Tagging, converting and moving on to creative services

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Apart from helping magazines publish on iPads, Express KCS has been doing several new things, like launching new services for new markets. Reaching out to more ad agencies, brand owners and retail agencies. Recently the online workflow StudioOnline was launched, which is offered on a SaaS model, so that is basically a workflow management system – a digital asset management system with on-line approval, delivery and production tracking. [It also has] deadline management, reporting, and all other related activities. There are different modules for each and every aspect. Tariq Husain talks to Fayez Ali of IPP on these developments.

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• The New York Times on the iPad Photo : New York Times

Fayez Ali (FA): So you need an App to access the content since it’s not browser based?
Tariq Husain (TH): The preference with publishers is for the App. If you see, Wired magazine launched via an App, New York Times launched via an App. The reason behind this is that standard HTML is not capable of offering what Flash can offer such as page turning -- this will be coming in HTML 5. HTML can embed videos and pictures, however the level of functionality and ease of use Flash offers is not provided by HTML. But currently Apple does not support Flash and hence the preference for Apps. So its a question of functionality, a look at the current browsers in the market will show that very few browsers will support the complete functionality that HTML 5 offers. It will take some time for browsers to support all the functionality of HTML 5 and till then the best way is to publish your content through an App.

FA: Is StudioOnline a completely indigenous development? What other developments have you undertaken?
TH: StudioOnline is completely our own development designed specifically to suit our needs, with the vision in mind. We had a predecessor which we called Ad Transmission Module ATM, which has been around for almost three years now. Really a very basic ad tracking system, but StudioOnline was launched this year in January. Essentially with hosting on a cloud and software as a service, you don’t have to host such expensive systems and it is much more cost effective for publishers to hop on publishing systems on these clouds, where there is no upfront cost and hence no capital expenditure involved. As you know these systems can cost up to hundred of thousands of dollars. Publishers don’t even have to pay any support or maintenance costs – it’s all bundled into the service. It’s bundled into a per person or per hour or per ad rate that we give them. We are targetting this at at our existing clients by extending contracts and for new contracts based on the strength provided by StudioOnline we are able to provide much more competitive pricing.

FA: What other tie-ups and third party integration is being done or lined up?
TH: We are also in the process of integrating with third party delivery services like AdSend. A lot of US newspapers use third party delivery services to receive content and print-ready ads. We also have a deadlines module, used for managing deadlines. Especially in a magazine or a newspaper you have multiple deadlines. This module integrates with the jobs module and the deadlines pop up at the right time.

FA: So any development in the eBook readers any App development or content development? Are the PixelMags Apps only for iPads?
TH: We don’t develop Apps, that is why we have partnered with PixelMags. Developing Apps is a another specialisation. With PixelMags the Apps are currently only for iPad. We do plan in the future to partner with more companies to bring out content for other devices. Like the new tablets coming into the market such as HP’s Slate and many other launches expected this year. We also want to partner with various OEMs to provide content for them and a lot of them will support Flash and hence a lot of the development can be done in Flash for those devices.

FA: You have a packaging prepress division, any thing new there? Is there any specialisation between different technologies?
TH: Yes we have a packaging prepress division creating artworks for retailers, brand owners, and for Hollywood studios as well. We do artwork for all mediums, and have specialists for different mediums. In fact we have done projects where the customer was switching the printing medium from offset to flexo.

FA: How does the competition look like?
TH: There is 2adpro and Affinity Express, apart from our traditional competition, which does mainly Ad Production amongst other things. Major BPOs like Infosys, TCS and HCL provide similar creative services to augment their main service offering. We have come across some of our customers who have been offered creative services from these companies. In the future it is a possibility that companies doing typesetting, vendors mainly catering to book publishers, may also start offering creative services and start competing with us. After all typesetting was one of the first services to be outsourced to India.

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