The Cole Digest, November 1, 1995

If you think it was hard to find a proprietary supplier you could live with a decade ago, your search for a systems sweetheart is many times more complex now.

My colleague Pete Wetmore has taken a hard look at the newspaper systems integration business and for the next couple of weeks, we'll turn over this space to him for his observations.

Integrators are not quite a dime a dozen, but close. Consider, for example, that Dewar Information Systems Corp. lists 16 "Dewar Solutions Providers" certified capable of installing DewarView. Quark Inc. lists 20 firms you can call to ask about getting Quark Publishing System carted into your building.

Choosing from among the dozens of companies that label themselves integrators is the second step in the process, as reconstituted for the Information Age. As our romp through the classifieds showed, the first step is determining why you need outside help.

Newspapers, conservative beasts that they are, tend to be locked into looking at their business as a puzzle whose pieces need to be replaced at intervals, rather than opening a new box and putting together a fresh puzzle to make a whole new picture. They have become accustomed to doing a fixed set of tasks, many in isolation from one another, based on a business model that's a century old.

"The crux of the problem with the newspaper industry is they don't seem to understand that they're in a competitive environment," said Scott Killoh, president of American Computer Innovators of Amherst, Mass., a company that's been marketing its services to publishers for a scant 22 months.

Newspapers should be saying to an integrator, "Help us get into the next century. Help us to define what our problem is," Killoh contended. "There's a multitude of other things they'll need five years from now."

Thus, the first task may be to jettison everything you ever thought about how your business uses technology because you need to redefine what you're in business to do -- and also toss out your old ideas about what you need a supplier to do for you.

Thus, the first step in choosing an integrator is to ask yourself: What am I seeking? What am I willing to do differently? What do I need help doing beyond the purely technical? Because while each integrator may claim to be the World's Best Lover of Technology, your new computer companion will understand that your needs require unique solutions.

You may have people on staff who don't need the hand-holding that folks at other papers need. You may have financial constraints that dictate going down the migratory path, solving an immediate, small problem right away. You may, in fact, need to replace only a few pieces now, and get ready to assemble your new puzzle over the next few years. And you may be right in taking that traditional, limited approach.

For you, a one-night stand may be the answer.

Next time: Integrators old and new.

Onward.

\dmc

[THE COLE DIGEST is written by consultant David M. Cole, editor and publisher of the industry newsletter THE COLE PAPERS. The DIGEST is made available to PressLink subscribers every Wednesday at no extra charge. Send comments by e-mail to cole@plink.geis.com. The COLE DIGEST is the property of The Cole Group, a California sole proprietorship. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of The Cole Group is prohibited. Copyright (C) 1995, The Cole Group. Opinions expressed are those of The Cole Group, unless otherwise noted.

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