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We believe in magic.
Posted by Hong Bui, CEO & Founder @ Memeo
Pop quiz! What do e-mail and iTunes have in common? Beside the fact that they are wildly popular and we rely on them daily, what else? Need another minute…? The answer is: Sync.
Sync is the magical underlying technology that keeps files and data updated, identical, and available. If done right, it should also be invisible. Users don’t have to think about it. Plug in your iPod or iPhone and your favorite songs, videos, and playlists are kept up-to-date by iTunes. E-mails are magically kept in sync across multiple devices without anyone ever thinking about it. In short, sync is that ‘zen magic’ that keeps your digital life simplified.
This magic is something we at Memeo believe in. Many of us here at Memeo have had experience dealing with sync technology for a very long time (over 30 years). We’ve worked in the mobile, cloud and desktop space for companies such as Apple, Amazon.com, Nokia (Intellisync), Palm, and Visto (as founders). We have learned – sometimes the hard way – in order for sync to be successful, companies should adhere to these key tenets:
1. Sync is simply the underlying technology that powers these useful applications. There is the core capability of sync (i.e. the technology)…and more importantly, there is how the technology is used. The true test of a successful application is in how it solves everyday problems, especially if it can also greatly enhance the user experience. When users add songs, rate them or add them to their iPod or iTunes playlist on a PC, those changes are transparently replicated to your devices. Sync is simply the technology inside iTunes that makes this happens.
2. Sync is invisible. It’s magic. It just works. When you use iTunes, would you describe what you’re doing as “file and content synchronization”? No, of course not. Same for e-mails. Sync needs to happen very quietly behind the scenes. If a user is made too aware of a sync process, then it’s already implemented poorly. Don’t ever confuse the technology with the application (see point #1).
3. A rich client completes the experience. As consumers, we have come to expect that our data is available on our computers, devices, and in the cloud. Strictly having your data only available online or on your desktop is no longer sufficient. This is why an e-mail client such as Outlook completes and extends the use of e-mail. And iTunes provides a much richer consumer experience for the iPod. So we can be productive, in-touch, and entertained anywhere and at anytime.
Adhering to these views, we are excited to team up with Google on integrating Google Docs to the desktop and extending the use of Google Docs even when offline.
Google introduced some key enhancements last week that make its Google Docs service even more enterprise-ready; namely, the ability to store any file type and collaboratively share folders for all of its Premier Edition customers.
Knowledge workers today demand the ability to work on all types of documents whenever and wherever they are, even when disconnected from their network. Together with the Google Docs team, we believe we have delivered on that promise of the ideal sync solution. The perfect union of ubiquitous web access, the convenience and power of local file availability in native formats including office is the killer app.
You can think of Memeo Connect as the Outlook for your Google Docs, providing the rich local client experience coupled (i.e. synced!) seamlessly with Google’s world-class services. Memeo believes that the vital drivers for the next generation of office workers are 1) The continued deployment of web and mobile services supporting key business processes and 2) The sync technologies and tools that enable users to work richly disconnected while maintaining the levels of productivity that businesses require. The days where businesses accept downtime or lesser production due to their users switching back and forth between the online and desktop environments are over. Expect more.
First there was Outlook + e-mail…then iTune + iPod…, and now Memeo Connect + Google Docs. Always in sync, always available, always up-to-date to simplify your life. Sound too good to be true? Check it out for yourself. More details and free trials are available at www.memeoconnect.com.
Hong
A New Beginning
Posted by George Northup: President, Memeo
I’m very excited to have recently arrived as the latest addition to Memeo’s management team in the role of President. Previously, I helped build four early stage software/service companies and took them all the way to IPO or exit. In the process, these companies generated in excess of $1 billion of cumulative revenues. I particularly relish the challenge and thrill of helping to take a promising, exciting company to the next level – and through the stratosphere. Also, I have a specific desire to be involved in products that have profound impact on our daily lives.
After successfully selling my last company in 2008, I took some time off to relax with my family and travel internationally. Plus, I used my time off to think about the next venture that I might pursue. In particular, I thought a lot about evolving consumer lifestyles and trends. Although I was increasingly approached by various companies about different opportunities, I kept hearing about an amazing company called Memeo. Through mutual acquaintances, I knew of founder/CEO Hong Bui, a brilliant visionary with prior successful executive stints at both Amazon and Apple. Eventually, Hong and I met in late 2008 and our initial conversation together triggered my enthusiasm about Hong’s vision to “Simplifying Your Digital Life.”
More than ever, individuals consume an exponentially greater mass of digital products and services. We are bombarded with rapidly expanding content availability consisting of photos, music, movies, videos, as well as the more “traditional “ content involving productivity files (PowerPoint, PDF, Excel, Word, etc.). Simultaneously, individuals use a widening range of digital devices, including multiple desktops and laptops, iPODs, digital cameras, handheld video devices, and mobile phones to access data.
We all want to access and experience the increasing content (whether it be family photos, music, videos…) and we want to sample or share the content through any device of our choosing. But how to deal with all this voluminous content, how to protect valuable files, how to access between different devices? In short, how to manage all this digital media? Managing digital media and all the various devices becomes a daunting task – in fact a huge potential headache and time drain.
This is where Memeo comes in. Memeo’s LifeAgent® Platform is a suite of digital media management software that simplifies everything so you can enjoy your content instead of worrying about administrating and managing it. Memeo provides an elegant platform to easily back up, sync, and share files across multiple devices and users. Most importantly, despite very sophisticated underpinnings to the platform (all under the hood), Memeo’s products are powerful, simple, intuitive, and easy to use. After using the products, it becomes effortless to manage your digital media and, in fact, you wonder how you managed before. It’s no accident that over 20 million users in 150 countries (and in 10 languages) have downloaded Memeo products.
In short, I believe that Memeo helps people manage their digital lives better as we will continue to see more and more explosive growth in yet to be imagined content and devices. I am passionate about Memeo and its mission to simplify digital life, and so I’m excited to be on this journey with Hong and his team.
