Automated Publishing

Success with VDP Automation Using PatternStream

The following table reports on the success of PatternStream automated publishing implementations. PatternStream (a product of Finite Matters Limited) has a substantial installed base that continues to grow.

A summary of the benefits they experienced includes: cost savings, cost justified on the basis of ROI (return on investment), manhour savings, improved accuracy, ability to handle last-minute changes, short lead times, control over proprietary information, ease of distribution, quality assurance of data, elimination of repetitive publishing tasks, improved service to internal clients, pdf ease-of-use (with hyperlinks and searchability), and ease of managing publishing tasks.

Organization
Organization
Information
Information
Product
Comments
Benefits
AIMR
[Association for Investment & Management Research]
37,000 members in 74 countries 2 annual directories Previous method cost $37,000 per year in service bureau costs and 560 manhours Cost savings, manhour savings, improved services; PatternStream method: $0 in service bureau costs and 80 manhours
BEA (The Bureau of Economic Analysis) Washington-based agency of the US Dept. of Commerce in charge of providing timely, accurate, up-to-date statistics on US economic activity ”Survey of Current Business”
a monthly publication
  Short production lead times, accuracy of data; optimum management of data and procedures, PatternStream developer from FML
City governments
Fort Worth, TX
Memphis, TN
Richmond, VA
Honolulu, HI
Gainesville, FL
Anaheim, CA
budgets and other reports Budgets being published involve billions of dollars, balanced to the penny; projects done in association with American Mgmt Systems [AMS] Ability to publish current information, accuracy of publication, ease of distribution (pdf files), reduced cost of production
City of Phoenix Transit City organization responsible for public transportation Service catalog called the “Bus Book” covering bus schedules Desired a fully-automated solution that would tie into Giro’s HASTUS transit scheduling software and another Transit database Made project feasible financially and technically; removed manual labor, reducing ongoing HR costs; also shortened production lead-times
Columbia Books Directory publisher based in Washington, DC 5 annual directories:
Corp Public Affairs, Nat’l Trade & Prof Assoc, State & Regional Assoc’s, Washington, Wash DC Reps
Information from directories is used by associations, corporations, lobbyists, and politicians — SQL Server database Improved accuracy, ability to handle last-minute changes, shorter lead times, intellectual property stays in-house, dramatic cost reductions
County governments

Adobe Spotlight, County Gov’ts
Santa Clara, CA
Howard, MD
Orange, CA
San Diego, CA
San Mateo, CA
Cuyahoga, OH
Orange, FL
Franklin, OH
Honolulu, HI
Cobb, GA
Olmstead, MN
Broward, FL
Westchester, NY
budgets Budgets being published involve billions and trillions of dollars, balanced to the penny; projects completed by FML, some done in association with American Mgmt Systems [AMS] Ability to publish current information, accuracy of publication, ease of distribution (pdf files), drastic reduction in manhours
Cox Hardware + Lumber Industrial and residential supplier in Houston, TX product catalog
(print and CD)
Desire to increase sales presence with print catalog. Utilize the same (Triad) database that runs the business and web catalog. Include images and info for about 30,000 items with callouts Made the project feasible for internal staff who had ongoing business responsibilities; was affordable with run-time PatternStream, and manageable using Active Lightning developer
Department of Defense
(AF, AFR, ANG, Army, ARNG, JCS)
USA federal government department content management in support of budgets System budget information is contained in a SQL database and entered and maintained through a web interface. PatternStream uses the database information to form the exhibits and publish them in PDF to user’s browsers. Project done in association with AMS. 100% automation, production of ubiquitous easy-to-use pdf, great formatting capability,
ability to launch programmatically from a web interface
Experian Consumer credit information gathering and reporting agency Cole Directories Need ability to update data as quickly and accurately as possible Short lead times, accuracy of data; assistance from an FML PatternStream developer
GE Capital Financial Assurance Part of Fortune #5 company, provides financial services monthly mutual fund fact sheets for 13 funds Desire to publish as quickly as possible after month-end Substantially reduced publication and distribution time, manhour savings, quality assurance for data
Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District Organization in the city of San Rafael, CA responsible for public transportation transportation schedules Desired a fully-automated solution that would tie into Giro’s HASTUS transit scheduling software and its own database
(FML developed new PatternStream product called TransitWriter™ for this market)
Made project feasible financially and technically; removed manual labor, reducing ongoing HR costs; also shortened production lead-times
Honeywell, Inc Diversified technology and manufacturing leader with headquarters in Morristown,New Jersey and locations around the globe Tradeline catalogs Variable product attributes, variable information placement, solution developed by APT Solutions Automated production that was technically and financially feasible
Hydraulic Supply Corp Headquarters in Sunrise, FL, 11 locations; a full service Fluid Power specialty distributor catalog of hydraulic & pneumatic components and systems, hose, fittings, connectors, electronic systems, and accessories   Stability compared to their previously-used approach with Corel Ventura 8.0
IPC Communication Services employee-owned manufacturing and distribution company catalogs company specializes in supply chain management, printing, data management, CD-ROM mastering & replication, assembly, fulfillment, and worldwide distribution Elimination of repetitive publishing tasks, short lead times, manhour savings, improved service to clients with less staff, new service offering that provides a competitive edge
Krause Publications Publishes
52 hobby periodicals,
35 periodicals in 13 areas of interest and
600 titles; employee-owned company in Iola, WI
books, 100 titles annually Publishing machines developed in-house with Premier PatternStream licenses Cost savings, control over proprietary information, help with repetitive publication tasks
MediQual A division of Cardinal Health Information Companies medical glossary Utilize Microsoft FoxPro database as data source Rapid production, and ability to produce info product for both print and electronic distribution
Meister Publishing Company A leading communication and information center for worldwide specialized agriculture agriculture information reference books Finite Matters Limited [FML] performed the development. Solution included a browser-based user-interface, import of data from delimited flat files, and PatternStream publishing machine. Utilized MySQL and PHP databases. Ability to efficiently maintain content and publish up-to-date reference materials rapidly and accurately
MFS Investment Management

Adobe Spotlight, MFS
Boston-based mutual fund company with over $120 billion in assets marketing communication pieces including many fact sheets Desire to publish as quickly as possible after quarter-end and month-end with accuracy, desire for better management and control over information gathering and production processes; development done in-house with 7 plus Premier licenses— Oracle database with web-based interface Elimination of repetitive publishing tasks, short lead times, manhour savings, improved service to many internal divisions, system enables 15 times more publications to be produced with less staff
NICOR Gas (formerly Northern Illinois Gas Company) Provides natural gas service to 1.9 million customers in northern Illinois manual Manual includes 850+ field specifications — Access database Ease of distribution (pdf files on CD-ROM), ease-of-use (hyperlinks and searchability), information is accurate and up-to-date
NIMA [National Imagery and Mapping Agency] Houston-based federal agency in charge of providing timely, accurate imaging of geospatial information reports that include important images Need ability to update images and data as quickly and accurately as possible for national security objectives; they utilize 6 Premier PatternStream licenses Short lead times, accuracy of data; PatternStream VAR Instrux
Outdoor Interactive, Inc Internet retailer of hunting, fishing, camping, and boating products product catalog customized for individual customer, imposed and ready for 4-color process output to Indigo sheet-fed press (digital publishing) Mission to increase sales via focused selection products geared to customer’s interests and presentation of this offering that is attractive, up-scale, touchable and easy-to-read Made project feasible financially and technically; provided ability to have different templates so that successive releases over time will have fresh look; Active Lightning VAR who was strong contributor for solving the challenges of this project
Public School Systems
Philadelphia, PA
Anne Arundel County, MD
Oakland, CA
budgets and other reports Solutions implemented by American Mgmt Systems [AMS] Ability to publish current information, accuracy of publication, ease of distribution (pdf files), reduced cost of production
Rockwell International Fortune 500 company with numerous internal divisions catalog Includes info on supply components, equipment, and systems — Oracle database Short lead times, ease of managing publication tasks, met complex project specifications
Royal Australian Air Force Aeronautical Information Services
[RAAF AIS]
Producer of aeronautical information products for all Australian Defense Force flight operations in support of Defense activities worldwide various aeronautical information publications   Ease of use, rapid production, and ability to duplicate the success of the US National Imagery and Mapping Agency
Sigma-Aldrich Manufacturer/ distributor of laboratory chemicals and equipment, located in St. Louis, Missouri catalog Catalog info includes text in 2 languages and prices in 14 currencies, use an Access database Efficient, trouble-free management of information; met complex project specifications; pricing information is accurate and up-to-date
Standard and Poor’s New York-based firm that publishes information on financial matters for a world-wide audience S&P’s Daily Newsletter, S&P’s Corporate Description Directory, S&P’s Money Market Directories, European Stock Reports S&P was an early adopter of PatternStream, their solutions were developed by FML; they utilize Oracle databases and publish to pdf, html, and sgml formats Substantial annual cost savings
State governments
Missouri
Iowa
Louisiana
Connecticut
budgets and other reports; CT: legal documents Budgets being published involve billions and trillions of dollars, balanced to the penny; broad state-wide implementations by American Mgmt Systems [AMS], e.g. 30 agencies in MO Ability to publish current information, accuracy of publication, ease of distribution (pdf files), reduction of ongoing costs
The McGraw Group, Inc. Distributor of industrial equipment and supplies with 14 branch locations in VA, NC, and SC 2 catalogs These catalogs are McGraw’s primary source of information for facilitating sales — SQL Server database Publish an interactive web site and 2 catalogs from a single database, faster publication turnaround, reduction in publishing costs
The Menu Pages Start-up company in New York, NY menus Provide dining information service to New Yorkers; menus as pdf files from a database Made project feasible financially and technically
University
of San Francisco
Private Jesuit University founded in 1855 ”USF General Catalog” FML developed complete solution: SQL Server database, web-based interface (front-end), and database publishing system Many USF personnel can input and maintain data, sections can be published at will, reduced production cycle, elimination of repetitive manual publishing tasks
USFI Provider of direct marketing services including marketing communications, information and data mgmt, and doc/forms mgmt services content management and publishing systems in support of catalog and collateral publishing   Very few design limitations, excellent software application architecture, very stable, enables rapid development and easy maintenance