BodhTree develops ePaper for publishing industry

Circuit EC / Hyderabad

The Hyderabad-based software solutions provider BodhTree Consulting has launched ‘ePaper’, a new technology solution for the publishing industry. The solution allows a print publisher to instantly and automatically publish a digital replica of the original printed version online. The solution’s uniqueness lies in its ability to retain its original look online.

The company has already tied up with publishing majors such as Hindustan Times, Deccan Chronicle, Westender (Australia), Nava Bharat and Central Chronicle. Bodhtree has now set its eyes on the Asia-Pacific and European newspaper industry with its ePaper solution. It has partnered with a Malaysian and a Thai company to market the solution in the Asia-Pacific region.

“It also solves the problem of handling various formats including PDF or page images while providing for advanced search and readability options to online subscribers. It is upto publishers whether they would like to offer these services to their readers either through registrations or for free,” said Sanjiv Gupta, CEO, BodhTree Consulting.

BodhTree provides this solution both as a licence fee-based approach, where the newspaper buys the licence and deploys the solution by itself and through outsourced service model, where the company handles the entire process. Most newspapers currently provide news to their online subscribers via a news portal. These websites often fail to retain the original layout that subscribers identify the newspaper with. Moreover, high-value premium ads of print edition are not carried over to the online news portal thus scuttling the visibility and shelf life of print ads, translating into missed revenue opportunities.

BodhTree has developed ePaper with about 12 man years of effort. It added innovative support services and features including geo and animated ads. As part of the geo ads facility, a newspaper publisher in India can host separate advertisements for its NRI online readers as most of the local ads do not make sense to them. In this way, both the paper and the advertiser gain. Animated ads facility helps online readers interface and provide a window for opinion polls and more interactivity.

According to Sanjiv Gupta, large or even medium-sized newspapers can achieve an RoI out of their ePaper investment in under 6 months and can significantly enhance their revenues through the online subscription of international and travelling subscribers.