PROFITABLE PUBLISHING ARCHITECTURES

Opening Address

David Worlock, Chairman, EPS

Amongst those involved in implementing knowledge-based environments, the presence of high quality content is a given, a place to begin, a starting point. The need to develop service values on top of that content provides a driver for change across the world of publishing.

The key motivation behind the implementation of information structures and architectures is the need to help enhance user productivity, whether in a personal, corporate or governmental situation. The nature of information is changing, and using information is no longer a discrete act. Instead, using information has become part of working processes, and users? expectations of how information can aid their decision-making processes are increasing. In order to achieve this, information must be embedded into user systems.

One effect of this is that users also become publishers - Government is a key example, and Chris Hancock from the Office of the e-Envoy will detail what his department is doing to facilitate this across government. Under the pressure of change the research front line is pulling closer to the commercial world - Dr Victoria Uren from the Knowledge Media Institute will explain how ClaiMaker is developing.

In this new world the publisher must be an architect, an engineer and an entrepreneur - a metamorphosis is taking place.