Pressroom

New York, NY:  Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL), the leader in future proofing content via high quality digital conversion, announced today its key 2012 milestones. Topping the list: a 35 percent increase in company growth and a 10 percent increase in hiring. DCL customers contributing to this upward trend represent a range of industries, including publishing, life sciences, technical societies and government.

"We're proud of our trajectory, and look forward to further growth in 2013," said DCL CEO Mark Gross. "Recognition has increased regarding the value of content, and that organizations can both cut costs and boost revenue by taking advantage of new conversion technology. There has been rising interest in eBooks in areas outside of traditional publishing, and demand for standardized formats such as EPUB, DITA and PRISM. We've also noted growing market realization that even older content is valuable, now that it's discoverable and inexpensively distributable. For example, many technical societies are converting archives going back 50, 60 years, finding that their customers still value the content. In addition, university presses are finding new value in their backlists."

More DCL growth has come from new technology tools facilitating Independent Quality Review and Audits by DCL for work done internally by company staff or by vendors. ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), a prominent technical society, conducted their conversion in-house and chose DCL to review conversion accuracy, provide specialized quality testing tools, and provide services to automatically convert complex math.

DCL's EPUB on Demand portal, aimed at smaller publishers and independent authors, was joined in 2012 by two new "On Demand" portals: Harmonizer on Demand and Convert on Demand. Harmonizer on Demand provides the capability to identify redundant data in document collections, along with tools to edit and consolidate redundant data. Convert on Demand re-energizes dormant content, creating accurate digital knowledge that can be ported to eBooks, searched online, and published in new formats; all leading to new revenue streams.

"Our 2012 surveys (by DCL alone and with AEP) showed that 77 percent of content is not what we think of as traditional publishing. The majority is actually product information, service manuals and other types of documentation," noted Mark Gross. "This content holds significant value: 44 percent of respondents said their content accounts for more than 50 percent of their company's value."

As demand for digital content grows, businesses are turning to DCL not only as a trusted technology and services provider, but also in an advisory capacity. Throughout 2012, DCL executives joined with fellow industry thought leaders in a robust series of webinars. Issues included: planning for better use of content, eliminating costly redundancies in content repositories, better quality control, and making the most of DITA, mobile publishing, and other emerging technologies.