Mega Trends Driving Technical Content
Posted by Joan Lasselle on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 @ 01:25 PM
"We have no other choice than to invest in creating the future, not merely preserving the past," —Intel CEO Paul Otellini.
Did you take a wait and see approach during the economic downturn or have you embraced this past year as a challenge and adopted a change or die attitude? Now that we're hearing encouraging news, companies who used this year to build and retool will be ready to prosper in a leaner and meaner future. If you were waiting, the world was not. Three mega trends that directly affect technical product content continued to gain momentum.
First, current estimates are that content is increasing at the rate of 60 percent a year. And that number may be even higher in companies that are process oriented, highly-regulated, and driven by knowledge workers. Content is often generated in an ad hoc way. So the volume of content continues to grow, but the value decreases. It's redundant, people can't find the information they need, it's developed but never used—it doesn't align to business results or the task at hand. Content is growing at a relentless pace—it's a valuable asset; you have to manage it in a new way.
Second, customers have never been more diverse or more demanding. While you wait, your customers are changing. Their jobs are changing, their expectations are changing, and their need for information is changing. Social media and user generated content are becoming part of the total customer experience.
Third, we live in a global economy that demands a global response. Your customers—both internal and external—want content in their own language. This means content—especially product content needs to be translated. More than 20 languages is becoming the norm.
You can't stop major external mega trends and economic forces. Is the content you're developing ready to meet the needs of your customers and your business demands for efficiency?