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The Business Case for XML

This one-day course aims to address the key strategic issues a business needs to consider before going down the XML route. The course will explain how XML is just the latest step in technology changes taking place in the publishing industry, that technical and in-house publishing have been using it for a decade and that even though traditional publishing has just begun to discover its usefulness, it has many applications, especially for digital publishing.

You will learn:

how to recognise where XML could benefit your organisation
how to evaluate the impact on your workflow
how to minimise the costs and maximise the benefits
how to manage resistance to change.

Programme

What is XML?
- XML is a markup language
- It is an open standard
- Uses understandable, text-based tags that make sense to humans
- It is the 'bastard child' of SGML and the W3C
- It does not describe what the content will look like
SWOT analysis of the publishing industry (examples)
Workflow comparison
- Continuum of working practices
- Non-XML workflows (benefits, costs, etc)
- Transitional – XML 'last' workflows (benefits, costs, etc)
- XML First workflows (benefits, costs, etc)
- Workshop: where are you in the continuum?
The Benefits of using XML
- Reduced costs (in some cases)
- Increased flexibility
- Faster turnarounds
- Many output 'formats'
- A website is just a reformat
- E-book formats (such as Kindle and EPUB)
- Workflow simplification
- Discussion: the standardisation of design
- Chunking of materials
- Sale of content as data
- Workshop: where could XML benefit your organisation?
Costs
- Change to working practices
- Technological investment
- Training investment
- Discussion: minimising costs, maximising benefits
Risks
- The risks are all transitional
- Partner un-readiness
- Resistance to change
- Not suitable for all types of titles
- Working with outsourced suppliers - loss of control
- Discussion: reducing and handling risk
Next steps
Further reading and resources.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is especially relevant to editorial teams assessing the need to implement XML in their organisation.

Your Tutor

Nic Gibson is a founder and Director of Corbas Consulting Ltd, who provide services to publishers and professional organisations in both traditional and electronic media. He has worked in and around the media industry since the early 1990s. He started his career in multimedia, doing hypermedia development and progressing into internet development and XML. For the past ten years, Nic has been working with XML driven web development, which led him to found Corbas Consulting, which specialises in digital publishing consultancy and training. Nic has worked on XML and e-book publishing projects for various publishers including Hodder, Penguin and Bloomsbury.

Note that most of our short courses can also be run as in-company events.

Dates: 03 December 2012
Duration: A one-day course
Price: £385+VAT
A number of discounts are available

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The Business Case for XML

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