All Together In Antwerp - The PublishOne Advisory Council Event 2024
Tucked away beside a small courtyard with a stunning view of Antwerp’s famous cathedral is the Hofkamer – an 18th-century ‘stateroom’ in the Rococo style. The Hofkamer’s rich history and meticulously restored interiors (including a toilet decorated as a library) provided the perfect backdrop for this year’s annual advisory council meeting for PublishOne clients and partners on October 30th and 31st.
Here’s our summary of the 2-day event, including key learnings and insights.
Executive Advisory Council
The purpose of the Executive Advisory Council (EAC) is to generate clear strategies for the development of the PublishOne platform. Day One kicked off with two inspiring presentations.
First, our long-time collaborator, Robert Janoska of SNAP Innovation, demoed a new AI chatbot that makes it easy to find answers within PublishOne content. Not only does it retrieve relevant information, but it also references the source of the information as well.
Second, we welcomed Martin McDonald from Learnosity. A few years ago, our clients identified education and interactivity as key areas for development. So we were thrilled that Martin revealed a new AI-powered tool that works within the PublishOne environment, enabling educators to create question-based learning materials faster than ever before.
That segued us nicely into the theme of the first session: is content still king? Our discussion revolved around the challenge of staying relevant with the industry-wide shift from content provision to education. As well as that, we explored the impacts of AI on the ongoing evolution of online products, questioning whether ‘quality’ is still the main driver of success.
One of the key challenges to come out of the industry’s transition from paper to digital is the speed at which content must be updated. Professional information providers no longer have months to revise a print edition of a text. Digital content needs updating everywhere within days of new information being released. Timeliness is everything.
The afternoon session kicked off with a demo from Angelique Dorland who showcased the inspiring learning journey platform ‘aNewSpring’. This set up the main topic for the afternoon: how to expand our ecosystem, developing PublishOne as both a company and as a product. We were particularly interested to hear about production planning tools used by our clients. We also heard how clients are looking for more efficient ways to facilitate feedback loops with end-users of digital products.
An optional afternoon excursion gave attendees the opportunity to visit The Nottebohmzaal – one of Antwerp’s most iconic and beautiful library rooms with an impressive collection of old and rare books. Dinner at ‘In de Balans’ followed.
Software Advisory Council
Day Two was a chance to take a deep dive into features and functionality. This year, clients were given the theme of UI/UX. Pre-event, they could propose enhancements to PublishOne – everything from adding a new button within the UI to integrating a new AI tool to enhance the UX.
On the day, clients had the chance to present and discuss their proposed change requests. Our designer, Matthijs van Bodegom from Essense was on hand to hear them. Post-event, those people unable to attend were given the opportunity to vote on those enhancements to help us identify the priorities for the next phase of our roadmap.
It was great to hear so many clients with strong opinions about what should be in the next set of system updates, citing changes that could benefit everyone using the platform, not just their own businesses.
Building a supportive community
Now in its sixth year, the PublishOne Advisory Council feels much more like a community – even when direct competitors are sitting side by side. It’s great to see such a strong network growing around the product, facilitating knowledge-sharing and problem-solving in a collaborative and cooperative way.
A big thank you to everyone who attended the PublishOne Advisory Council in 2024. Thinking together with you helps us improve our product in ways that better serve your publishing efforts, both now and in the future. And if you weren’t able to make this year’s event, we hope you can make it next time.
We look forward to welcoming you again in 2025!
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