Even as newly formed BPOs, and larger 'pioneers' scramble to add services that bill higher rates and provide them with the elu

Even as newly formed BPOs, and larger 'pioneers' scramble to add services that bill higher rates and provide them with the elusive differentiation - one segment has quietly been doing this for many years. Outsourcing in the publishing segment has been prevalent for over two decades now. Macmillan began its offshoring unit in India way back in 1977. Thomson Digital and Techbooks have been servicing international customers for over a decade.

Globally, the STM (Scientific Technical and Medical) segment dominates publishing outsourcing. High production costs, lower unit sales, complex yet repetitive formats are the primary drivers for outsourcing in the STM segment. UK and US are the most prominent countries in STM publishing, and 62% of the content is in English. Almost all the leading STM publishers, including Elsevier, Taylor and Francis, Kluwer, Springer already outsource their requirements to India.

The major drivers of offshoring to India include:

More than 100 year history of domestic English publishing industry
Trained workforce proficient in English language, as well as in publishing
Success stories of early pioneers like Macmillan
Significant cost arbitrage

ValueNotes estimates the total publishing outsourcing revenues of the Indian industry to be currently around $200 million, whereas the global opportunity for publishing outsourcing is estimated at $8.1 billion, which would be valued at an estimated $4.86 billion if offshored.

The vendor landscape in India presents a rather fragmented picture. Over 50 players, offer a wide range of publishing outsourcing services. Smaller players focus predominantly on data conversion/digitization services. Larger players provide the entire range including design, content development, data conversion and even turnkey project management services. "E-learning / content development would be the next strategic focus area of most of the top players including TechBooks, Thomson Digital and Macmillan India" says Aradhana Kolhatkar, analyst, ValueNotes.

The report gives an overview of the global publishing scenario, offshoring by publishers, detailed Indian vendor analysis and profiles of leading players offering publishing outsourcing services in India. The report is designed to help:

Publishers looking to outsource/offshore
Libraries looking to digitize content
Outsourcing consultants evaluate and compare the offerings of Indian vendors
Publishing BPOs to assess their competitive environment
American and European Publishers looking for Indian partners
Researchers and others looking for detailed information on Publishing outsourcing

Publishing houses will find this invaluable in understanding the capabilities of Indian vendors, and selecting the best fit.

The above report is based on secondary data as well as extensive interviews with key people at various publishing outsourcing companies in India.

Table of Contents

Pages - 50

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. OVERVIEW OF GLOBAL PUBLISHING

2.1 Global Market: Scientific, Educational and Professional Publishing
2.1.1 Concentration in the Global STM industry
2.1.2 Non-STM Market
2.2 Global acquisitions are on the rise

3. PROCESSES IN PUBLISHING

3.1 The Publishing Chain.
3.2 Services in Publishing Outsourcing
3.2.1 Content and Design
3.2.2 Typesetting
3.2.3 Data Conversion and Digitization
3.2.4 Editing and Copy Editing
3.2.5 Printing
3.2.6 E-Publishing
3.2.7 Other services

4. OUTSOURCING LEADS TO OFFSHORING

4.1 UK is the pioneer in publishing offshoring
4.2 Why India?
4.2.1 The Indian Publishing Industry: Historical Background
4.2.2 Industry Size
4.2.3 Availability of highly skilled manpower
4.2.4 India offers cost-effective talent
4.2.5 Rapid technology adoption
4.2.6 Reforms in India's Publishing Industry

5. OFFSHORING TO INDIA

5.1 Service Buyers
5.2 UK is India's Biggest Market
5.3 Wide Variety of Services Offshored
5.3.1 Conversion Services
5.3.2 Content Services
5.4 Estimated Offshoring Revenues
5.5 Opportunity for India
5.5.1 Estimated growth in Publishing Outsourcing Industry
5.5.2 Many Emerging Niches and Opportunities

6. INDIAN VENDOR ANALYSIS

6.1 Industry Structure
6.1 Comparative Analysis of Vendors
6.3 Funding, Ownership and Employment
6.4 The Way Ahead
6.5 Key Industry Issues
6.5.1 Training and skills
6.5.2 Attrition
6.5.3 Competition
6.5.4 Margins
6.6 Trends and Insights

7. COMPANY PROFILES

Macmillan India
Thomson Digital
TechBooks
Q2A Solutions
Knowledge Works Global
Newgen Imaging systems
Digital Publishing Systems
Kolam Information Services (SPI)
Olympus Infotech
Integra Software Services
Datapage
Alden Prepress

8. ABOUT VALUENOTES

Table of Figures

Figure 1. 5 large players dominate global STM market
Figure 2. Europe leads US in STM publishing
Figure 3. English is the Dominant language
Figure 4. STM market slated to be over $15 billion by 2010
Figure 5. Recent M&A Deals
Figure 6. The Publishing Chain
Figure 7. Services in Publishing Outsourcing
Figure 8. Major platforms used for typesetting services
Figure 9. Examples of Conversion/Digitization
Figure 10. From Outsourcing to Offshoring
Figure 11. Wage comparison: Publishing Industry in India and US
Figure 12. Publishing Outsourcing Services on offer
Figure 13. Key International Buyers of offshored Publishing services from India
Figure 14. Country wise share of Revenues
Figure 15. The global publishing outsourcing opportunity
Figure 16. Estimated growth in Publishing outsourcing
Figure 17. Services offered by Indian Vendors
Figure 18. Major players in the Indian publishing outsourcing space
Figure 19. Comparative Analysis of Major Third Party Players
Figure 20. Top 10 account for majority of the employment
Figure 21. Older companies have larger employee strength
Figure 22. Employment and Number of companies by funding/ownership
Figure 23. Growth path of the Publishing BPOs in India

To know more about the ValueNotes Outsourcing Practice or to provide us with your feedback on this research, please write to bporesearch@valuenotes.biz

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