Mark Gross

» President, DCL

Presentation(s): Seamless DITA: How to Fit the Square Peg in the Round Hole

Mark Gross, President of Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL), is a recognized authority on XML implementation and document conversion. Founded in 1981, DCL is a leader in developing many techniques and tools to simplify document transfer and conversion through evolving technologies. Mark has a BS in Engineering from Columbia University and an MBA from New York University. He has also taught at the New York University Graduate School of Business, the New School, and Pace University and is a frequent speaker on XML implementation.

Speaker Insight [What's this?]

What does "content agility" mean to you? Why does content need agility?

• As recently as 10 years ago, content only had to do one thing… print well. With the explosion in media outlets – web, eBooks, PDAs and SmartPhones, Wikis, etc.; content has to work on many different platforms simultaneously. As people become accustomed to how they want to see it, they become increasingly impatient for what they want to see… which is exactly the content they are interested in without false hits. So we are really seeing demands on the content that we couldn’t imagine 10 years ago.

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Why do you feel Congility 2011 is an event of which you want to be a part?

• Data Conversion Laboratory has developed a reputation of being responsive to the needs of our customers. What better way to learn from those on the leading edge what the emerging requirements are that will shape the face of content in the coming year.

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What impact do you feel lack of integration has on customers (i.e., siloed internal processes, or inconsistent and fragmented published content)?

• The new measure of success is getting the right information to whoever needs it in the way that they need it. Legacy processes had a very hard time of doing this quickly and/or on a cost-effective basis. DITA is exciting because it provides true single-source authoring (write once – use many) and because it is XML it also accommodates single-source publishing (have once – push in many ways). It provides a great framework to get the right information to whoever needs it in the way that they need it. Checkmate.

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Anything else you want to tell us?

...or anything more about your talk, e.g., who will benefit from it, and what practical things they would learn to take back to their organisations?

• The presentation has something for everyone involved in a conversion to DITA XML. For Management there is a look at the business side of the equation: cost, schedule, human issues, etc. For the Tech Writer there will be real-world examples of what types of content structures need to be tweaked before going into DITA.

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