Your day in the sun may finally be dawning.
While preparing for an upcoming webinar on technical publications in global markets, we reviewed the content/globalizaton management topics that we’ve covered recently in white papers, case studies, and other webinars. An emerging–and insistent–theme is the role that product support content plays in the nearly universal drive for positive customer experience.
This signals an important shift in the value proposition for investment in content technologies for
technical documentation. One that should warm the hearts of techpubs pros everywhere.
Historically, companies have spent money on technical publishing technology in order to realize operational benefits–more automation, content reuse, lower headcount, and so on. The value proposition was inward-facing. Now, however, value is increasingly derived from outside the operations of the organization. High-quality technical content impacts customer satisfaction, drives new revenue in new markets, enhances product usability, and reinforces brand. The value prop is now outward-facing. And these dimensions of ROI can pour a whole lotta sunshine in the corner offices of worldwide organizations.
In addition to the July 11 webinar with Idiom and EMC, check out these Gilbane artifacts for evidence of the value shift in technical publishing.
From the Autodesk case study:

Regarded as a strategic and essential company asset, product documentation is a significant component of the company’s customer-centric information supply chain. With over 60 percent of revenue derived from outside the United States, Autodesk’s vision for content globalization is paramount to continued market leadership.

See also the Sun Microsystems case study and recorded webinars with Medtronic and Astoria.