IFRA

Klaus Dombrowski is CEO of Multicom, which develops and markets the NGen multimedia publishing solution.

IFRA: What is it that newsroom managers are seeking in their planning solutions today?

Dombrowski: Compared to traditional editorial workflows, the demands of newsroom managers differ from client to client. And the (current economic and industry) crisis is changing their needs again. That means a system has to be flexible by offering efficient workflows for print-driven publishing and multi-channel-publishing as well.

IFRA: What makes your system so simple that a reporter working “in the bush” can access and update his story, planning, assignments, etc.?

Dombrowski: The freelancer is one user group. He gets the access he needs via a simple web service. Qualified editors or reporters can choose between more alternatives: Full-client access with online/offline mode and (re)connection by web or mobile. For every situation, NGen offers a fitting and efficient solution (by the way: the reporter in the bush does not represent the main demands of our customers).

IFRA: What type of overview will your solution give editors/reporters working across multimedia packages?

Dombrowski: It is the NGen approach that every editor working with it needs only one system: a) to create content for different channels, b) to control publication in all media he is working for, and c) to check instantly what is published by him and his colleagues.

IFRA: How have the past months affected the way publishers are seeking solutions, especially considering that many newsrooms face a big challenge in being able to do editorial with a staff that is drastically downsized from what it was? We have noticed some editorial system providers stressing the extent to which their systems multiply the workforce. So editors looking for new systems are likely trying to figure out how to make the technology take up as much of the slack as possible. …

Dombrowski: NGen is offering both: highly automated print-driven workflows for low-cost web publishing, and workflows combining the demands of ambitious websites with online-first and online-only publishing and a wide range of exclusive news and services. It’s up to the publisher to decide how to serve the market. Despite your impression, we heard different opinions, too: If you want to gain market leadership (web or free-of-charge papers), forget synergies, focus on the target audience and avoid compromises!

IFRA: Pricing has got to be a real challenge now, even more than before, knowing that newspapers are in financial trouble and simply cannot afford too high a price. What is your response to this dilemma?

Dombrowski: In past and present: the price is not deciding (which solution a publisher purchases). If a publisher has to decide about the tools his team is working with for the next 10-15 years, it is much more important to avoid technological limitations and future costs for new and changing interfaces. Taking the system’s long lifetime into consideration, the ROI needs a reduction of about two employees.

IFRA: We have heard of some providers that are diversifying their business for a number of obvious reasons, such as going after magazine markets more, selling solutions to banks, governments, etc., who more and more need their information published... Is your company looking into this? If so, what are the main reasons and potential there?

Dombrowski: Multicom gained its market leadership during the crisis 5-6 years ago. We are looking forward to improve our market position during the next two years again because we expect that competitors might leave the market, while we have the best backlog of orders since launching NGen. If you begin to look for new markets during the crisis, you might lose your competence in the core market, especially if you have to realign your capacities. Multicom is completely focused on its core competence and its core market.

IFRA: How much of this has to do with the type of target publisher you might be going after, i.e. what do/can you provide for that 15,000-circulation publication vs. that of, say, a big media group?

Dombrowski: NGen is targeting big- and mid-sized publishing units (minimum 80 editors). The offered workflows are fitting for mid-sized companies trying to minimise costs of web publishing as well as for media groups with ambitious websites and a wide range of publications.