New Contenders in the Editorial Systems Market - Impressed
New Contenders in the Editorial Systems Market - Impressed
New Contenders in the Editorial Systems Market - Impressed
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<strong>Editorial</strong> <strong>Systems</strong><br />
Smart Connection<br />
palette. The Smart<br />
Connection palette<br />
can be run <strong>in</strong><br />
browse or query<br />
mode. In this view,<br />
brows<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> WW<br />
<strong>New</strong>s issue<br />
generated this<br />
list<strong>in</strong>g of items. The<br />
first item, an image,<br />
is highlighted, which<br />
produced <strong>the</strong><br />
preview at <strong>the</strong><br />
bottom. Note <strong>the</strong><br />
three palettes at <strong>the</strong><br />
top and <strong>the</strong><br />
pulldown menus<br />
below, which are<br />
characteristic of<br />
Smart Connection<br />
Enterprise. The<br />
order of columns<br />
and items with<strong>in</strong><br />
columns can be<br />
customized.<br />
<strong>in</strong>terface via HTML templates and WebApps functionality<br />
us<strong>in</strong>g PHP script<strong>in</strong>g. It is possible to develop new<br />
applications for <strong>the</strong> WebApps module.<br />
Palettes. The key to day-to-day production are <strong>the</strong> three<br />
palettes Enterprise adds to InDesign: <strong>the</strong> Smart Connection,<br />
Elements and Element Label palettes. They<br />
use a comb<strong>in</strong>ation of pulldown menus, “context”<br />
menus that change accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> situation, and buttons<br />
that trigger common functions.<br />
The Smart Connection palette (see photo below)<br />
gives an overview of articles, images and layout files<br />
associated with <strong>the</strong> current publication, generated<br />
ei<strong>the</strong>r by “brows<strong>in</strong>g” or “query<strong>in</strong>g” <strong>the</strong> database. The<br />
result<strong>in</strong>g display of articles and files appears <strong>in</strong> column<br />
format across <strong>the</strong> top, with an area across <strong>the</strong> bottom<br />
to display a preview of whichever item is highlighted.<br />
The Elements palette (see photo on page 13) lists<br />
all assets on a page, with up to 10 types of <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
about each, <strong>in</strong> column format. It <strong>in</strong>cludes <strong>the</strong>ir status <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> workflow, <strong>the</strong> basket <strong>the</strong>y belong to, <strong>the</strong> editor<br />
who is work<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong> type of file, <strong>the</strong> page to<br />
which <strong>the</strong> item has been assigned, <strong>the</strong> first few l<strong>in</strong>es of<br />
text (if it’s a text file), checkout status and so on. This<br />
palette also <strong>in</strong>dicates when a page has been checked<br />
out for layout (<strong>the</strong> text can still be edited) or when an<br />
editor has changed a file and it is ready for its next step<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> workflow. A nice feature of <strong>the</strong> Elements palette<br />
is that items can be organized <strong>in</strong> various ways, such as<br />
by article or alphabetically by name.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> editorial process, a messag<strong>in</strong>g facility<br />
allows users to send messages to one ano<strong>the</strong>r. Messages<br />
pop up <strong>in</strong> a box on <strong>the</strong> screen when <strong>the</strong> recipient is<br />
logged <strong>in</strong>.<br />
The third palette, Element Label, is used to apply<br />
“labels” to stories, such as body, byl<strong>in</strong>e, caption or<br />
credit. To simplify <strong>the</strong> process, each text item starts<br />
with a default label that can be changed us<strong>in</strong>g a pull-<br />
down menu. The item def<strong>in</strong>itions, which are stored on<br />
a global basis, are easily editable XML files.<br />
Third-party applications. Woodw<strong>in</strong>g is rely<strong>in</strong>g on partners<br />
to supply some of <strong>the</strong> necessary applications for its<br />
target markets. For newspapers and magaz<strong>in</strong>es, plann<strong>in</strong>g<br />
software is be<strong>in</strong>g developed by one company <strong>in</strong><br />
Italy and ano<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> U.K., and wire-service handl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
has been developed by a U.S. company, Coda<br />
Integration. Coda, notable for hav<strong>in</strong>g been established<br />
by Baseview founders Jim Meyer and Dave Lu<strong>the</strong>r, is<br />
also work<strong>in</strong>g on three o<strong>the</strong>r modules. One polls e-mail<br />
folders to locate Word attachments and automatically<br />
converts <strong>the</strong>m to InCopy format, ano<strong>the</strong>r aids <strong>in</strong><br />
upload<strong>in</strong>g graphics files while a third handles stories<br />
that jump from one page to ano<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
Status, pric<strong>in</strong>g and distribution. SC Enterprise was<br />
released <strong>in</strong> May and is <strong>in</strong> live production at 12 sites: six<br />
magaz<strong>in</strong>es, three newspapers (one each <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> U.S.,<br />
Guatemala and The Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands), two ad agencies (<strong>in</strong><br />
Denmark and Germany) and a book publisher <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
U.S. <strong>Systems</strong> also have been sold and are await<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>stallation at sites <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> U.S., Denmark, Italy and<br />
South Africa, br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g to 16 <strong>the</strong> total number of systems<br />
sold (n<strong>in</strong>e of which are magaz<strong>in</strong>es).<br />
Pric<strong>in</strong>g is quite attractive for this level of functionality:<br />
$5,000 for <strong>the</strong> server, $1,000 per seat for page<br />
designers (not <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> cost of InDesign) and $750<br />
per seat for reporters or editors (not <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g InCopy).<br />
The WebApps application, which provides remote<br />
access to <strong>the</strong> database and adm<strong>in</strong>istrative functions,<br />
but not H&J, is <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> price of <strong>the</strong> system. The<br />
Remote Module doesn’t add to <strong>the</strong> price of Enterprise,<br />
but it requires <strong>the</strong> purchase of InCopy.<br />
One sample configuration we were told about,<br />
compris<strong>in</strong>g 110 seats, totaled about $1,000 per seat,<br />
not count<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>stallation and tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, which added<br />
about 25% to <strong>the</strong> system price.<br />
Distribution is through a network of <strong>in</strong>tegrators,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Coda Integration, DPCI, Onus, Mediasystemen,<br />
A&F, GraphIT, SmartColor, Jeberien and IRPE,<br />
and resellers. Some <strong>in</strong>tegrators, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g DPCI, will be<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g components atop Smart Connection, as well<br />
as perform<strong>in</strong>g customization. DCPI is focus<strong>in</strong>g on customers<br />
that already own systems such as Documentum,<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong>re is an exist<strong>in</strong>g connector. Resellers have<br />
been l<strong>in</strong>ed up <strong>in</strong> Japan, Australia and Canada, as well<br />
as <strong>the</strong> U.S. and most countries <strong>in</strong> Europe.<br />
Woodw<strong>in</strong>g handles market<strong>in</strong>g and support.<br />
In perspective. The expansion of <strong>the</strong> Smart Connection<br />
l<strong>in</strong>e upward with <strong>the</strong> Enterprise model presents a very<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g situation <strong>in</strong>itially for <strong>the</strong> QPS market and,<br />
quite possibly, a significant portion of <strong>the</strong> newspaper<br />
market when Enterprise’s newspaper features are fully<br />
developed. First, <strong>the</strong> Enterprise price will appeal immediately<br />
to nearly everybody look<strong>in</strong>g for this k<strong>in</strong>d of sys-<br />
12 October 6, 2004 • The Seybold Report • Analyz<strong>in</strong>g Publish<strong>in</strong>g Technologies