Deborah Richman, Consultant, Zions Bank
Written by Deborah Richman, Consultant, Zions Bank
At the Information Industry Summit’s crossfire session, experts agreed on one thing: content is no longer king. Gone are the days when business information was controlled by a few, stable, necessary sources delivering to ever-loyal customers. Here’s how the experts view technology’s destabilizing force:
- “Technology is extremely critical, and content is what you have to have,” said Andy Prozes, senior advisor at Warburg Pincus.
- John Hartig, CEO of Sports Information Group believes the industry’s in “hand-to-hand combat” between offering relevant data and leveraging technology.
- Our business is now about “peaks and troughs and rapid cycles of developments,” explained Stephen Ryden-Lloyd, SVP at Innodata.
- Denzil Rankine, executive chairman at AMR International, declared “you have to have a CEO who gets it and understands technology.”
- “Is technology endlessly complicating the business model?” asked Dan McCarthy, a DeSilva+Phillips partner. Yes, indeed.
The “new normal” challenges
Depending on your marketplace and customers, there are different ways to integrated content, commerce and technology. Still, these “new normal” challenges need to be addressed.
Technical DNA here: Perhaps the largest challenge relates to having or injecting technical DNA in the company. If your company began life as pure-content business, then new executives will need to help evolve the business and culture. Companies must be willing to invest in technology, functionality and people.
Continuous product cycles: It’s not possible to roll out a product and sit back for a year or two anymore. You must understand road maps and agile releases, to be responsive to the market. You also must stay abreast of technology platforms, with the right partners. And whether you “make or buy,” remember to budget for R&D and development.
To workflow or not workflow: Information will get distributed through multiple workflow systems used by your customers. You could work closely with customers to integrate into their workflows or develop more standard applications familiar to them. If appropriate, you might be able to focus on outcomes rather than workflows.
The information industry will thrive
The information industry is still growing and attracting new entrants and sources. It is still undergoing a massive transition, due to game-changing digital technologies accessible to publishers and customers.
“This will remain an attractive market,” explained AMR’s Denzil Rankine. “A trend is that it is a tougher to be alone, as a sole supplier to the market. More entrants, providers will have a downward pressure on margin.”
Innodata’s Stephen Ryden-Llloyd observed the competitive pressures: “Authority can come from multiple places today. Also from social networks or wisdom of the crowds. There’s a huge degree of cleverness, opportunity” in the marketplace.
“But if you build new tech, the growth rates are there,” declared Warburg’s Andy Prozes.
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Debby Richman spent her formative years at D&B, leading the reference business from print to online and web offerings. She has since held digital leadership roles at Overstock, About.com, Looksmart, Starz, Collarity and Zions Bank.
