S1000D Challenges

Standards at their core are just collections of rules for how you should create, store and exchange data - and this is also the case with S1000D. The S1000D standard addresses just about every part of your information life cycle, but it becomes truly useful only as you begin to address three major challenges.

Achieving Compliance - If you're confronted with a mandate to adopt a standard and certify your compliance, everything you do from initial adoption forward must support compliance at the mandated level.

Compliance mandates vary in scope and complexity. They can include something as simple as requiring you to produce exchangeable data in standard-compliant formats, to requiring that you organize your entire information life cycle processes according to rules contained in the standard. The greater the compliance required, the greater the impact on your operation.

Standards evolve over time, so long-term compliance is an important factor to consider. It doesn't make much sense to be compliant this year but then face major retooling costs in order to stay standards-compliant over time. As S1000D adoption grows you can expect periodic revisions to the standard as new uses bubble up and new user communities define additional requirements.

With the SDL Contenta S1000D CSDB (Common Source Data Base) solution your long-term compliance needs are assured. SDL Structured Content Technologies has dealt with standards compliance for more than two decades. We design our own standards-based software to be fully compliant - from simple interchange to full standards-based operation. We also use a flexible, layered approach to software, building on our solid content management foundation to ensure that SDL Contenta S1000D evolves along with the standard. SDL Contenta S1000D will even allow you to mix and match data modules from different S1000D Issues in the repository and publication module.

Dealing with the Standard's Complexities- Standards represent consensus among a broad range of potential users, so they almost always contain complexities beyond what one might expect in a custom-designed environment. The S1000D specification is no exception to this rule. While it has proven to be workable, it does confront the adopter with challenges such as a complex and verbose numbering scheme for data modules, stringent controls on how publications are created, rules for how content can be reused and associated, and more. If these issues are not properly addressed they can seriously impact your productivity, potentially reduce the value of the standard, and even impact your organization's ability to effectively do its job.

With the SDL Contenta S1000D CSDB, your productivity will not suffer as you adopt the standard. SDL Structured Content Technologies has dealt with the complexities of standards for more than 20 years, working closely with clients to help address their real world challenges. Our S1000D application tools contain specific, production-proven solutions to meet the challenges and complexities of S1000D adoption and use.

Leveraging the Standard's Opportunities - Standards are often the platform for facilitating measurable improvements in many areas of your operations. But the standards themselves do not make these improvements real. It is up to you to implement the kind of systems and procedures that leverage the standard's potential.

With the SDL Contenta S1000D CSDB you will have access to the tools needed to leverage the S1000D standard to its fullest potential. The fact that clients still depend on our solutions after 10, 15 or even 20 years suggests we've gotten it right. Based on our extensive experience working with a variety of standards we have designed our SDL Contenta S1000D solution to fully leverage the standard to realize the greatest productivity gains. Whether it's improving authoring or more effectively managing your content, publications, or work-in-process, SDL Contenta S1000D CSDB provides the flexibility you'll need to manage your products' information lifecycle.