© copyright 2002, resourx consulting cross-media publishing productivity ways and means to increase...

© Copyright 2002,ResourX Consulting

Cross-media Publishing Cross-media Publishing ProductivityProductivity

Ways and Means to Increase Benefits while Maximizing Current

Systems

Dorothy J. HoskinsPresident, ResourX Consulting


Getting to the WebGetting to the WebGetting to the WebGetting to the Web

• Transforming content for internet access can be done in several ways– Literally, by making pdf files from the paper

document (guarantees same info, but not easy to search, can’t be changed dynamically)

– Web-only, where the content resides on the web and customers may print what they want, but it doesn’t mirror the paper document

– Web-and-paper integrated publishing, where the same information source is used to create online and paper documents


Cross-media publishing Cross-media publishing enables e-commerceenables e-commerce

• Online documents can be integrated with online ordering, transaction processing of credit cards, backend inventory reporting, shipment tracking, etc. in ways that paper documents can’t

• Paper documents provide some advantages (read without computer access, handle almost anywhere). Traditional print-and-distribute scenarios have severe disadvantages (long production lead times, high production costs, storage and shipping costs). Distribute-then-print (i.e. pdf) solves many of these but is not dynamic, on-demand.


What if you could create both What if you could create both web and paper documents at web and paper documents at

the same time, so that you can the same time, so that you can reduce effort and save money?reduce effort and save money?

You can do that now.You can do that now.You just have to find the ways and

means that work for your business.


Make the most of your paper Make the most of your paper document as the sourcedocument as the source

• You already have invested time and money into your paper documents that you can leverage for the web, but don’t rekey or copy/paste it– Identify the information that’s the same for

both media and publish it from paper to web– Enable ways to change information when

you need to; keep timely information on the web

– Create a way to flow the changes into the next version of the paper document


Make your publishing and Make your publishing and website support your brandwebsite support your brand

• Maintain your brand with logos, fonts, colors and layouts in web- and paper formats– Your brand is your public image; whatever form

it’s in it should be instantly recognizable as yours

• Maintain your standards for presentation in both media– Enforce quality standards for presenting

information about your products and your company, even with partners and channels


Work forward to change without Work forward to change without disabling current systemsdisabling current systems

• “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”; if your paper document works well for you, add internet functionality (but don’t throw out the paper document unless you want to quit printing it)

• Use the amazing resource you already have – all the content in your paper documents – but repurpose it to serve you on the web as well. This is the key to an integrated web-and-paper document publishing system.


Make your publishing system Make your publishing system do some new work for youdo some new work for you

• Many publishing applications enable “Save as Web Page “ functions that can get part of the job done, but don’t enable searching and customization of information

• A better way to get real value to your information is to “save as XML”

• XML stores information in a logical structure, makes it possible to build custom views of the information for specific customers or business purposes


““Save as Web Page” Save as Web Page” is a partial solutionis a partial solution

• While “Save as Web Page” makes information viewable on the web, you still have to maintain 2 sets of information: in the print publishing system and in your website– Difficult to keep synchronized: often different people

work on the paper and web pages, and there’s usually not a good workflow for making changes in tandem

– Hard to verify that changes have been made everywhere they should be; no easy way to locate the same info everywhere it appears in both media


““Save as XML” is more powerful, Save as XML” is more powerful, makes information “re-usefull”makes information “re-usefull”

• When you save the information from your paper document as XML, it can be located and changed with XML search/retrieval tools

• That same information can now be exchanged with other systems that support XML, such as Enterprise Resource Planning, warehouse databases, inventory control systems — all of which are becoming XML-enabled


Make your publishing system Make your publishing system work for your long-term needswork for your long-term needs

Use what you’ve got.Use what you’ve got.Build on it to add new functions

that expand your business opportunities.

Be accessible on the internet, be timely with new products getting to your customer’s awareness.


Unified Cross-media PublishingUnified Cross-media Publishing

• Unified means that your web and paper systems can communicate with each other

• Unified means that the web and paper document use the same indexing and categories

• Unified means that you can locate information in both media for updating

• Unified means that you maintain branding across all the places customers look for information about you and your products.


How do you unify?How do you unify?

• Use technologies that make information available to paper and web in a logically structured form– XML adds the necessary structure to enable the system

• First convert existing information to work in the unified system, building a repository of all the information you publish

• Add new information directly, without converting, by using pre-built forms to structure the information (similar to data entry forms for Access)

• Publish to paper or web by building documents from the information in the repository, the “single source”


How do you unify? How do you unify? continuedcontinued

• Start by picking the information that you’d like to have available on-line and on paper, and analyze its current structure

• To avoid reinventing the wheel and to enable interoperability with trading partners, pick a schema (rules for building information structure) from available ones*

• “Map” the structure of your documents to conform to the schema you’re using

* There are many schemas already in the public marketplace of ideas, see for example biztalk.com.


How do you implement the How do you implement the change to a unified system?change to a unified system?

• Identify the information that’s most critical to get online before your next paper print run, and work with it first. – This may be the products that generate the

highest profits, those that you have the most inquiries about, or those you sell in largest volume. Or new products that come to market before your next paper catalog can come out.

• Convert those documents without disrupting your current publishing workflow.


How do you implement How do you implement the change? the change? continuedcontinued

• Outsource your immediate conversion to knowledgeable XML services so your publishing dept. can keep working.

• Conduct ROI reviews to determine what to do in-house in future, and what to continue to outsource

• Train inside personnel to understand the XML structure of your documents and the schema you are using, regardless of what you do in-house or outsource.

• Create XML publishing systems, in-house or outsourced, that are compatible with existing publishing systems, or modify/create new publishing systems if advantageous to your future based on your ROI review.


Speaking of ROI…Speaking of ROI…

• Look at time-to-market. How much of the paper document lead time can you cut with a unified system? How quickly can you add new information to the web, and automatically update the paper version?

• Look at resources. Can unified publishing be done by a single dept. instead of personnel in two depts.?

• Look at accuracy. How many errors can be eliminated from your web and paper documents when the information is maintained in a single source?


Speaking of ROI…Speaking of ROI…

• Look at image-building. When your information can be viewed online, searched, recombined, and printed on demand (all benefits of unified cross-media publishing), and retain your branding, you have a polished, high-performance presence in the marketplace.

• In sum: The indirect benefits of XML make straight reduction of costs in publishing less dramatic than competitive edge, branding and time-to-market advantages.


Getting started with Getting started with unified cross-media publishingunified cross-media publishing

• Find an XML consultant or company, or train your own people, so that you know they:– understand your publishing applications and

standards for print production and – understand web design, including interactivity

(how customers use your site) and– know how to evaluate your information and

formulate the XML system that will make web-and-paper publishing work for you



• Start small, start smart– Build a prototype from a small set of sample

information (such as a section of product catalog pages) to see how the look and functions of a unified system will fit with your website and your current publishing workflows (this helps build your ROI assessment for full implementation and quality-assure the system)

– Prioritize the information you want to publish and make an implementation plan



• Get more information– Research the internet for industry schemas

and XML publishing information– Ask for estimates on implementing in-house

or outsourcing, according to your resources– ResourX Consulting provides strategic XML

consulting and implementation; visit us at www.resourx.com

http://www.resourx.com/

© copyright 2002, resourx consulting cross-media publishing productivity ways and means to increase...

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