Global Information Management: An Interview With Howard Schwartz, Howard Schwartz, Senior Vice President of Content Technologies, SDL Structured Content Technologies Division

February 9, 2011 Blog 1 Comment

In this exclusive interview for The Content Wrangler, Scott Abel interviews Howard Schwartz, Senior Vice President of Content Technologies, SDL Structured Content Technologies Division, about Global Information Management trends, the Innovate 2011 Conference, and more.

TCW: Howard, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us today. For my readers who don’t know who you are and what you do, can you tell us a little about yourself and your work?

Howard Schwartz, Senior Vice President of Content Technologies, SDL Structured Content Technologies Division

HS: Hi Scott, Good to speak with you. I am Senior Vice President of Content Technologies for SDL, in their Structured Content Technology division, the area of the company that focuses on delivering technologies for managing technical information in a structured form. I lead the go-to-market strategy for this business unit and spend a great deal of my time understanding best practices for companies that are moving into structured content.

TCW: Many folks don’t know a lot about the company you work for. Can you tell us a little about SDL? What does SDL specialize in? And, more specifically, what does your division do?

HS: SDL is a company focused on what we call Global Information Management. That is our term to describe the technologies and services that companies require to engage their customers through the product life cycle. Our technologies and services empower organizations to create and manage persuasive, relevant, and technically accurate information that can be tailored to a customer’s interests, background and language.

TCW: I’m glad you mentioned the term ‘global information management’ as it’s been cropping up more and more. Can you elaborate a bit more on it and explain how you arrived at this term?

Global Information Management helps organizations efficiently and effectively manage content aimed at international audiences.

HS: There is no other term that so aptly describes this set of interlocking technologies and services which empower organizations to manage the life cycle of customer-facing information that is more than just content. The term global refers to the importance of global markets and the need to deliver rich persuasive and accurate information in local languages. Information Management captures the importance of technical and branded information that is required to build trust with prospects and customers.

TCW: There’s no doubt that international markets are becoming increasingly important to organizations looking to expand their reach, create new revenue streams and new markets. What role does SDL play in helping organizations manage their global product information?

HS: It is not easy for a global organization to create and update information about the dozens or even hundreds of products going to market throughout a year. Those products may have multiple versions, be targeted to many different market segments, and have to reach customers who speak many different languages. SDL offers a set of integrated technology solutions and services that helps companies streamline each step of this process from content creation, through management, translation and ultimately interactive delivery of this information to customers and prospects. Together these offerings enable companies to engage their customers more effectively and benefit from lower support costs and higher revenue growth.

TCW: I’ve enjoyed attending SDL’s annual Innovate conference the past few years. I’m always amazed at the quality of the event, the presenters, and the cost. After all free is a great deal for a two day learning event. Can you tell us a little about this year’s event?

HS: It’s been great to have you involved in our social media strategy at past events, and we look forward to your participation again this year. We have a great line-up that includes keynote talks from SDL Executive Chairman, Mark Lancaster, Toby Bell, Vice President at Gartner Research and a number of senior individuals from brand name companies including HP, EMC, Cisco and Starbucks, to name only a few. These speakers will talk about their vision and best practices for managing global information. For anyone who is interested in joining us in Santa Clara, CA for this action-packed two day event, we ask that they register on the innovate website at www.sdl.com/innovate.

TCW: Who are the featured presenters at this year’s event and what will they be talking about?

HS: We are excited that Marcia Metz, from EMC, will be speaking about the company’s vision of what she calls “Information Liquidity.” Gail Evans, Vice President and General Manager, HP.com, will speak about Key Strategies for Website Globalization.” Len Larsen, of Starbuck’s Global Learning Division, will speak about Managing Global Brand Consistency. These are just a few of the exciting sessions we’ll be offering.

TCW: What trends do you see in the global information management arena? Are organizations doing anything new, exciting or different with their global information, and if so, can you tell us about a few of your client engagements?

HS: We are seeing the acceleration of a couple of new technologies in our installed base of customers. Adoption of structured content, particularly in DITA and S1000D, is speeding up in Fortune 1000 companies. As a result, we see these standards providing the foundation for a new type of “living collaborative doc” that previously was a static PDF. We also see an intense interest in the adoption of automated translation both embedded in a traditional human-based translation process as well as on-the-fly translation for content that cannot move through a traditional translation process. Our customers are also looking to personalize the buying experience of their customers by tailoring which products and content are served up to prospects. These are all exciting trends that reach from the Web front end to the back end of the organization.

TCW: Well, it looks like we’ve run out of time. Thanks for your valuable time today, Howard. I really appreciate you sharing a little about yourself, SDL, and your customers. I look forward to seeing you at SDL Innovate this March!

HS: Thanks Scott. Good talking to you today.