Canva, the $26 Billion Design Startup, Launches a Productivity Suite To Take On Google Docs, Microsoft Office

Canva, the Australian graphic design business valued at $26 billion, is introducing a new suite of digital workplace products that "represent a direct challenge to Google Docs, Microsoft Office, and Adobe, whose digital tools are mainstays of the modern workplace," reports Fortune. However, Cliff Obrecht, Canva co-founder and COO, claims that Canva isn't trying to compete with these corporate behemoths. "Instead, he sees Canva as a visual-first companion to these tools," reports TechCrunch.

"We're not trying to compete head-to-head with Google Docs," Obrecht told TechCrunch. "Our products are inherently visual, so we take a very visual lens on, what does a visual document look like? How do you turn that boring document that's all text based into something engaging?" Fortune reports: With the launch, Canva hopes to transform itself from a mainly consumer-focused brand often used by individual teams to design social media graphics and presentations to a critical business tool -- and, in the process, crack open the productivity management software market valued at $47.3 billion and growing at 13% a year, according to Grand View Research. "Visual communication is becoming an increasingly critical skill for teams of every size across almost every industry," cofounder and CEO Melanie Perkins said in a statement. "We're bringing simple design products to the workplace to empower every employee, at every organization, and on every device." The product offerings include Canva Docs, Canva Websites, Canva Whiteboards and Data Visualization -- all of which are interoperable, "so if you make a presentation, you can turn it into a document or a website too," notes TechCrunch.

"Canva also plans to launch its API in beta, enabling developers to more easily integrate with the worksuite. Plus, Canva is launching a creator program where highly-vetted designers can sell templates, photos and designs to Canva users."