Social media, online platforms, and changing consumer trends are impacting business practices, with time and budget concerns among the major issues.
FRESH MEADOWS, N.Y., July 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Sixty-nine percent of respondents to a new survey on trends in the Technical Communication Industry report publishing their content in HTML, up from a mere 19% in 2013. In addition, customer preferences are shifting toward topics-based content on mobile devices, in audio and video, embedded help, and animations and 3-D graphics. Sixty percent of respondents said that customers are demanding information in new ways on new platforms, platforms on which organizations may be ill-equipped to provide content. The 2nd annual survey was conducted by Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL), an industry leader in organizing and converting content into digital formats, in association with the Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM), an organization of information-development, training, and support managers from around the world. The survey highlights urgent challenges as organizations begin to meet customer expectations.
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"It's clear that there is a change in what customers are asking for and respond to," said JoAnn Hackos, President, Comtech Services, and founder of CIDM. "Customers are increasingly expecting content on online and on mobile platforms. The problem, however, is that a lot of companies are not ready for it. Meeting the current expectations will take time to accomplish and a lot of organizations are still using the old ways of working with content."
These old ways of content management are only part of the perceived shortcomings in current delivery methods revealed in the survey. Two major issues highlighted by the survey "Trends in the Technical Communication Industry 2014" are time and budget concerns: 75% of respondents indicated that they believe they have insufficient staff time to transform their content and 50% hinted at insufficient budgets. The results demonstrate the significant upheaval necessary in the way many organizations in the technical communications industry do business, and especially in how content is prepared and delivered among evolving consumer trends.
"To meet the challenge of consumer expectations, the technical communication industry must thoroughly re-evaluate their approach to producing content and their content delivery processes," said Mark Gross, founder and president, Data Conversion Laboratory. "Organizations need to explore all available options, including new tools, additional staff, and support from technology experts. Technical expertise is a core area of support for DCL, especially with the hybrid approach necessary for cost-effective and efficient content delivery across all platforms."
View the full results of the survey.
About Data Conversion Laboratory, Inc.
DCL (www.dclab.com) is a leader in helping organizations maximize the value of their content assets investment through digitization and organization, making reuse easier and providing greater accessibility. DCL's process ensures that content quality is vastly improved, systems are future-proofed, redundancies are eliminated and revenue opportunities are expanded. With expertise across industries including life sciences, government, manufacturing, technology and professional organizations, DCL uses its advanced technology and U.S.-based project management teams to help solve the most complex conversion challenges securely, accurately and on time. Founded in 1981, DCL has been named one of EContent's Top 100 Companies in the Digital Content Industry for three years running, 2011-2013.
About the Center for Information-Development Management
The Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM) brings together the most highly skilled and talented managers in the field of information development from across the US and internationally to facilitate the sharing of information about current trends, best practices, and developments within the industry, from information development to training and support.
Contact: Linda Cassola, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing; (718)307-5728; Email