Is the Internet Changing Your Business as Drastically as it is the Publishing Industry?

Publishers have long provided authors with outlets to share their work. However, just like many other industries, technology has changed publishing over the years. Is this a positive change, and are there lessons that the modern business owner can learn from this shift in the way technology is handled and managed?

The publishing industry is heavily centralized around traditional publishing houses that will accept manuscripts for publication, and provide the personnel necessary to fashion the work into a marketable piece of literature. This includes editing for quality, designing the book, and marketing it to potential buyers. All of these professional services are, more or less, handled by the publishing firm.

The main issue with traditional publishing is that getting a manuscript accepted by a publishing house can be a long-winded process. It can take anywhere between a few weeks to several months to even get a manuscript read by an acquisitions editor, not to mention the time that it takes to get the manuscript ready for publication.

Today, technology plays a pivotal role in the publishing industry, but several new technologies have made it easier than ever to let your voice be heard. The Internet in particular has been an exceptionally potent tool for people to publish their thoughts through a variety of mediums. Social media, personal websites, online product reviews, and so much more, all allow people to express themselves (though whether they should or not is often up for debate).

Of particular interest is the prevalence of self-publishing, which has caused a notable divide in the way that critics view literature. Many longtime veterans in the publishing industry criticize self-publishing methods as being “unprofessional.” This could be in part due to the fact that self-publishing authors must often handle the process of editing on their own, without the help of professionals that have been in the business for a long time. Thus, the end result becomes an unrefined piece of work that may (or may not) be riddled with errors, and one that could potentially become a flop of wasted time and effort.

This presents an interesting point; just because you can use a service to make your life easier and save money, should you do so? If the quality of the work is unreliable at best, perhaps it is best to outsource some of the responsibility to professionals who can hold their own. The self-published author, for example, might hire a freelancer or a dedicated editing firm in order to crawl through their work for spelling and grammar errors. The idea is to onboard someone who specializes in a particular craft to augment the work.

Applying this concept to the modern business environment isn’t that far of a stretch. Outsourcing is a popular trend these days, especially for technology procurement and IT management services. Small and medium-sized businesses that don’t have the in-house IT expertise required will look for skilled professionals who can fill this void. The goal is to find organizations who have the necessary expertise to handle your technology, without breaking your budget and compromising your investment.

Computerware is your go-to IT service provider in Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC, and we want to help your organization maximize the return on investment of your technology. We have several different services that are geared toward helping your business get the most out of its technology. We’ll take care of your technology like we would our own, so you can rest assured that it’s being handled by people who care about your success. To learn more about our managed IT services, call Computerware at (703) 821-8200.