Orbital Successfully Completes File Converter to Allow Claris® Impact Files to be Imported into Microsoft® Visio® 2002
Vancouver, BC – June 3, 2003 – Orbital is proud to announce the development of yet another file converter for Microsoft Corporation. Since 1999, Orbital has been developing superior custom software solutions for Microsoft. The business objective was to provide Microsoft with a solution that would allow Japanese users of Microsoft Visio 2002 to access, import and use files created in Claris Impact v3.0 Japanese.
The file converter created by Orbital reads Claris Impact documents and then writes them to an intermediate XML Drawing Document Layout (DDL) format, according to specified rules. The DDL files are then read by a sister file converter and written into Microsoft Visio format, according to a subsequent set of rules.
"Microsoft is extremely pleased with Orbital's creation of the Claris Impact to DDL Converter. Since incorporating this converter into Microsoft Visio 2002, we have been receiving very positive feedback from our customers, many of whom have been waiting for this functionality for some time now. Orbital's ability to deliver on this very challenging project has allowed Microsoft to meet or exceed the expectations of our customers. We congratulate the Orbital team on a job well done," said Nobuyoshi Yokoi, Senior Manager of Office Product Marketing Group, Microsoft Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan).
A key highlight of this project was the development of a new converter architecture by Orbital. This new architecture was the result of the extensive experience and unrelenting focus of the Orbital team to create new and innovative solutions that meet the needs of our customers. The objectives of the new architecture was to permit Orbital to deliver a Claris Impact to DDL Converter to Microsoft with no major bugs, on time and on budget. It allowed Orbital to respond quickly to change requests and unanticipated issues during the development of the file converter. The new architecture also allowed for the creation of a more robust final product.
"We are proud of our accomplishment on this project, as Microsoft secured us to develop the Claris Impact to DDL Converter after we were referred to the Microsoft Visio Team from another Business Unit within Microsoft that we had worked with previously. We believe that our extensive background working with a variety of file formats, as well as our relentless focus on the needs of our customers, allowed us to achieve an excellent outcome on this very challenging project," said Amyn Rajan, President and CEO of Orbital Technologies.
In developing the Claris Impact to DDL Converter for Microsoft, Orbital overcame the following two significant challenges.
· Compressed File Format - The Orbital team had to address compression issues associated with the Claris Impact file format prior to being able to research the underlying file format.
· Adaptation to the Final Result - There were various requests to change the DDL to simplify the conversion from DDL to Visio. The architecture of the converter needed to be flexible enough to respond to these requests without sacrificing performance, stability and maintainability.
· International Communication - Given the international nature of this project, the Orbital team was required to manage this project across great distances and account for language, cultural and technical differences.
The benefit to Microsoft in securing Orbital to develop a converter for Microsoft Visio 2002 was to increase the market attractiveness and utility of this application given the increased number of interoperable file formats.
About Orbital Technologies
Orbital Technologies is an established leader in providing custom software solutions across a range of platforms, including Windows®, Macintosh®, Unix, Linux, .Net and J2EE. We specialize in the following areas:
· File converters and filters
· Application Porting
· Web Development & Integration
· Custom Software Solutions
We work with many of the world's leading software companies whose key business drivers are quality, time-to-market and overall value. Our mission is to deliver innovative software solutions that provide our clients with a competitive advantage in their marketplace. For more information, visit http://www.orbitaltech.com.
Contact Email: media at orbitaltech.com |
Mission and Vision