This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Two local companies are partnering to market a new technology aimed at helping small businesses organize their operations.
Salt Lake City-based FranklinCovey, known for time-management products and consulting services, by this summer hopes to offer mobile services from Me Inc., a unit of Lindon-based The SCO Group, a software company.
The software technology will enable FranklinCovey customers, including groups as small as families, to organize schedules, appointments and use multimedia from smart phones and computers.
"It's a great tool for a family that needs to keep schedules coordinated. They can share information from a mobile phone or a computer," said SCO Operations President Jeff Hunsaker.
Specific details will not be released until next month, but Hunsaker said the real-time mobile product will require a monthly fee, and is designed to be competitive with Microsoft's Outlook Express. The technology will be sold under the FranklinCovey brand.
Part of the collaboration came from FranklinCovey's desire to branch out from its paper-based dayplanners.
"Paper products are an important part of [FranklinCovey's] business, but they are looking to occupy a new space and reach a new demographic. They help people manage their lives, so this is a natural extension of what they are already doing," said Hunsaker.
Representatives of FranklinCovey did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment.
SCO is looking into creating an application that could be used on Apple's iPhones, and the company is working with handset manufacturers and carriers to distribute the technology, Hunsaker said.