate the cost versus
value. Occasionally, when we offer a promotion
and lower the price, our sales have actually gone
down.
TMO: Do you see future integration with the
iPhone?
A.J.: Absolutely.
TMO: Okay, letis move on to Billings 2. What was
the motivation there?
A.J.: Billings was designed as a standalone product that is targeted towards a different business audience — the single user, say, a freelancer who isnit the typical Daylite customer. The unexpected fallout was that many Daylite users clamored for integration [with Billings], and we have since obliged.
TMO: But Billings 2 can be used stand alone?
A.J.: Yes.
TMO: What is important about Billings 2?
A.J.: It has a great built-in time tracking system, sets up projects, and can generate really first class, professional looking invoices to bill clients.
TMO: Who do
you think your biggest competitor is?
A.J.: Right now, itis hard to say. Microsoft
Exchange and Outlookis project management
scheme are an imposing proposition for a small
business. But Daylite works perfectly for them. In addition, we
have a great system for delegation,
reporting and professional looking invoices
for that size business. We have an open API
for plug-ins like the Apple Mail Integration
plug-in, and we have f-script as an internal scripting tool.
We have a training program to help our partners (resellers)
learn how to customize the application for end users.
There really isnit
anything else like it. But, of course,
that may not remain so forever. I would add that we are
hard at work making sure Daylite stays ahead.
TMO: Are your customers happy with the Apple
Mail app as the only e-mail integration so far?
A.J.: We havenit really had
any customer feedback requesting integration with an e-mail
program more substantial than Appleis Mail.
TMO: Do you have any last words for us?
A.J.: Weire on track to support full Mac OS X
syncing services and the iPhone in the first
half of 2007. And we have a new slogan:
“Mac business starts here.”
TMO: A.J., thank you very much for speaking with
The Mac Observer.
This interview was updated by the author to include clarifications from Marketcircle.