If you’re thinking of developing bespoke publishing software in-house, read this first

Digital transformation is critical for analyst firms.

Analyst firms that invest in digital transformation can unlock opportunities to scale, commercialise their content and take advantage of emerging technology such as AI.
We’ve launched a new AI discovery tool called MyCatalyst. We’re really excited by MyCatalyst, as well as the potential for AI and other technology to transform how analyst firms monetise their insight and engage subscribers.

But, if you’re one of the analyst firms with a non-digitised or legacy content management system, you likely don’t share our enthusiasm for AI. Your priorities will be ‘keeping the lights on’ and managing potentially unstable customisations rather than innovating your products and services.

In our experience, analyst firms facing the challenge of replacing a failing system consider building a bespoke system in-house at some point. Developing your own software is a viable option if you have a specialist software team or also own a software development company.

However, this is a risky approach if, like most analyst firms, your specialism is research and monitoring market trends. When analyst firms come to us with an in-house system that’s incurring escalating development costs and time, it’s often due to what we call the Scalability Iceberg.

Beware of the Scalability Iceberg

An analyst firm embarking on software development generally accounts for what they can see and predict above the surface. However, they may not consider everything below the surface in sufficient detail, which is where real innovation and scalability come from.
Once committed to developing what they can see, firms are also committed to building everything they are unaware of, which is where they can incur additional costs.

The challenge with an internally built content delivery platform is that it can become difficult to navigate over time if it isn’t designed to scale with content growth. Furthermore, acquisitions put further stress on a system, negatively impacting performance and overall navigation.

Software built with scalability from the start supports business growth

Suggesting that you buy in a content publishing system can meet resistance from stakeholders. They may believe it will be more expensive or that your business has unique needs that cannot be met externally.

Your business is unique, but what you need from content management software is not unique in the analyst research sector. Furthermore, a custom-built system is more challenging to cost due to the Scalability Iceberg.

During the last 20 years, and with over 150,000 users of our system, we’ve identified the specialist needs of the research industry. Buying in a ready-made system designed for your industry ensures that everything above and below the surface of the scalability iceberg has been considered.

Investing in a scalable and resilient technological infrastructure enables analyst firms to innovate operations and enhance the subscriber experience, increasing efficiencies, audience reach, and revenue growth. Those persisting with a legacy system may encounter obstacles to growth and innovation.