There is certainly no lack of research touting the size of the digital publishing industry. The latest from SkyQuest Technology Consulting, for instance, forecasts a massive growth that will hit $69.81 billion by 2028, which is nearly double that of the 2021 valuation of $36.29 billion. Such big numbers naturally bring huge opportunities—and major challenges—for players in the industry. And while the game plans to reap the opportunities vary from one player to the next, they are each variations on the same theme: to digitize and transform and to achieve these goals cost-effectively, expeditiously, and seamlessly. Turning roadblocks into building blocks along the digital journey is simply par for the course.
Aye to accessibility and AI
While discussions about accessibility have been going on for some time, many publishers are just starting on their “born accessible” journey, says Jo Bottrill, managing director of Newgen KnowledgeWorks in the U.K. and U.S. “By 2025, all digital content distributed in the European Union must be accessible against the Web Content Accessibility Group (WCAG) standards,” he says, “and that does not leave long for publishers to redesign workflows and train authors and in-house staff.”
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) estimates that at least one billion people, or 15% of the global population, have a recognized disability. Cumulatively, this group’s spending power is estimated to exceed $6 trillion, and that, if nothing else, should get publishers and digital players racing posthaste to make content accessible and relevant.
But the fact remains that there is still too much legacy content out there that is not accessible or aligned with the needs of today’s learners, says Ravin Minocha, senior v-p at Compro Technologies. “This is a stumbling block in the digital migration path for some publishers, derailing much of their transformation efforts. So improving learning efficacy and making content more accessible are two clear trends in the digital publishing industry.”
Instructors, who are pressed for time, require and welcome tools and content that enable them to be even more efficient and effective in the classroom, Minocha says. “At the same time, the usage of cognitive technologies such as AI and machine learning are becoming mainstream, with the key focus of leveraging them to empower instructors with the tools, analytics, and recommendations to act in real time, especially in adaptive and personalized learning. The challenge for solutions providers like Compro is to ensure that we apply—and balance—the correct amount of AI and machine learning where they are most needed without sidelining the autonomy and effectiveness of the instructor.”
The next generation of Newgen’s CE Genius tool, for instance, is helping to bring elements of automation to the pre-editing and copyediting process. “This relieves editors of some of the mechanical tasks in editorial and frees them to enhance the content and support the author,” Bottrill says. “Although we are some way from fully automated editing, our content assessment tools and structuring frameworks are helping us to bring greater speed and consistency to the early stages of the editing process.”
Increased demands in the areas of AI, managed content as a service (MCaaS), solutions to curate and provide bundled content, the usage of Experience API (xAPI) specifications in LMS to track learner progress, e-learning, simulations, virtual worlds, and social learning are apparent to Vinod Sundaresan, v-p of the technology services division at Impelsys. “Publishers are getting serious about providing personalized learning to their customer base,” Sundaresan says. “And while adaptive learning has been around for a long time, it is now coming of age, and the next few years are set to be a turning point for the e-learning industry.”
AI, along with blockchain, is one hot topic for Scott Winner, CEO of Ingenta. “But all too often,” Winner says, “these terms are used without a real understanding of what they mean. Presently, AI mostly means little more than enhanced search and discoverability, which is the primary focus of our work on platforms. But the potential for AI is so much more than that. As for blockchain, we think it will be important as it continues to develop in the use of smart contracts, which is a focus for Ingenta’s next moves into the music industry.”
Strategizing for security and sustainability
Cloud-native security, external attack surface management, port monitoring, and host isolation functionality: these and more are entering our lexicon now that cyberattacks are escalating and posing serious threats, not to mention damages, to businesses and governments worldwide.
Cybersecurity, says Sebastian Mayeres, CEO of knk Software (U.S.), is the most critical issue in publishing right now. “Given the rise of security breaches, the scale of a technology provider like Microsoft offers a more reliable underlying software platform along with expert and secure cloud services to counteract any cyber threats,” says Mayeres, whose company offers knkPublishing, the only Microsoft-certified publishing software in the world.
The shift from on-premise operations to the cloud, aided by AI-enabled systems, is picking up steam at knk Software. “Cloud providers not only offer the best IT technicians and leading-edge security, but they also provide access to applications that are not possible in-house—and at a price that can be flexibly scaled and budgeted,” Mayeres says. “Persistent pandemic-related challenges such as supply chain disruptions and paper shortages, and now inflation, have put tremendous strain on publishers and their ability to leverage technology. At knk Software, we are committed to providing the technology and consulting services to help publishers meet these challenges.”
Over at Klopotek, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, the buzzword is sustainability, and it goes beyond reducing paper wastage and carbon emissions company-wide or supporting projects such as restoring drained peatlands. “We are currently working with Publisher Consultants and other collaborators including the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Penguin Random House (Munich), the University of Applied Sciences (Stuttgart), and LEIPA (Schwedt) to create a code of conduct for acting sustainably for the German publishing industry,” says managing director Wolf-Michael Mehl. “Sustainability is a topic that no solutions provider or publisher can avoid. For us, the need to be sustainable and to fulfill CSR requirements represents not just a challenge but also new opportunities.”
As a provider of software and consulting services to publishers, Mehl says that he and his team “are constantly getting better at understanding how our portfolio can contribute to helping our clients act sustainably.” Klopotek Stream apps such as Inventory Manager, which checks stock inventory and reprints only when it becomes necessary, and Authors Online, which offers digital access and statements on royalties, advances, and subsidiary rights, are helping publishers to be more sustainable in their business processes. The new Calculation Manager, on the other hand, assists in determining the best paper sizes while reducing wastage. “There will be a growing demand for us to provide assistance in this field,” Mehl says, “and the Stream apps are just the start.”
Sustainability is inextricably linked to the supply chain issues roiling the publishing industry. “We have to ask ourselves: do certain elements of the supply chain have to be rethought or redesigned?” Mehl says. “And if this is to be done, then can these elements be more sustainable and better for all of us and for our future? Klopotek is certainly thinking about these questions and more.”
Sustainability is also high on knk Software’s agenda, with the team starting a new initiative to plant a tree for every demo or workshop they conduct. “Microsoft Azure’s Cloud Services are at the leading edge of global sustainability efforts to lower carbon footprints and use sustainable energy sources,” Mayeres says. “knkPublishing naturally operates on the Azure Cloud, and we are helping clients to lower their book miles.”
Of trends, technology, and tools
The adoption of digital solutions, as Uday Majithia, v-p of products and platforms division at Impelsys, succinctly points out, “is no longer a good-to-have in the strategy road map but a must-have for all business—and the publishing industry is no exception. With users demanding more personalized content than ever before, publishers must keep up with the market demands in an evolving digital landscape.”
Across the publishing and content creation industry, Majithia sees several key trends: the rise of audiobook platforms, especially in the self-help segment; the emergence of more book summary platforms; and increased partnerships instead of competition, which is a more financially viable approach. “While print remains strong, these key trends, though varied, are definitely moving toward technology-driven solutions,” says Majithia.
Clients partnering with Impelsys are future-ready, Sundaresan says. “They are unleashing new revenue channels and adopting flexible business models as well as self-service modules that leverage our digital solutions. A case in point: One major STM publisher partnered with us on its digital transformation journey, with the goal of digitizing and automating 80% of its business processes. Our team brings domain understanding, technology expertise, and market-tested digital solutions that have helped nearly half of the Top 20 global publishers to unleash their untapped revenue potential.”
Then there is the pressing need for publishers to establish their direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales channel. “This is about building a community with the buyers, creating active websites, and linking them to their back-end systems,” says Mayeres, of knk Software. “By doing these things, publishers can overcome the limitations caused by their own data silos that blocked the application of Big Data and AI to customer data derived from internal and external sources. The seamless integration of Microsoft’s 365 Business Central ERP Software, on which knkPublishing software is built, with Shopify’s webshop software, D2C, is made much easier.”
Bottrill, of Newgen, continues to see publishers outsource more of their operations, including value-added services such as commissioning and product development as well as manufacturing support and permissions management. And this is happening at both ends of the supply chain, with vendors such as Newgen taking on more responsibility for market research, content acquisition, and development and content distribution. He and his team are working with several publishers “to explore new models for supporting OA book publishing while retaining the strong notions of quality and author care that are important to so many of us.”
Democratizing technology for digital content delivery is the focus, says Minocha, of Compro Technologies. “Our solution offers a reliable out-of-the-box technology stack, which can—at a fraction of the cost that large publishers would have spent—allow content creators to realize their digital visions. We are set to include more analytics-based and intelligent tools in our educational products.”
For Winner, of Ingenta, whose company is celebrating 45 years of creating and providing reliable software products and services, adjusting to the multitude of formats that have come and gone is the biggest challenge. “Publishers need to realize and understand that much of the old manual ways of doing things are no longer viable if they are interested in a future where content is sold in its granular form—down to the chapter level—or when transactions are finalized via smart contracts or using NFTs,” he says.
Fresh from signing a major contract with a publisher that was Ingenta’s first customer and is in many ways using the same basic software developed in 1977 but with lots of improvements, Winner says that “the publishing industry, at its core, has not changed much over the years. The goal remains to develop, nurture, edit, package, distribute, and market writing that entertains and informs a wide reading public. As for the publishing software industry, the goal is to provide the tools to perform these tasks efficiently and economically. And Ingenta, serving over 400 trade and scholarly publishers, continues to find new ways to help our partners.”
Now let’s hear what six major digital players are doing to help publishers traverse the digital landscape and meet evolving consumer demands.
Teri Tan is a contributing writer for Publishers Weekly.
This feature is published with the support of the digital companies covered in these articles.
