A local software company has identified and responded to a clear need within the South African media industry. In a sector that is dealing with increasing consolidation and convergence, publishers need to get information to readers in print, online and via mobile in an affordable manner.
Instead of swallowing the bitter pill of international vendors to power their businesses, there are significant cost and support benefits for South African publishers to make use of local software developers.
Preditor, a complete publishing solution for the new media age, has been developed over the past 18 months by leading software house Prefix Technologies. The first client to have procured the service and go live is Creamer Media, publishers of Engineering News, Mining Weekly, Polity and the Research Channel, who recently migrated to the Preditor platform.
In addition to website development, content management and integrated content flows with existing print lay-out software, the Preditor system has enabled Creamer Media to begin publishing podcasts and audio/video streaming, with cellphone-based content delivery next on the cards.
“We now have a world class solution in every respect,” comments Creamer Media CEO Kenneth Creamer, “The Preditor product suite and Prefix Technologies as a vendor are a clear demonstration that South Africa has the technical, project management and customer service capacity to deliver to our media sector at every level.”
Adds Prefix Technologies Director Sam Hutchinson, “Preditor embraces both print and new-media requirements, and has been built to serve the needs of the publishing environment specifically with rich interfaces that make the editorial process a true pleasure from a research, submission and collaboration perspective.”
Having considered international and local alternatives, Creamer Media's choice to deploy Preditor is one that they believe will enable the company to significantly advance its core mission on world-class, real-time reporting about business developments, particularly in the industrial and mining sectors.
Scalability was a key demand, with over 120,000 monthly visitors to their online offerings, and over 20 full-time journalists and researchers contributing daily content.
“We now have new ways of serving and managing our subscribers across all publications,” concludes Creamer, “The ability to monetise our electronic content and automate subscription and online advertising processes creates new and exciting revenue opportunities.”
With the Creamer Media project behind them, Prefix Technologies is to begin its road-show to publishers toward the middle of the year. With their success to date, it is clear that home-grown solutions in the publishing sector exist to be developed and sustained.
Additional Information & Contact Details Prefix Technologies contact: Sam Hutchinson - 011 4476147 / 083 234 0880 / Creamer Media Contact: Kenneth Creamer - 011 622 3744 /
About Prefix Technologies: Prefix Technologies is a leading content, knowledge and document management solutions software development and solutions provider. Visit www.prefix.co.za for more information.
About Creamer Media: Ever since its founding in 1981, the mission of Creamer Media has been to provide accurate and comprehensive news and information about South Africa's and Africa's industrial and resources sectors. Visit www.creamermedia.co.za for more information.
