Systems For digital publishing, the end-user product consists out of a combination of software technology and engaging content. Coding and copy creation need to be well aligned in order to assure a great user experience. Not only the content management systems or the front-end apps are important. A whole set of systems and solutions need to work together seamlessly: • Content Management System • Planning System • Print Publishing System • Content Distribution System • Online Publishing System • Mobile & Tablet Publishing System • Subscriptions & CRM System • Authentication & Authorization System • Payment System • Online payments • App Store payments • Analytics, Reporting & Business Intelligence • Advertisement Management System • Customer Service System • Project Tracking System • Operations Management System Developing all these systems internally is impossible for many news organizations. Many solutions require totally different technical skill sets (e.g. iOS, Android, HTML5, Java, Javascript, C#,…) which are hard to find and retain. Additionally, the software development and deployment processes are very different for centralized software (such as CMS) and distributed software (such as apps). Finally, given the rapid evolution of the digital world, new functionalities have to be added on a continuous basis. For example, Facebook updates its iOS apps every 30 days on average. With the emergence of Cloud solutions, many of these applications are now available as a ‘Software-as-a-Service’ (SaaS). Such applications often offer best-in-class functionality, require no investment in local infrastructure and rapidly evolve over time. However, they create the needs for integration. They also increase the dependency on external cloud providers. Smartly choosing which systems to develop yourself, and for which solutions you want to rely on external (cloud) providers is a key factor of success. This choice should take the following elements into account: • Total development cost (internal & external) • Ongoing maintenance cost • Time-to-delivery • Access to talent • Impact on roadmap of provider

7 Building Blocks to Succeed in Digital Publishing – Part 5: Systems

For digital publishing, the end-user product consists out of a combination of software technology and engaging content. Coding and copy creation need to be well aligned in order to assure a great user experience. Not only the content management systems or the front-end apps are important. A whole set of systems and solutions need to[…]

7 Building Blocks to Succeed in Digital Publishing - Part 4: Processes

7 Building Blocks to Succeed in Digital Publishing – Part 4: Processes

Reaching outstanding levels of user engagement on digital products on a continuous basis requires disciplined execution of a complex set of operational processes, which in themselves need to be flexible and open to change. Many traditional print publishers were used to work on 1 single product through 1 streamlined workflow. In the digital age, they[…]

7 Building Blocks to Succeed in Digital Publishing - Part 3: Design

7 Building Blocks to Succeed in Digital Publishing – Part 3: Design

The past 5 years, Apple has grown into the most valuable company in the world. They are the best case to illustrate how important design is for successful broad scale adoption of digital products. Even Google, initially a strong believer in functional design, has recently significantly invested in its “Material Design” initiative. Recent work from[…]

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