IFRA

Answering for Atex is Davide Garavaglia, Global Product Manager, Managed Services & Content Management.

WAN-IFRA: Does Atex offer a stand-alone DAM solution?

Davide Garavaglia: We do. It’s called Atex content A-Series, and currently it’s being used by more than 6000 users.

WAN-IFRA: What are the strengths of your DAM solution for news publishers?

Garavaglia: News publishers who utilise the Atex content A Series Digital Asset Management solution will be impressed with the range of functionality the system provides. As a pure data warehouse, A Series can enhance the value of content by making it easy to find and then repurpose in any print or digital channel. Aiding that capability is A Series’ ability to seamlessly integrate with third-party or proprietary editorial content management systems. Being fully integrated allows users to search their asset management system through their CMS — eliminating the need to migrate between disparate systems to find archived content. Within our own product portfolio, publishers can utilise A Series as a plug-in for our Polopoly Web CMS or DNA One products. In this environment publishers can control their entire publishing workflow and make their archived content available to publish online. A last strength of our A Series DAM solution is the integrated Atex Text mining engine (ATM). ATM allows publishers to classify archived content automatically, which cuts classification costs and improves quality. Classified archived content also becomes easier to publish online and position with relevant targeted advertising.

WAN-IFRA: Is it easy to integrate your DAM solution with systems from other suppliers?

Garavaglia: Yes, of course. We understand completely that customers want to retain the systems they’ve already invested in, that their users are familiar with and that accommodate their workflow. Publishers who implement A Series will find its structure is completely based on Service Oriented Architecture technology. This allows it to be integrated into third-party systems or used with web services.

WAN-IFRA: Once the contract has been signed, approximately how long does it take for a publishing client to begin working with your solution?

Garavaglia: As you probably know, not every project is the same and implementations can vary depending on the size and scope of what the client is asking for. But overall, thanks to its SOA technology and our long experience in the industry, most A Series installations take around 30 days.

WAN-IFRA: How much training is required for a publication's staff to start using your solution?

Garavaglia: When we were developing A Series we knew it would be important for users to have an application they were comfortable with. Though we felt it was important to give customers as much functionality as possible, we also didn’t want to risk creating a system that was so comprehensive that it became frustrating to actually use. That’s why publishers will find A Series is extremely intuitive, with a user interface that will be recognisable to both new and experienced Atex users. This helps cut down on training time, which is typically about half a day for editors and one to two days for archive people.

WAN-IFRA: Approximately how many titles are using this solution globally, and would you please name three of them?

Garavaglia: Right now, we have 227 customers using the Atex Content Solution, which includes publications such as La Stampa in Italy, O Estado de Sao Paulo, in Brazil and Newsquest in the UK.

WAN-IFRA: What developments are you working on in this area now – any planned updates for the near future?

Garavaglia: We are constantly reviewing our product roadmap to ensure that what we plan to develop will have an immediate impact on our customers. Looking at trends in the industry right now and what many media companies are trying to do in terms of consolidated publishing workflows, we are working to improve A Series’ ability to use text mining to make archived content more valuable. Today, that includes functionality for shared taxonomies with both print and online. Archived content that’s been text mined is also easier to use with targeted advertising. Lastly, we are working to make sure A Series can be used with tablet PCs and the Apple iPad.

Interview conducted by Brian Veseling, senior editor for Publishing, Editorial and General Management and WAN-IFRA Magazine.