FULL STORY
Quark has announced that Autodata, Europe’s leading publisher and supplier of technical information for automotive professionals, has successfully switched to Quark XML Author for Microsoft Word to produce information for independent workshops through printed and electronic media.
Autodata, like many other technical information providers, was facing the challenge of moving from paper manuals to a more fast-pasted production cycle imposed by technology developments in the industry and now supplies regular monthly updates of their electronic products, which at present make up 90 per cent of their sales. Mark Trepte, Autodata's production director, explained, ‘Vehicles now have a reduced “model life”. This means more models more often, which we have to research and supply information for. This presents us with the challenge of progressively reducing time to market.’
Autodata wanted a solution where authors did not have to get involved in the technicalities of mark-up languages and could deliver content in fast and accurate way. A thorough review of the market led Autodata to choose Quark XML Author for Microsoft Word.
‘Our technical authors were already compiling information using Microsoft Word and therefore were familiar with its layout and functions. We did not want our authors to invest their time inserting the correct mark-up codes, but to focus on content. Equally we did not want to move them from the familiarity of Microsoft Word to the alien environment of an XML editor,’ commented Gabriele Ostermaier, business assurance manager at Autodata.
‘We took the view that Quark XML Author was the most user-friendly and suitable option. The authors are not confronted with code input and can focus on what they do best – writing. And this means a competitive edge for our business,’ concluded Ostermaier.
Quark XML Author turns Microsoft Word into an XML authoring tool, helping to remove an important barrier to mainstream adoption of XML and dynamic publishing solutions. ‘We are pleased to see Autodata take advantage of the great benefits of intelligent content. Quark XML Author is an implement-and-go solution that requires very little training so companies like Autodata can save time and money and get their technical writers up to speed quickly. For businesses looking into producing information in a more cost-effective way, with reduced time to market, increased consistency and accuracy Quark XML Author is the answer’ commented Matthew Wallis, senior vice president of sales at Quark.
‘Our relationship with Microsoft continues to allow us to bring superior XML authoring solutions to organisations across a range of industries so they can improve and automate their publishing processes,’ concluded Wallis.
Quark is a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner and member of the Office 14 Developer Advisory Council. Quark supports industry–specific schemas for life sciences, the intelligence community, manufacturing, and technical documentation that can be deployed out–of–the box for a quick start.
About Quark XML Author
Quark XML Author is the next generation of XML authoring tools. It is an add-in to Microsoft Word that lets anyone easily create XML documents with no knowledge of XML and little or no training.
Quark XML Author:
• Empowers knowledge workers to create user-defined XML in Microsoft Word
• Enables enterprise-wide adoption of XML
• Integrates with IBM FileNet Content Manager, EMC Documentum, and Microsoft SharePoint.
In contrast, specialised, proprietary XML editing tools of the past require a significant amount of technical training and expertise, limit XML authoring to a small cadre of experts, or inhibit XML adoption altogether.
Quark XML Author is a core component of the Quark Dynamic Publishing Solution: dynamicpublishing.quark.com/en/dps/.
© Graphic Repro On-line, 30 July 2010.
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