Local firm finds form in the US

The spin-off software development arm of local system integrator Uniqueworld is finding sales for its product offerings offshore to be almost 10 times that in Australia.

The company is generating sales leads through the clever use of blogs, rather than yet investing in a direct US presence.

The company, called Unique World Software, spun off from its parent, a Microsoft Gold partner and .Net developer, several years ago. It develops and sells TIPS SharePoint, a software connector that integrates Tower Software TRIM Context with Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server; and the InfoView range products.

Microsoft produces a product called InfoPath which is a design tool used to create forms such as marketing surveys, insurance claims or expense reports. However, it requires an organization's business partners to have InfoPath installed on their desktops in order to view a form. Unique World's InfoView converts InfoPath views into Web forms. This way, anyone with a browser can view and create a form.

Christophe Dumonet, managing director, says the company is presently selling 90 percent of its products abroad. "We are in a niche space so I am happy with the way it is going with awareness in the marketplace."

It always helps when business has government on their side, and this is certainly the case for Unique World Software. InfoView has popped up in several US government departments including US Veterans' Affairs, Government of District of Columbia, US Department of Justice, and a Denver public school.

"We have not yet opened an office in the US - we have developed an innovative online marketing approach which typically generates 1500 new visitors per week to www.infoview.net."

"The early adopters are in the US," he said. "We have designed our communication strategy with the goal of being successful there."

Dumonet says he has tried to make the InvoView.net site "look American". The site details information about InfoView as well as allowing customers to view a demo or request a trial of the product. In addition he has made use of newsgroups, Google Ads and blogs (http://eforms.blogs.com).

However, the company will most likely have some presence in the US in the future. " To close business you need to do it face to face. Moving forward, that has to scale," he said.

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