EDITOR'S NOTE:
Changing Times
by Barbara Brynko
It’s a time of great change in the industry,” says Bill Trippe, vice president and lead analyst at Outsell, Inc.’s Gilbane Services. During his keynote at the 5th Annual RSuite User Conference in late October, Trippe asked how publishers and the information technology industry are going to respond to market demands for digital content with the estimated (and ever-escalating) 15 billion smartphones and 26 million iPads in use today.
The information industry, which has weathered the economic turmoil in the past few years, is now testing viable business models that may prove to be the catalyst needed to retool the offerings for a brighter financial picture. Trippe advises the industry to experiment with business models and move content to multichannels via media-neutral technologies. The old adage of “measuring twice and cutting once” may soon be replaced by the new and improved rule of “measure, measure, measure” as new products, tools, and services are rolled out the proverbial front door first to gauge marketability and then fine-tuned later. (For more on successful business models, check out the Report From the Field on page 19.)
Our last issue of the year reflects innovation from all angles. It starts with our feature on Andrew Savikas, CEO of Safari Books Online, who shares his insights on the company’s first 10 years. Then, we take a look at the strategic challenges in delivering multilingual content to global audiences. And finally, we explore the good deeds that industry corporations and institutions are doing worldwide to help the underserved.
But there’s plenty more innovation in this issue. And here’s wishing us all a happy, prosperous, and innovative 2012.
— Barbara Brynko |
