eReaders and the Enterprise at Gilbane SF
Jinfo Blog

20th May 2010

By Nancy Davis Kho

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This week was the 7th Annual Gilbane Conference in San Francisco, with a focus on Content, Collaboration, and Customers. Gilbane, an analyst & consulting firm focused on content technologies (and since February 2010 a division of Outsell), divided the two day conference into four tracks including Customers & Engagement, Colleagues & Collaboration, Content Technology and Content Publishing. Day one's Content Publishing track included the session 'What eBook Readers & Tablets Mean for Enterprise Publishing,' an interactive discussion moderated by David Guenette, senior consultant from Gilbane, with input from Ned May, director and lead analyst at Outsell. Guenette started with a not-so-subtle reminder that the promise of eReaders has been just out of reach for nearly 40 years - a picture of a prototype Dynabook (ok, made of cardboard) from the 1970s, and a histiogram of eBook development going back that far as well. He showed sales figures suggesting that the introduction of the Sony Reader, the Kindle 1 and the Kindle 2 have finally taken theory to reality, with huge positive impacts on trade ebook sales. But that's set to pale in comparison to the iPad effect. 'The Kindle is to trade eBook sales as the iPad is to…what?' Guenette said, pointing out that publishers seem to think the iPad will have a positive impact on the content market but aren't exactly sure how to leverage it. One of the major concerns for publishers is which devices will be adopted. Guenette and May believe that dedicated eReaders are an interim device. 'They'll exist, but they'll be a niche product,' Guenette predicted, albeit one with an extremely loyal user base. Smartphone and tablets, with their interactivity and versatility, are poised to edge them out, and that's where enterprise publishers (both within and outside the enterprise) should be aiming their energy. In the Q&A period after the presentation, conference attendees talked about the difficulty in optimizing their content across devices, especially in the absence of unified standards. 'Pick one device and go with it,' was Guenette's response, and there was an audible sigh of relief from the questioner. The analysts pointed out how the iPhone has already led to significant changes in how content is consumed. According to their research, 17% of non iPhone users access maps on their smartphones, compared to 75% of iPhone users. And as these 'side pocket devices' - May explained them as the devices that ride along in the side pocket of an official company-issued laptop - become more ubiquitous, workers will be pushing their employers for the same features, functionality, and rich content in their workplace technology as they enjoy at home.

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