Macromedia opens federal office in Md.

Macromedia Inc., already a supplier of multimedia tools to many agencies, is expanding its presence in the federal market with a new office in Rockville, Md., and lower pricing for government customers.

Macromedia, which sells multimedia software that runs on Microsoft Corp. Windows and Apple Computer Inc. Macintosh platforms, already sells its products through a number of resellers but now wants to expand its presence with a direct sales channel.

Additionally, the company has cut federal prices 25 percent across the board.

"One of our biggest goals is to serve the government better," said John Joaquin, Macromedia's national government sales manager.

Freehand, Backstage in Product Line

Macromedia's product line includes Freehand Graphics, formerly sold by Aldus Corp., and Backstage, which is a Hypertext Markup Language World Wide Web authoring.

The company also offers Macromedia Authorware, for computer-based training, and Director, for putting together briefings.

Macromedia's sales channels include resellers AmeriData Federal Systems, Government Technology Services Inc., catalog retailers Softmart and MicroWarehouse, and such multimedia specialists as Source Digital, Joaquin said.

The Air Force, the Army, the Senate, the Library of Congress and the World Bank all use Macromedia Authorware for computer-based training and Director for briefings. Authorware can be used to teach recruits how to fix aircraft or how to use Windows. Director lets users create their own CD-ROMs.

Although the federal government is one of the world's largest Macintosh customers, most of Macromedia's sales are of Windows versions of its products, Joaquin said.

Macromedia plans to expand its small federal sales office to a staff of three to five sales people in the next year or so, Joaquin said.