Content Technology and Migration

Converting analog and legacy content for a broad range of digital output requires two things: a healthy understanding and sound application of new technologies, and a thorough knowledge and prudent use of workflow automation tools. SPi Global is an expert in a wide range of content technologies and platforms, from industry-wide standards such as EPUB 3.0 to proprietary tools such as SPiCE (SPi Copy Editing Tool). Our insights into the publishing and information industry and our working knowledge of these platforms enable us to automate workflows, dramatically reduce costs, and speed up time-to-market for our clients.

Content Technology Tools

Authoring Tool

Our Integrated Publishing Framework (IPF) is a solution aimed at easing publishers’ pains. It has an authoring environment in which the author or editor can earmark content for different formats. It also has a workflow engine that is customized for each publisher. Best of all, it has a Preview functionality that shows users how the page will look in its intended end format, helping authors visualize the content layout so that they need not wait for composition to complete the pour. IPF supports multiple end formats, including HTML, Flash, InDesign, PDF, and EPUB; this is accomplished through XML transformations built for each end format. Publishers’ designs can be translated into templates, with IPF using different templates for different end needs, and building XML transformations between them. A MarkLogic repository is used to maintain version control of the XML files.

Structuring Tool

While content conversion and editorial services will always demand a significant amount of human interaction, SPi Global can automate much of the workflow with proprietary tools such as SPiCE. This proofing system eliminates inefficiencies and redundancies that slow down cycle time or create costly QA on the back end. SPiCE uses Microsoft Office libraries, combined with Net technology, to automate pre-editing and copyediting tasks.
An add-in for MS Word, SPiCE prepares documents for language editing by structuring manuscripts, and for routine editing using XML schema. Once copyediting is done, publishers can generate XML for any schema and support content transformation.

Transformation

SPi Global has been transforming data for more than two decades, working with content from a wide range of sources including PDF, Word, InDesign, XML, Quark, and PageMaker. We work with both third-party and custom- designed toolsets to create scripts that meet your specific requirements. For example, we develop custom toolsets to translate interactive media like Flash to HTML5. During the transformation process, we look for opportunities for semantic enrichment.

Content Technology Platforms

Content Management System

Publishers are increasingly adopting Content Management Systems to enable end-to-end workflows in which content is stored, managed centrally, and integrated across various processes. SPi Global understands the need for an integrated approach for connecting authors, publishers, designers, and QA in an end-to-end digital workflow.

We have experience working with a wide range of proprietary and open-source content management systems, including MarkLogic, Drupal, Joomla, and Documentum. We can help you implement a CMS or enhance your existing system for print and digital production workflows. We also have expertise in proprietary toolsets that sit on top of content management systems, such as Informatica, that provide content transformation for MarkLogic.

Archive System

How many times have you been able to successfully retrieve files from archives? Do you often find that the one file you need is not available in the many disks that were supplied for the archive? The SPi Global Archiving and Retrieval System will help. With a centralized Archive Management System with role-based access to view and download files, the meta-driven archive system provides an archive download, multiple search feature, reports, and low resolution preview for images and PDFs. The tool can be customized to meet your unique needs and facilitates the creation of custom books.

App Development

Forward-thinking content providers are leveraging mobile platforms to distribute their content products, via interactive applications that allow consumers to perform shortcuts on their mobile devices. These small, device- specific software applications extend the utility of smart phones, offering shortcuts that engage users and give them key information, often at the point of need. In addition, many content providers want their content to be accessed as simply as possible, eliminating the need to go through a browser. SPi Global has a team to develop applications that are compatible with all major mobile device manufacturers so we can meet this key requirement of our customers.

Content Distribution

We offer a complete turnkey solution that allows publishers and content providers to manage, distribute, and monetize content in custom-branded mobile applications. Each app is customized to the owner’s requirements and then distributed globally, via AppStores, to mobile devices. App development, submission, approval, and maintenance are all managed by SPi Global. Content may be supplied in simple formats such as PDFs to enhanced formats, including video, audio, or interactive HTML5 elements.

Full analytics on downloads and sales are provided to the client via weekly reports. Content can be free or sold through the app. All transactions—from payment collection to disbursement of funds—are handled by SPi Global on behalf of the app owner.

Migration Services

Content Engineering

Our teams design and develop conversion scripts that enable raw feeds from leading news information providers. These are then processed via customized, automated tools that convert the online data into XML. We review how the data should appear online and then transform the content into the aggregator’s proprietary format.

Database Migration

For several clients, our teams also maintain online bibliographic databases, ensuring that the information contained is reviewed for version accuracy and ready for delivery to customers when needed.

SPi Global has extensive experience in structuring content for large, complex databases for XML content and metadata, and overall content enrichment. Our teams perform database cleaning, de-duping, validation, fact-checking, database research, information clipping, and content-extraction services for a wide variety of information providers. SPi Global content analysts also tag data within the overall database structure, making data easier to sort, and slice and dice for public consumption.
SPi Global helps mining the content for relevant information and then transferring it to a database using proprietary software. The entire process is kept in-line with the subject-based guideline provided by the client to pull the pertinent terms and keywords that consumers will use to access the database. We can work with the client’s existing software or develop our own tools to help mine the content.

Business and Web Research

For many firms, reports built on solid research and fact-gathering often win over new business. SPi Global’s researchers are experts at basic web-based research on sectors, prospects, employees, and other sales-driven information that can give you an edge in any sales presentation.

Aggregation

Content aggregation provides value to your customers by giving them a high-level overview of what’s going on in the online world related to a particular topic. SPi Global uses a combination of automatic, semi-automatic, and manual services to acquire and aggregate content from a wide range of resources, including databases, websites, social media, periodicals, video resources, search engines, and more. The content can then be fed into a database for further fabrication and processing.

Web Scraping

If you want to extract content from various websites based on specific rules, SPi Global’s web-scraping services can help. Whether it’s HTML content, a content feed, or PDFs, our developers use our web-scraping tool to automatically extract only relevant content. Should the position of the content on a page change so that the tool is no longer able to find the content, the tool alerts our engineers to adjust the content-extraction rule.

Technology Consulting

Through our Innovation Lab, SPi Global is constantly looking to help you develop new ideas, solutions, or products to create new revenue streams. In addition, our consulting practice provides comprehensive advice for publishers on all manner of relevant topics, including the technology that they need to integrate for print, digital, or interactive media; how to implement a content management system; and how to develop validation routines and scripts.

To learn more about how SPi Global can help, contact us today.