Frankfurter Buchmesse 2024 – The PublishOne Perspective

There are always good conversations to be had at the iconic Frankfurter Buchmesse, and this year’s event – the 76th edition – was no exception. 

For PublishOne representatives Ellen and Mark, together with Robert Janoska of SNAP Innovation and Martin McDonald from Learnosity, it was a fantastic opportunity to connect with existing clients as well as meet some new faces.

Didn’t catch up with us in Frankfurt? Here’s what you missed.

Collaboration and cooperation are crucial

Between October 16th and 20th, Frankfurter Buchmesse 2024 (FBM24) welcomed more than 230,000 visitors and 4,300 exhibitors to a sold-out literary weekend with the theme of ‘FBM24 is Read!ng’. 

As always, trade visitors had the chance to expand their knowledge through a dedicated professional program, discover new trends, and discuss ideas with key players from the world of publishing. From our stand in the Service Provider area, it was clear that collaboration and cooperation are playing an increasingly important role in the publishing industry.

The ability to integrate with different technologies and partners is top of mind for both publishers and service providers. For that reason, PublishOne’s integration framework is a real strength when it comes to connecting legacy tools and new, emerging ones – like AI chatbots. In fact, feedback from our partners and clients reveals the convenience of connecting PublishOne to other digital tools.

AI-powered tools are streamlining workflows

When it comes to embracing new technology, the publishing industry is generally cautious – particularly when it comes to AI. One of the barriers is knowing how to safely and securely deploy AI-powered tools in ways that add genuine value. There’s a sense of patience around the implementation of AI tools, but publishers know they need them to stay competitive – when the right use cases emerge.

On that note, PublishOne partner Learnosity was promoting a new AI feature that works within PublishOne and automatically suggests questions (and answers) based on source material. This makes creating and publishing learning resources much faster and easier for trainers and teachers. 

As well as that, our partners and AI specialists SNAP Innovation announced an AI chatbot that brings powerful search functionality to PublishOne content. Not only does it facilitate static search queries in natural language, but it also has the ability to find the actual answers within content and suggest other related content – rather than just pointing the user to a document where the answer can be found.

Publishers need flexible and evergreen technology

Handling the technical side of publishing workflows – including Word to XML file conversion, document styling, and content management – are all still major challenges for publishers. 

When content is locked inside a particular system, it can make streamlining operations and adding new technologies – such as AI tools – time-consuming and costly. That’s especially frustrating if a product line ends, or a better alternative comes along.  

The proven technology behind PublishOne has been iterated on for over 20 years, and it offers complete flexibility with other digital tools, from communication platforms to Learning Management Systems (LMS).

 

Key takeaways from Frankfurter Buchmesse 2024

It’s clear from FBM24 that publishing technology is at the start of its next evolution, driven by AI. In order to get the best value from AI-powered tools, publishers need a secure and reliable platform on which to create, manage, and publish content.

PublishOne’s reliability, longevity, and unique approach to product development sets it apart from other publishing systems. Through informal feedback and more formalized Advisory Councils with clients and partners, the platform evolves in line with client needs. 

This year’s event once again proved to be a great opportunity to catch up with existing clients such as Boom and Uitgeversgroep and also meet a growing number of prospective clients.

To discover more about PublishOne – the friendly publishing platform – book a call with one of our team. Book a call