FileWorks sorts out sales options

Alan Shaw, chief executive officer at FileWorks, Inc., looks out over the many fields he feels are ripe for the company's latest product FileWorks Online and must decide where to start.

The file management program, he says,

is for brokerages such as real estate and insurance; for human resources, attorneys, estate planners and accountants; for anyone who must manage documents.

Real estate agents, for instance, can upload disclosure packages, offers, counter offers, contracts, inspections and other critical documents for secure routing and electronic access, says Shaw, and they can send and receive faxes and process electronic signatures without being tied to the office.

To determine in which fields to prospect first, Shaw plans a campaign of experimental marketing in several to see which yield traction.

FileWorks, based at Incline Village, was founded in 1997 as InTech Solutions at Concord, Calif., and launched its initial product, which resided on the user's computer, in 2000.

FileWorks Online and the documents created with it reside on the FileWorks' server. That's a plus, says Shaw, because the data is protected with security encryption, a task for which small to mid-sized companies are often ill equipped.

Supporting an online software package is less of a challenge, he says, because he needn't worry about distribution of product or updates. In fact, says Shaw, FileWorks can update Online every few weeks with improvements that users request.

And marketing an online product will also take place online. But direct mail and telemarketing also have a role in educating people about the security risks of document management.

In a field with little competition, says Shaw, the plan is to focus on improving the Online product by adding further features, like version control. That's a job for Ryan Anderson, senior software developer. But Shaw plans to hire more sales and customer service help to plow into those vast fields of potential customers.