Publishing Technology Software & Services Market Report - 2021

A fully revised version of my Publishing Technology Software and Services Report will be formally published on September 15. To complete this report we identified more than 200 software and services companies popular with publishers and conducted in-depth interviews with more than 30 of the most relevant companies. We also spoke with customers to apply their views and opinions about the market and these suppliers.

 

 

Subway Market Map 2021: Publishing Technology

In addition to the 'traditional' market map of companies we also decided to get a little more creative to describe the market in a 'subway' map version. I hope you find it interesting. 

In the report we cover many operational and functional areas served by these companies including Order to Cash, Financials, Title (Product) Management, Contract Rights and Royalties, Editorial, Production and Scheduling, Subscription Management, Digital Asset Management, Digital Asset Distribution and Content Management Services. 

 

 

 

 

A pre-publication price of $950 is available now until September 15th when the report will be $1,500

BUY NOW VIA PAYPAL

The above link takes you to the Information Media website where you can purchase.

Once published on September 15th, the report will be sent via email.

I  include 4 hours of consulting time with each purchase.

The report is currently in the final stages of preparation. 

To produce this report, we interviewed more than 30 companies and approximately 50 people in total. Each interview was approximately 60 mins. We transcribed these interviews and created 3-5 page profiles of each company and included company product information and, in some cases, graphics provided to us by the company.  We have also created our own supplemental information to support the analysis.

This report is informative and relevant for any publisher with technology requirements.

 

 

The following companies were profiled in detail:

ARPHA/Pensoft

Aliant/Real
Aries Systems
Advantage Computer Systems

Cadmore Media

CCC
Censhare
Consonance
CyberWolf/ACUMEN

Global Publishing Solutions Ltd (GPSL)
FADEL
FilmTrack
Klopotek
Highwire/MPS 

Iptor/IP1
MetaComet
MultiPub
Naviga/Media Services Group

ORBIS
PubFactory

RSG Media

Rightszone
Schilling A/S
Silverchair
Typefi Systems
Tizra
Virtusales

 

See how we put together the Subway map here.

Building a Subway (Map): Annual Publishing Technology Report

As semi-frequent readers may know, I have been publishing a market research report reviewing technology companies which support publishing companies. My next report will be published in mid-September and, as I thought about how I would like to display the market environment for this version, I decided to try to depict the companies graphically in a "subway" map.

It turned out to be harder than I anticipated.  I like the result which I will present in the next weeks but there were a lot of twists and turns (and what-have-yous). I thought it would be interesting to show how this came together.

Firstly, I listed all the companies I wanted to cover in a spreadsheet and then added color coded the functional 'modules' attributed to each company.  Initially, I had many more columns with software capabilities but this became unmanageable so I consolidated into 13 specific capabilities. This is an example of the spreadsheet:

 

This document became my 'control' document and I eventually identified over 200 companies.  As I worked through the process of identifying which capability applied to which company I also concluded that these would define the 'stops' on my eventual subway map.

I researched whether there was and standard software I could use to create my map and basically came up empty handed. I think it exists but I was unable to find any.  That meant I had to draw the map by hand and figure out later how to make it pretty.  I did find a tool I thought might work but as this image (left) shows that didn't work at all.

The difficulty in drawing the map was trying to determine the overlaps and the stops which would apply to multiple companies and to draw the map so it would appear logical. This was much harder than it sounds and I went through many iterations.  

 

 

 

 

 As the following images show:

 

It was this version I sent to Upwork as a first draft.

Eventually, I was satisfied with a drawn draft and I posted a job on Upwork (which I had never used before).  I found someone at $45/hour (not the cheapest) who did great work. If anything he was too literal in translating my drawing into Illustrator but correcting this was a matter of iterating through versions.

I estimate I spent 40 hours on this - which I admit was probably a bit much. But that said, I think the final map looks pretty good.  I am even thinking mugs and t-shirts (so let me know).

We eventually got to this version which I will reveal next week.  Meanwhile more information on the report and a pre-publication purchase price is here.

McKinsey Research: Getting Real about Hybrid Work

What's on tap for business executives as they contemplate return to work polices. Don't take anything for granted (McKinsey)

Many employers, keen to establish some sense of normalcy quickly, are focused on answering simple logistical questions that give them a sense of control. These questions typically focus on the number of days that employees will be in the office, collaboration tools they will use, and policies on pay levels and norms for meeting behaviors. While the answers to them can help employees who are seeking a measure of pragmatism for what comes next, they are typically accompanied by a message that the “finish line” is in sight and that we will soon enter a period of normalcy that will be the standard for many years to come.

In the enthusiasm about the return from remote working, business leaders run the risk of actually increasing the disconnect between themselves and their people. The idea that we will cross a finish line and suddenly be done with all the hard stuff seems to exist only in the minds of senior leaders.

Association Publishing is Bigger than You Think.

Associations and member organizations support some of the most prolific publishing in academia and science. Ranking and estimating the size of this market is difficult because reporting can be inconsistent; however, in a recent research project undertaken by my team, we identified approximately 230 associations with publishing programs and/or education programs. These associations range in size from mega-organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, American Heart Association and American Chemical Society to organizations with less than $200,000 in revenue.

In total these organizations produce over $3.5 Billion in publishing, educational and training materials annually with the majority of this content supporting research and the mission of each organization. While publishing is an important component of most associations on this list (88% report publishing revenues) it is notable how the importance of publishing revenues to total association revenue varies. Of the large organizations with small publishing programs, it is interesting to contemplate whether they are underestimating a potential secondary source of funding particularly when many of these associations compare unfavorably with associations in the same field but with more significant publishing programs. We have built a full list (including key staff salaries and vendor payments) but here is the top 20:

Association	Year	Total Rev	Pub Rev
American Chemical Society	2019	$671,000,000	$560,000,000
Consumer Reports	2019	254,000,000	210,000,000
Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers Inc	2019	563,000,000	208,000,000
Massachusetts Medical Society (NEJM)	2019	135,000,000	104,000,000
American Psychological Association	2018	135,000,000	100,000,000
CFA Institute	2019	416,000,000	65,000,000
American Society For Testing And Materials	2019	100,000,000	64,000,000
American Society of Testing and Materials	2019	100,000,000	64,000,000
American Institute Of Physics	2019	83,000,000	63,161,000
American Medical Association	2018	332,000,000	60,000,000
American College of Cardiology	2018	115,000,000	51,000,000
American Physical Society	2018	67,000,000	45,000,000
American National Standards Institute	2019	81,000,000	39,000,000
American Association For The Advancement Of Science	2019	116,000,000	36,000,000
American Academy Of Pediatrics	2019	123,000,000	35,000,000
American Society for Clinical Oncology	2019	163,000,000	32,000,000
Public Library Of Science	2019	30,000,000	32,000,000
SAE International	2018	79,000,000	30,000,000
The Optical Society	2019	50,000,000	26,000,000

In our related research into publishing technology (for our annual report), interviewees noted a COVID related trend impacting associations showing how varied and broad-based their publishing programs can be. During COVID many associations had to communicate with their members in any way they could due to the absence of in-person meetings and conferences. Not only did this create new classes of content (for them) but it also established new processes around engagement. These processes are becoming embedded into how the organizations treat all content not just the ‘formally’ published research materials and education content and associations are seeking supporting tools and solutions. As an outcome of COVID, content types have grown to include webinars, podcasts, market research some of which may have been produced in the past but is now viewed more as an asset and less of a throw-away.

As we will note in our technology report, associations are likely to expand their publishing programs and will be seeking solutions to support that activity. Several software companies such as Silverchair have anticipated this trend and have solutions in the market already. We will see more activity in this space over the coming year.

Every Four (or five) Years This Happens

 The Olympics coverage is predominately bad. But this rant is good (Guardian):

From NBC proper to NBCSN, the USA channel, the Olympics channel, and the Golf channel, there has been no shortage of options for Olympics viewing on basic cable. But instead of sticking with single events throughout primetime – introducing them, highlighting the stakes and the protagonists, getting the viewer comfortable with the quirks of competition – NBC has deployed this vast arsenal of broadcast resources to spray America’s households with a kind of inescapable Olympic televisual vomit.

Viewers have been able to see everything at any given moment (provided you have the Peacock streaming service) while understanding fundamentally nothing about what’s going on. NBC has never met a night of swimming finals that didn’t need to be spliced up with bizarre human interest segments on Caeleb Dressel’s first ride through the Florida wetlands on an airboat, or a routine on the double bars that couldn’t be improved by a quick jump to an ad break and some random highlights of Denmark and Indonesia in the badminton. We all want to know who the athletes are, of course, if only at a superficial level; and since the whole Olympics is so overwhelming, with so much going on at once, some measure of discombobulation from the host broadcaster is always understandable. But when we switch on the Olympics, I think it’s fair to say that most of us want to witness elite athletes perform spectacular feats with their bodies, not hear a series of driving stories about how they handle their daily commute.

The Coming Revolution in Textbook Publishing

Gone is the textbook?  With big players Pearson and Cengage changing the textbook model are we finally witnessing an inflection point?

Last week Pearson, PLC launched a direct-to-student content app that give student subscribers access to Pearson’s entire 1500 textbook catalog. Cengage bravely launched something similar a few years ago and the strategy was seen almost as a hail Mary pass to save the company’s business model. As most will understand, the textbook sales model – particularly in undergraduate education – has been challenged for many years. In the eighties and nineties textbook companies consolidated and textbook prices started to increase which slowly eroded sell-through. At the same time, the secondhand market became more organized as retailers saw margin benefits in their efficient buy-back programs. Later, further dislocation occurred via the Internet and new company entrants like Chegg brought rental to the college market. 

Pearson Launch Subscription Textbook Offer

Cengage led the industry with their all-in textbook subscription offer several years ago and now Pearson has jumped into the market with their own textbook subscription product. Pearson is going with a monthly $14.99 offer to students and just in time for the fall semester.  

From their press release:

Developed in collaboration with students, Pearson+ delivers a range of eTexts and study tools that fits their lifestyle and helps improve their learning outcomes. Features include: 

• Availability through both desktop and a mobile app 

• Pearson’s library of over 1500 e-book titles-all in one place 

• Offline access to e-books for learning on the go 

• Audio versions of Pearson eTexts

• Advanced notetaking capability with enhanced search features   

• Flash card sets for many titles and the ability to create and customize flashcards 

• A range of fonts and backgrounds so students can personalize their eTexts

• 24/7 live student support  

• Discounts on Smarthinking tutoring services 

• A carbon footprint that is only 20% of a traditional print textbook   

 This is likely to add some needed competition into this space and more direct competition with D2Student companies like Chegg and B&N education.  More on this later.

Media Week (Vol 14, No.7): B&N Education Reports, Book TikTok, Teaching Reading, Must Read-TV,

Barnes & Noble Education Reports (Edgar)

Financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2021show severe impact of COVID.  Over two years revenues are down $500mm.

• Consolidated fourth quarter sales of $222.8 million decreased 13.3% as compared to the prior year period; consolidated fiscal year sales of $1,433.9 million decreased 22.5% as compared to the prior year.
• Consolidated fourth quarter GAAP net loss was $(44.4) million, compared to a net loss of $(40.3) million in the prior year period. Consolidated fiscal year GAAP net loss was $(131.8) million, compared to a net loss of $(38.3) million in the prior year
• Consolidated fourth quarter non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA loss was $(31.4) million, compared to a non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA loss of $(20.7) million in the prior year; consolidated fiscal year non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA loss was $(65.6) million, as compared to non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA of $42.2 million in the prior year.
• Consolidated fourth quarter non-GAAP Adjusted Earnings was $(32.8) million, compared to non-GAAP Adjusted Earnings of $(28.1) million in the prior year period; consolidated fiscal year non-GAAP Adjusted Earnings was $(89.0) million, compared to non-GAAP Adjusted Earnings of $(21.1) million in the prior year.
• Total fiscal year 2021 borrowings increased by only $2.9 million to $177.6 million as compared to the prior year period, led by working capital improvements, the sale of logo and emblematic merchandise inventory to Lids, and the strategic equity investment in BNED by Fanatics and Lids. 

Operational highlights for fiscal year 2021:

• BNC First Day® digital course delivery model year-over-year revenue increased 94%, benefiting from the accelerated move to digital courseware.
• Reached agreements for 64 campus stores to support the BNC First Day® Complete courseware delivery program in Fall Term 2021, representing approximately 300,000 in total undergraduate enrollment; up from 12 campus stores and 43,000 in total undergraduate enrollment in Fall Term 2020.
• Gained over 300,000 gross subscribers for the bartleby® suite of services in fiscal 2021, with DSS revenue increasing 15.7% for the same period.
• Launched beta release of bartleby Expert Live Chat, a text-based tutoring offering that connects students to our expert network for students who have follow-up questions on a bartleby solution, need more clarity on a textbook question, or want to speak to a tutor as soon as possible.
• Continued to attract new clients and generate new business growth, signing over $103 million in gross new business in fiscal year 2021 and expanding BNED’s footprint by 52 institutions and 31 K-12 schools.
• Entered into a long-term strategic omni channel merchandising partnership with Fanatics and Lids (FLC), forging an alliance with the two retail and ecommerce leaders in the licensed sports and emblematic merchandise category. Significant joint go-to-market activity planned with Fanatics and Lids to attract new business through enhanced offering.
  

Book Tik Tok (Evening Standard)

TikTok doesn’t seem like an obvious destination for book buzz but that hasn’t stopped it from booming. The #BookTok hashtag has racked up over 5.8 billion views, and some authors have seen a tenfold increase in book sales for works that are often decades old.

Even bookstores are jumping on the trend. The Barnes & Noble website now has a “BookTok” page dedicated to the most popular books on TikTok and its American stores have introduced allocated sections displaying titles that have gone viral on the platform.

Also - The Rise of BookTok (Guardian)

Teaching Reading Right (The Economist)

The consequences of this are striking. Less than half (48%) of all American adults were proficient readers in 2017. American fourth graders (nine-to ten-year olds) rank 15th on the Progress in International Literacy Study, an international exam. And that was before covid-19 closed schools. According to UNESCO, American schools were closed either fully or partially for 56 weeks, compared with 47 in Canada and 27 in the United Kingdom and China. In theory the need to make up for lost schooling could be an opportunity to try something new. But America remains stuck in debate about teaching children to read that has been rumbling on for decades.

Wiley's "Tech-Enabled" Publishing (SiliconAngle)

“It’s been amazing to be part of education and research during this pandemic, during a time when these things have never really been more important. For a long time, we’d been building these online and computer-based education platforms and really trying to get folks to move there. And that’s been a long, long process. The pandemic has really accelerated that,” Mack stated.

Wiley has seen a profound increase in the usage of its online education platforms with the onset of the pandemic — but it has definitely not been the only one. With the number of businesses that have been given a “digitization boost” by the pandemic, maybe there’s a bit of opportunity in every tragedy after all.

Making writing more working class (The Economist)

The entire publishing industry has been colonised by the middle and upper classes. A study last year of literary types found that only 13% came from a working-class background. So Ms Carthew has launched the “Nature Writing Prize for working-class writers”, now in its second year, to “burst the stereotype of what it means to be a nature writer” and allow other species to thrive.

Emoting in the open air might seem an egalitarian pursuit. Fields are free, while pens and paper cost mere pennies. It is not so simple, says Ms Carthew. One cannot wander lonely as a cloud if one is working in a call centre, and it is easier to write about the questing vole in a plashy fen if one owns the fen. Such accusations make the publishing industry squirm: like most liberal elites, publishers are happier to be seen as liberal than elite. Steps therefore are being taken. Surveys have been conducted, working-class networks have been launched, hands have been wrung. There remains an uncomfortably large number of people in the industry called Sophie.

 The Rise of Must-Read TV (The Atlantic)

All of this has had a profound effect on the literary world. As you might expect, becoming a TV show increases a novel’s popularity enormously. Adaptations can drive book sales, as in the case of this winter’s breakout hit Bridgerton. The Regency-era bodice-ripper is not alone: A number of backlist titles, such as The Queen’s Gambit, have enjoyed a late-in-life revival thanks to Netflix’s attention.

We see evidence of the adaptation effect in other measures of literary success as well. We compiled a list of about 400 21st-century novels that met certain criteria—inclusion in top-10 best-seller lists, critics’ picks, publishers’ comp titles, and so on. Within this group, a novel that becomes a show will receive about four times as many ratings on Goodreads.com as a novel that has never been adapted to TV or film. (Film still has a bigger effect, boosting a novel’s Goodreads ratings more than 1000 percent; TV nonetheless dramatically improves the fortunes of a novel.)

Emerging formats in Scholarly Publishing (Research Information)

Making content easily discoverable is vital to create an impact. Embracing digital transformation is key to survival in the current scenario. The publishing industry is contending with the availability of free content, declining readership, and switching to various content delivery platforms. Forward-looking organisations must embrace the digital revolution to meet changing customer needs. New and more effective content formats, like infographics and video summaries can help researchers, particularly those working in multidisciplinary fields, discover more relevant studies.

 

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