WoodWing SCE
Overview
Media Systems is the UK's leading integration partner of WoodWing, the creators of Smart Connection Enterprise. Our joint approach to providing the best possible solutions to your changing business needs ensures that all areas from current and future functionality through to installation and support are fully managed in most efficient possible manner.
The following is a top level overview of what makes Smart Connection Enterprise a truly unique multi-media multi-channel publishing system.
Enterprise Publishing System
Publishing now covers an increasing number of areas, so flexible but intuitive management of the content is key. Used by mainstream magazines and newspapers, by corporations for internal and customer documents and reports, by government offices to fulfill their legislative and general publishing needs or for automated catalog production, it is essential that the content can be gathered, organized and output to multiple channels in the most cost effective manner.
With more information being published than ever before and rapid changes to both the delivery and output channels many parts of the process remain the same. Content must be created, whether internally or externally, must be easily managed, must be neutral to enable multi-channel output and must be re-usable. Factor in the need to meet deadlines whilst managing traditionally inherent costs, and the need for a highly proficient, flexible yet intuitive solution becomes ever more attractive.
On average, two functional updates per year are developed in tandem with the latest technologies. This results in an easier integration with other systems and products, and reduced Total Cost of Ownership in comparison to traditional editorial systems.
Smart Connection Enterprise is the only truly open system. In addition to the many configuration possibilities, the business logic can be customised to fit with the challenges of tomorrow. For today, Enterprise offers not only a lot of functionality, but it's also extremely easy to install - enabling the system to be up and running very quickly.
Understanding the Publishing Process
We understand that today's content publishers not only include magazines and newspapers, but also corporate communication offices, ad agencies, and online-only companies. Regardless of industry, and regardless of size, all content producers follow a similar process of planning, creating, editing, and publishing.
Covering the Entire Publishing Process
The system supports the complete publishing process for a multimedia operation: content planning, gathering, creating, selecting, editing, producing and publishing. Its powerful page-planning integration allows smooth interaction with the advertising workflow. Further integration of Web, Mobile, archiving, wire feed and digital asset management systems provide you with one single solution: the best available. Highly configurable workflows offer you to manage data in an intuitive way and can help to automate repetitive tasks.
Please look at the 'Features' tab for more information on the key components to be found within the system.
You may also want to visit www.woodwing.com where you can find further information such as demonstration videos and case studies.
Features
As you would expect, Enterprise makes full use of all possible industry standard tools from Adobe and others. Such tools (e.g. InDesign, Incopy, Word, Photoshop etc) can of course play an important role within the overall publishing process and are highly integrated within Enterprise, enhanced by plug-ins to create a very advanced solution.
We ensure that you are not left dealing with a lot of functional but unconnected applications but rather can use what you want when you need to all from within the one system.
Manage content with Content Station
Content Station is a new breed of application. It is the premiere content management tool for all users to participate in the publishing process. Designed to interface between your Enterprise database and content repositories throughout your business, Content Station allows authors, content producers, editors, and managers to plan create, and publish their content as it goes through the workflow.
Powerful Web Publishing
Thanks to a dynamic architecture, connecting Enterprise with Web content management systems is simple. Editors can preview content before delivery, publish or update with a single click, and even unpublish content without ever leaving the Enterprise environment. Out-of-the-box, Enterprise supports Drupal, the popular open-source Web content management system, but integrations exist with many other proprietary Web CMS.
Smart Catalog Integration
When publishing data-rich documents such as catalogs, pricelists or TV guides, the need to connect your InDesign layout to external data sources, and format it automatically, becomes apparent. With Smart Catalog. Designers can select the data-source, filter the results, and place and style data and images automatically using formatting rules. Updating your document with new data from the source is as easy as selecting the Update function. And it's even possible to push changes made in InDesign back to the original source.
Social Media Friendly
Publishing today goes far beyond a printed page or a simple online CMS. Businesses need to provide multimedia content to such services as Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter to stay relevant in the marketplace. Enterprise delivers all that and more in an easy-to-use environment with customizable plugins for delivery to these systems. As new channels are opened (such as our recent iPhone Newsreader app) further plug-ins are easily added to allow you increase your coverage and embrace new markets.
Extensibility
Extending the capabilities of Enterprise is as simple as dropping in a plugin. WoodWing's content publishing platform allows users to create PHP plugins that have full access to the inner workings of the system. Use your own in-house talent or work with your integrator to deliver the features you need.
Brand Station
Brand Owners and Brand Users can access the Brand Station interface from any major Web browser and work with projects created in Adobe InDesign. Layouts can be viewed and customised, and print-ready files can be created automatically. For Brand Owners, privileges of Brand Users can also be administered via the Web browser.
Digital Publishing
Create visually rich, compelling and highly interactive publications for Tablet devices.
The Digital Magazine Tools are a set of products that work together to assemble a digital magazine. WoodWing's Enterprise content management system is at the core, providing storage and workflow control. Adobe InDesign CS4 or CS5 is used to create the content, offering highly functional and intuitive palettes to make the whole process simple. Users can then set the page order and export the content into a branded reader application via Content Station.
Introductory videos on YouTube can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/WoodWingSoftware#p/c/6F7407B6AF42F384
Digital Magazine - Creation
Content Station - Find, create & edit content
Content Station enables users to create Dossiers containing the InDesign layouts and all other material to be used in the production of a digital publication. Images, video and audio can all be uploaded into Enterprise here and in addition users can create stories in Content Station using the built-in editor or Incopy. Both incoming content and outgoing content to multiple channels is managed from this one application.
Adobe InDesign - Layout assembly
The Digital Magazine plugins for InDesign enable designers to use their familiar tools to create interactive publications. Frames are easily denoted as slideshows, videos, hotspots or Web elements that will show live content when the Tablet is connected to the Internet. The highly efficient plugins communicate with Enterprise to ensure the content is managed and positioned in the most efficient way within the CMS.
Digital Magazine - Management
Content Station - Set the flow
Dossiers are virtual folders that contain all the content for a single story. When created, the Dossiers can be viewed in an elegant fashion that enables users to arrange and re-arrange the content flow via drag-and-drop. This creates the page order for the Digital publication.
Content Station - Publish
An Export button in Content Station publishes the Digital Magazine. A progress bar shows the user how far along Content Station is in processing the content into the resultant XML used in the next stage - delivery.
Digital Magazine - Delivery
Branded Reader - Delivery options
A branded application functions as a Reader for the export generated by Content Station. Publishers have the choice of using either a standalone app containing all the content for a single issue or a distribution app that uses the Content Delivery Service. The app enables publishers to show multiple issues in a Kiosk view and end-users to purchase individual issues which are downloaded directly into the application.
Tablets other than iPad
The content stored on the Content Delivery service (CDS) is 100% cross-platform. An xml descriptor file and video and audio resources are preserved in their native formats and will play on any device that supports that content. So the CDS offers a future-proof roadmap when it comes to supporting yet-to-be released devices.
Additional information
For further information, including demonstration videos, please visit the WoodWing website at www.woodwing.com
Benefits
- True multi-channel publishing
- End to end management of content, from creation, through production, to Archive
- Uses the best possible complementary industry standard software
- Browser based intuitive configuration
- Browser based uploads and Copy entry/edit capability
- Intuitive to use, yet highly flexible
- Fully involves your end-customers
- Collaborative working via Dossiers
- Comprehensive audit trails, versioning and reporting for all activities
- Variable workflows for mainstream and niche publications
- Production monitor showing content and statuses with approval/notes function
- Easily connects to other systems for both incoming data and production
- Integration to Flat Planning systems
- Fully scriptable for repetitive tasks
- Very high level of reliability
- Fully integrated to Web and Social media channels (e.g. Twitter, Facebook)
- One system for multiple products
- Can be tailored by additional scripts and plug-ins
- Can be used as a hosted solution
- Mac or PC based Media Neutral Enterprise Publishing - catering for all files types
- Forward looking and increasingly used by Newspapers, Magazines, Corporate and Government offices, Advertising and Design Agencies worldwide
- Fully supported by our helpdesk
- Free software upgrades, generally two per annum
The results:
Save Money:
- Parallel workflow with better design tools
- Lower cost of ownership - open standard technology
- Centralised content management
- Fewer people to do the same job
Increase Revenue:
- Extend deadlines
- No ad credits, integrated planning systems
- Easily re-use content
- Customers do more of the work
- Create more productive publications
- Easier to launch new titles
- Easier to launch new titles
- Publish to multiple channels