what ebook readers & tablets mean for enterprise publishing

What eBook Readers & Tablets Mean for Enterprise Publishing Gilbane San FranciscoMay 19, 2010

Moderator: David Guenette, Senior Analyst, The Gilbane Group

Speaker: Ned May, Director & Lead Analyst, Outsell Inc.

About The Gilbane Group

Acquired by Outsell, Inc. in February 2010 Long-time analyst and consulting firm focused

on content management technology Practice areas include publishing, social

media, search, and XML Consulting has included long-term

engagements with major publishers and associations

A Blueprint for Book Publishing Transformation: Seven Essential Processes to Re-Invent Publishing (2010)

One of three eBook studies planned for this year

I. Session Overview

• A Short History of Ebook Readers and Tablets, David R. Guenette, The Gilbane Group• The Current Snapshot of Ebook Readers,

Smartphones, and Tablets, Ned May, OutSell, Inc.• Ebooks, Smartphones, and Tablets in the

Enterprise: What Do We Know, and When Will We Know It?• Audience: Set Us Straight!

II. A Short History of Ebook Readers and Tablets

Nothing New?

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-14 NIV

People Have Been Thinking about Content Accessibility for a Long Time

From 1992, CD-ROM Review magazine…

From 1992, InfoWorld magazine…

From 1992, Popular Science magazine…

III. Ebooks, Smartphones, and Tablets in the Enterprise: What Do We Know, and When will We Know It?

• The Digital Publishing/Enterprise Connection• Is There an Enterprise/Ebook and/or

Tablet Connection?

What We Talk about When We Talk about Digital Publishing and the Enterprise

•Publishers that address the enterprise markets•Publishing requirements within enterprises themselves

There are Many Publishers Addressing the Enterprise Markets

• Trade business book publishers • Trade magazine

publishers • Professional publishers

There are Many Publishing Requirements that Enterprises Must Address

• Technical documentation • Marketing materials • Financial information• Much, much more

Do Dedicated E-Readers and Tablets Serve these Publishing Ends Better than Desktop Computers and Notebook Computers?

In some circumstances, perhaps including:

• Professionals in the field

•Workers on the move

Connectivity? Multi-tasking? Media Player?

Doesn’t a notebook computer do all this and more?• Real keyboard• Uses same OS and applications as the enterprise,

including more robust productivity suites• Wide range of physical forms (mini-notebooks and

netbooks, to desktop replacement notebooks)• Screen resolution can be as good• Similar touchscreen technology is emerging in

market

Is the iPad Really Going to be a Notebook Replacement?

• Only for some use cases, and… only if multi-tasking and keyboards improve

• Tablets and notebooks will come to resemble one another in functionality

Is the iPad a Likely Candidate for Pervasive Enterprise Publishing?

Not as is, considering…• Cost• Input limitations• Apple “sandbox” constraints• Limits on multi-function

Other devices will “catch up” and exceed the current iPad’s limitations… including newer iPads

Publishers for Enterprises

Must focus on their own publishing process…

Enterprise-oriented publishers need to develop their XML-First/XML-Early publishing processes, which will enable multiple format output, including as iPad apps, ePub, PDF, etc.

Enterprise Publishers

Must focus on their own publishing process…

Enterprise publishing done right is not an “Either/Or” format choice, but an “All-of-the-Above” flexibility

Alternative Enterprise Tablet

"PADD" is an acronym for Personal Access Display Device, a hand-held computer interface, used as early as the 22nd century and well into the 24th century.

IV. Set Us Straight!

David R. Guenette, Senior Analyst

The Gilbane Group, a division of Outsell, Inc.

david@gilbane.com

Ned May, Director and Lead Analyst

Outsell, Inc.

nmay@outsellinc.com

And Take the Blueprint Survey!

10-minute survey seeks to gain detailed information about what is really happening among the full spectrum of book publishers related to ebook and digital publishing efforts, and the "pain points" and barriers encountered

 http://Publishing.questionpro.com