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| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
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| Do I need a systems integrator
(SI)? |
Systems integrators can dedicate the time
and resources to your project that an internal IT department
cannot. As an SI, ThomasTech also has the relevant technology
experience to help you manage your content effectively and
efficiently. We focus on content management and can handle
such crucial issues as diverse content, cross-departmental
collaboration, workflow, and software integration. Internal
IT departments are charged with the support of basic corporate
networks, office systems, and other internal operations. An
internal IT department would either need to defer new projects
until staff became available or hire contract staff. ThomasTech
lets companies focus on their core business without needing
to learn the specific skill sets required to develop and implement
a content management system. By partnering with ThomasTech,
you also eliminate training and ramp-up costs associated with
hiring specialized staff, as well as reduce maintenance and
support costs.
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| Why should I choose ThomasTech
instead of a big or small SI, consultant, or design shop? |
ThomasTech is not a general business consultant.
We focus on specific types of systems and retain a technical
team with a high level of specialized expertise. We do not
assign junior staff to a new project; therefore, you will
never have to pay for the learning curve of a new employee.
We are driven by you, the client. Rather than tell you what
your problems are and dictate a solution, we work with you
to discover your needs and define system requirements. ThomasTech
has been in business for more than 40 years. We are a stable
company and have been largely immune to the recent economic
downturn that has affected many small companies and startups.
We can staff for multiple large projects. A smaller company
is at greater risk of losing skill sets as result of employee
turnover.
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| Why should I choose ThomasTech
instead of a software vendor? |
ThomasTech does not limit itself to one
product. We select the most appropriate tools based on your
particular business issues. We have experience with a variety
of vendors and may work with several of them to meet your
needs. We will not try to overextend a product to fit your
requirements. If specific technical functionality is missing
from an off-the-shelf product, our own development staff can
fill the gaps.
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| How do I make the most of
all my existing content? |
Through data conversion processes, you
can move your content from legacy systems to a new content
management system. The more consistent your content is in
its current form, the more efficient and accurate the process
will be. There is often a need to add more descriptive information
or metadata to the content to help enable reusability across
multiple outputs and media. ThomasTech can implement a data
conversion process and provide additional services to add
value to your existing content.
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| How much does a content
management system usually cost? |
Many factors contribute to the overall
cost of a content management system. These factors include
the type of content that will be managed, the number of users,
whether the system will be used on a global basis at multiple
locations, hardware requirements, the amount of data that
must be converted and its format, and a variety of additional
implementation concerns. As a result, the price can range
widely. ThomasTech can help you analyze your requirements
to help you determine the type of content management system
that will best suit your needs and your budget.
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| When is it time to consider
XML for content management? |
When content needs to be highly structured
and reused in multiple media, XML is typically the answer.
XML provides a media-neutral format for your content and helps
to enforce strict document structures to ensure consistency
and allow for the greatest level of automation possible. ThomasTech
can help you evaluate if XML is right for your company.
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| When is it time to implement
an e-catalog? |
If you need to provide a searchable catalog
online or support e-commerce integration, you should consider
an e-catalog system. E-catalogs can provide an organized single-source
of product information and interface to other supply chain
systems and/or e-marketplaces. ThomasTech can help you analyze
your product information and build a robust e-catalog that
can support these initiatives.
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| Can ThomasTech help me integrate
my e-catalog with technical documentation? |
Yes. It requires the integration of the
catalog system and a document management system. ThomasTech
maintains a partnership with Documentum, Inc. to provide customers
with this type of capability. To learn more about this topic,
download
our white paper: Improve Your Web Sales
Channel with Unified Content.
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| What is ECM and how can
ThomasTech help me with it? |
ECM, or Enterprise Content Management,
is an integrated architecture for managing structured and
unstructured content throughout an organization, or enterprise.
ECM encompasses the entire content lifecycle—from creation
to management to delivery. With an ECM system, you can collect
disparate content into a single data repository and then output
it to a variety of channels including print/PDF, Web, and
CD/DVD. ThomasTech can help specify and integrate the numerous
individual components of an ECM system to best fit your business
needs.
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| What is unified content?
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When all relevant product information,
regardless of the technology used to manage and store this
content, is made available to the customer online—at
the time they need it and in a common format—then Web
site content is truly unified. To learn more about unified
content, download
our white paper: Improve Your Web Sales
Channel with Unified Content.
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| What role does XML play
in unified content? |
XML allows companies to leverage the corporate
knowledge contained in documents that does not reside in the
data repository. With XML, documents become useable and portable
from print to the Web and other media. These capabilities
are especially important to organizations that have large
documents, lots of content, and multi-lingual documents. XML
is a widely accepted industry standard that is monitored by
the World Wide Web Consortium (WC3). Several software vendors
provide tools for XML authoring and editing, which can be
integrated into the content management process.
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| How can I improve my Web
sales channel with unified content? |
The unified B2B content approach allows
the Web site to act as a portal of access to product information,
providing a self-service model for customers with distinct
advantages such as less effort in obtaining information, comprehensive
pre- and post-sales support, as well as seamless, intuitive
access to related product information, and reduced length
of sales cycle. To learn more about this topic, download
our white paper: Improve Your Web Sales
Channel with Unified Content.
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| What kind of pre-press
services can ThomasTech provide? |
We provide a full range of pre-press production
services to help clients publish books, directories, technical
documents, newsletters, and journals in both print and electronic
media. Our pre-press services include: page composition and
typesetting, page production, graphic design, keyboarding,
proofing, and scanning. We maintain a full staff of skilled
production specialists as well as an extensive array of state-of-the-art
equipment and systems. We offer hands-off, round-trip production,
enabling clients to update and preview composed pages via
FTP. Click here
for details.
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| How will ThomasTech work
with me to define my requirements? Provide an ROI on its solutions?
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ThomasTech has extensive experience in
document and systems analysis, derived from hundreds of engagements
with customers. Requirements definition is an integral part
of our overall project management approach, which employs
a tested and proven methodology called MAPS
(Methodologies And Process Standards). This methodology ensures
successful system design and implementation and aids in developing
realistic project budgets, goals, and timetables. In addition,
ThomasTech will assist in developing an ROI that helps your
organization understand the value of the solutions you intend
to implement, as well as the variables that can affect success.
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| I'm not a publisher, nor
a manufacturer, can ThomasTech help me? |
ThomasTech has worked with many companies
who do not classify themselves primarily as publishers or
manufacturers. These companies include libraries, research
companies, associations, financial institutions, hotel chains,
educational organizations, and telecommunications companies.
These companies operate in dissimilar industries, but they
share several similarities in how they author and distribute
their content. If you are unsure whether the types of solutions
we offer fit your business needs, contact
us to discuss how ThomasTech might be able to help. Learn
more about cross-industry
solutions.
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| What is the average number
of years of experience of your technical staff? |
Our programmers, developers, architects,
and other technical staff average 16 years of experience in
the industry. That means that as IBM introduced its PS/2 family
of personal computers, these people were beginning or already
working with computers, software, and information technology.
When SGML and XML were born, they were already entrenched
in the IT world. They have faced many challenges, and solved
numerous problems for our clients. To learn more about careers
at ThomasTech, click here.
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| I'd like to request a proposal,
what do I do next? |
ThomasTech utilizes a proven consultative
methodology to assist you in developing a proposal. This starts
with a process-oriented evaluation to facilitate aspects of
discovery about your needs and challenges, organizational
impacts, expected deliverables, and a variety of other concerns.
You can start by talking with one of our representatives or
e-mail us at info@thomastech.co.uk.
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| How many employees work
at ThomasTech? |
ThomasTech employs approximately 250, working
at our offices in Horsham, PA and London, UK.
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| Were you always named ThomasTech?
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No, the company you know as ThomasTech
began as 707 Yorkway in 1961. With a staff of four, the company
first produced computer-assisted commercial directories. In
1966, a partnership between the founder, Hans Nickel, and
International Publishing Corporation (IPC), the forerunner
to Reed International plc was formed. This partnership incorporated
the company as International Computaprint Corporation (ICC).
By 1994, ICC was run as four units: ICC-Commercial, ICC-Government,
ICC-Europe, and Online Computer Systems. These businesses
collectively changed their name to Reed Technology and Information
Services Inc. (RTIS). In 2000, RTIS-Commercial Division was
sold to long-time client, Thomas Publishing Company, LLC.
The name was changed to Thomas Technology Solutions, Inc.
(ThomasTech). Read
more about our history.
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