IPA Systems make Waves with Content

Wave2 Media Solutions Limited - the company founded by Chris Hodges to produce a new generation of workflow and content management software - has announced that it has signed an agreement with IPA Systems as a distributor for its products in the UK newspaper sector.

Based in Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire, Wave2 has developed a range of intelligent software products that enable automatic make-up of full pages and display advertisements. The foundation of all of Wave2 software products is the Wave2 Publishing Platform. This is a powerful rules engine that allows for the automated creation and building of documents. The resultant documents can be produced for either electronic or printed delivery. The company has, to date, developed three products based on the Wave2 Publishing Platform:

Zeus is a unique personalised publishing solution for the creation of custom inserts, newspapers, journals etc. The system is capable of producing both electronic and print output.

Apollo provides for an exceptionally powerful automated creative system which is particularly suited for the automatic production of display advertisements, signage and marketing materials. This software is appropriate for online ad creation, local creation of professional collateral or as an in-house automation tool.

Artemis is a dedicated automated newspaper layout system for the creation of editorial pages and complex listings pages. The system is capable of producing both electronic and print output. The software concept behind all three software packages is defined by Chris Hodges as, "The second wave of content management."

He goes on to explain, "The original idea behind my previous business, MidSystem Technology, was to provide software to structure pre-press activity, to enable users to manage digital content, and to generally work in a more productive and effective way. Wave2's products aim to take this concept to the next level by automating the complete selection, assembly and presentation of content for published documents.

"Similar solutions are available for web-based environments, but the unique feature of Wave2 products is that they will be able to intelligently paginate raw text into a pre-defined print format. The business rules which help to define all of this activity can also mix advertising and editorial content in an intelligent way."

Utilising a variety of user-defined templates per job style, and a powerful rules engine, the products are capable of working out which is the most suitable layout for the content in question.

Commenting on the decision to work with such innovative software products, IPA Systems sales director Rob Parsons said, "People in the newspaper trade that we have spoken to about these products can see the obvious, immediate advantages. There are significant overheads, for example, in the creation of display ads. The capabilities on offer with the Apollo software could reduce such overheads for a publisher quite significantly - that is very exciting. The potential for the Artemis software is that it could be responsible for full page creation - again another real-life reduction in overheads for the publisher. The scope of this software really is only limited by one's own imagination."

"This is undoubtedly the software of the future - available right now! It's all about creating media neutral information that is purposed - as opposed to re-purposed - for a specific task," he concluded.

Chris Hodges sees a wide variety of potential applications for the new products. "With the highly competitive nature of the newspaper and magazine market, publishers need to be able to see the very unique marketing opportunities offered by Zeus, Apollo and Artemis. Regional or point-of-purchase variations of a section within a publication could be quite possible with this software, in addition to the opportunity for special publications by subscription. We also see potential applications within the automotive sector, the travel industry, the corporate world, as well as the retail sector. The potential is certainly huge."

Background

Known by many in the industry as "the father of workflow management", Chris Hodges began working in this arena whilst with the highly innovative Norfolk-based company Xenotron. He started his own business, MidSystem Techology, in 1991, launching the first content workflow product a year later. The products produced by the company were successfully marketed through a number of sales channels - including Cascade, Monotype Systems, Fuji-Film Graphic Systems, and Unisys. End-users of the product included The Daily Telegraph, Mirror Group Newspapers (some 65 titles), Associated Newspapers, The Guardian, Sotheby's and Sears - the latter two using the system for catalogue production.

The MidSystem company was eventually acquired by its biggest customer, Cascade. Shortly after the purchase Cascade changed its own name to MediaBridge, before being acquired itself by Engage Inc.

Continued Innovation in Whitchurch!

The Wave2 offices in Whitchurch have something of a history as a home of innovation. The site - The Firs, High Street, Whitchurch - was utilised as a secret centre for creating innovative solutions during the Second World War, and was often referred to as "Churchill's Toy Shop".

For more information please contact: sales@ipasystems.co.uk

TOP