Publishing, Information Industry, and Information Management
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Northern Light: Back, and Targeting Niche MarketsDespite its relative youth, Northern Light has already amassed a storied history. In a little over 10 years, the company rose to the top of the search engine heap, faced near ruin after it was acquired by another company (which ultimately collapsed into bankruptcy), and has now returned to prosperity and market dominance: albeit of a smaller niche market than general web search. Since 2004, the company has logged revenue growth averaging 30% per year and it is profitable today. The company has survived against the odds, and now provides valuable lessons for any company facing upheaval in its own market. Its lessons demonstrate the upside potential for companies of maintaining discipline in their market approach.
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K-12 and Postsecondary Education Market: The Role of Open Content Models in Re-Shaping Educational PublishingIndustry participants view the emerging open content movement as a potential disruptor to traditional K-12 and postsecondary publishing markets. The traditional textbook model is under attack from web-based alternatives, search engines, free content resources, and the unclear role that technology companies (e.g., Google, Microsoft) will play in educational publishing. With open content initiatives and resources gaining traction and acceptance among educators, market suppliers are under pressure to re-examine their businesses and explore new opportunities for business models, distribution partnerships, and innovative products: without fully cannibalizing their traditional publishing models.
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Executive Summary - Pharmaceutical Information Services 2008: Benchmarks and Best Practices Among the Largest Players in the Global Pharmaceutical IndustryPharmaceutical Information Services 2008 provides the most comprehensive study available of benchmarks and best practices among information functions in the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. It marks the fifth wave of Outsell’s multi-client benchmark study of information management executives at pharmaceutical firms. The study provides current information management benchmarks and best practices among the 14 of the top 50 global pharmaceutical companies, and compares and contrasts the information management state of the art with findings from our 2006 study.
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Information Solutions for the Clinical WorkflowThe implementation of new technologies and changes in medical practice has created lucrative opportunities for expert information publishers and suppliers. The big publishers are now moving en masse to build and acquire clinical decision support products and bring out new tools to inform the clinical workflow. With these opportunities, however, come challenges, as workflow products are more about transforming the practice of healthcare than about content. The lines between content, software, and services are blurring. Indeed, the clear market leader and first mover does not see itself as a conventional publisher at all, and has established its lead without offering any conventional reference content. In this comprehensive report, we review this new market.
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Publishers Re-Target Local Business News OpportunityBusiness news sections in the local US daily press used to be robust. Since local daily newspapers discovered business news coverage in the 1980s, those business news franchises served them well. Business news solidified readers’ attachments to the papers, and business-to-business advertising increased. The internet first changed that reader connection as digital stock listings made pages of tables obsolescent. Now, business news has been nationalized and globalized, allowing about a dozen top national and global news suppliers to provide direct news and data to local customers. In the past year especially, page counts in US business news sections have dwindled; some papers have stopped giving business its own section or devoted fewer pages and staff to coverage. Yet, some are finding new niches in the local business news space. This report looks at the evolving models for both new business audience creation and monetization of that audience.
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Canalys: Innovating and Growing Within the IT & Telecom Market Research MarketCanalys, a UK-based firm, has displayed rapid growth over the last two years - 50% in 2006 and 45% in 2007. In 2007 the company’s revenue was €6.1 million ($8.4 million). Canalys offers syndicated services, data modules, consulting, reports, and events for the IT & Telecom Market Research vendor community. Its focus is on channels, mobile, IPTV, and new technologies: especially in the area of convergence. Earlier this year Canalys announced Candefero, a new and interesting approach to encourage and reward panel participation for channel partners in the IT market. The company has created a platform to gather research; it rewards channel partners by giving them points to exchange for free research.
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Social Communities & Expert Networks in B2BPublishers, associations, information providers, educators, and consultants have long held themselves as the stewards and arbiters of the communities they represent, or as experts who share their knowledge with those they serve. Web 2.0 flattens the world: all users have a voice; all users are a source. User generated content and communities’ collective knowledge challenge the information industry establishment. While a litany of commentary and analysis covers social networks in the consumer world, there has been little coverage of these networks in the business and professional world beyond the recognition that what happens in the consumer arena ultimately influences and shows up in business. This CEO Topics report closes this gap and builds an argument for what “influences and shows up in business” really means.
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2007 Information Management Benchmark: State of the FunctionIn the fall of 2007, Outsell conducted its ninth annual benchmarking survey of information management (IM) functions. The data from this study adds to our existing knowledge base of operational key metrics and drivers for IM functions in corporate (including non-profit), government, education, and healthcare sectors. IM managers depend on the information from Outsell’s benchmarking studies to make informed decisions on their operations, services, and plans. The data in this Briefing reveals where IM functions in each sector fall, on average, in key operational metrics and activities such as budgeting, staffing, users, key ratios, services, strategic planning, and challenges. IM managers are often asked to provide hard numbers either to prove they are on par with their peers or to justify their own existence.
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Wolters Kluwer Clinical Solutions Transforms Publishing DNA to Maximise Digital OpportunitiesWolters Kluwer’s Clinical Solutions (WKHCS) business unit, which reports into the Wolters Kluwer Health division, provides an interesting case study in digital publishing. WKHCS’ story is one of transformation: An established publisher uses the acquisition of a healthcare IT applications software company as a lever to transform its own DNA. WKHCS’ products and approach differ from those of its sibling business units and those used by its rivals. This report takes an in-depth look at WKHCS to see what we can learn from publishers wrestling with new types of digital content aimed at becoming embedded in user workflow.
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Aggregate Knowledge Points Toward the "Discovery" WebAggregate Knowledge, Inc. is in the forefront of a movement to make web news reading smarter. Instead of selling “search,” Aggregate Knowledge sells “discovery,” - providing relevant news story links and (soon) advertising - to readers who do not have to search or take the time to personalize their experience. What makes the company noteworthy is its belief in a next stage web and what that stage will portend to news publishers - encouraging users to spend more time on news websites and improving news page monetization.
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