The Omni Group is one of the few big software companies that give a yearly roadmap. I understand why so few companies do this. Often priorities change. For example, last year the Omni Group ended up spending a lot of time for OmniFocus for iPad as a result of announcements at WWDC 2019 that meant some of their other plans got pushed back. As someone on the outside (and also someone that often has to deal with shifting priorities), I find it fascinating to see how the Omni Group plans and adjusts. Regardless, the 2020 Omni Group Road Map has a few highlights worth sharing.

Automation!

The Omni Group has been working on its own flavor of JavaScript automation for some time. They’ve got some very smart developers, and they’re also getting help from Sal Soghoian. 2020 looks like the year they are going to be putting the pedal down automation so users can create their own custom features. It is probably no surprise that this is my favorite destination on the Omni Road Map. I announced in the January MacSparky newsletter that I’d be doing a free update to the OmniFocus Field Guide this year. You can expect there will be content around this new Omni automation. You cal also expect the Automators podcast will be all over this.

OmniFocus for the Web

The Web version of OmniFocus shipped last year. Additional features are coming, however, so you’ll be able to get even more OmniFocus features on your office windows machine.

OmniPlan 4

Omni Plan has always sought to be the planning app that is both powerful and easy to use. Version 4 is in the works that will push on both of those objectives.

Simplified Licensing

The Omni Group is hoping to introduce a sign-in licensing program, so you don’t have to fiddle with software license codes anymore. The goal is to make using your Omni apps as easy as signing into Netflix.