• Automation with Skribenta... what is it about, anyway?
• A new manual in 5 minutes… are you kidding?
• Operational in 3 days... really? In all cases?
• Technical writers who can focus on writing, not formatting... but how does it work?
• What do you mean... a new manual for the Russian market without any extra translation costs?
• A cost reduction by almost 80%... is it really possible?
• There is a lot of talk about single sourcing in the context of automation. What does this mean?
• But... I am the only writer at my company. Will Skribenta still pay off?
• Where can I learn more about automation or single sourcing?
• Okay, I'm almost convinced. But how can I make the technology leap without disrupting the work flow?

1. Automation with Skribenta... what is it about, anyway?

With Skribenta, a user can produce a new manual in a new language in literary a matter of minutes. Not five weeks, five days, five hours... but five minutes! And often without any additional translation costs.

The concept of Skribenta is that you only have to add the relevant details for a newly developed product to an existing document. You simply change a few parameters in a "recipe". It may take fifteen minutes to make the necessary parameter changes and another 15 minutes to generate and publish a manual into 30 languages. Translation costs? None at all.

Suppose two companies have merged, a new logo is created and needs to be added to 600 manuals. Traditionally, this would take a while... With Skribenta, all you need to do is change the stylesheet and a parameter in the recipe. The process is completed by the end of your coffee break.

2. A new manual in 5 minutes... are you kidding?

Not at all. Excosoft proves time and again how much faster it is possible to produce technical documentation when a company automates with Skribenta. Asko Appliances is one of our success stories.

The technical writers at Asko can produce manuals for hundreds of different washing machines and dryers, in an ever-growing number of languages, by simply retrieving information from a few primary manuals, so-called super manuals. Not only has this significantly reduced costs, but it has also dramatically reduced the company's time-to-market and resulted in improved quality control.

When Asko Appliances first started using Skribenta, they were able to quickly and easily create a new manual in five minutes using existing content. There were no translation costs, and an international version of the manual was generated simultaneously. With the earlier methods, this process would have taken several hours, but was finished in a matter of minutes with Skribenta. Click here to read the whole story!

3. Operational in 3 days... really? In all cases?

For another customer, Metso Minerals, it took only three days before Skribenta was fully operational.

This required careful planning and collaboration with Metso Minerals, and a step by step process was used to add more and more Skribenta functionality over time. We aim to have all our customer's automated within 30 days.

Metso Corporation, headquarted in Helsinki Finland, is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for the mining, construction, energy, metal recycling and pulp and paper industries. The Metso Minerals Documentation Process Equipment Department, located in Sala, Sweden, automated their documentation production with Skribenta, which has made it possible for two people to manage the whole documentation department: "Skribenta has enabled us to keep up with the very fast sales development process." Want to read about Metso Minerals? Click here!

4. Technical writers who can focus on writing, not formatting... but how does it work?

When Skribenta takes over the time-consuming manual tasks and automates much of the formatting, the writer can spend more time writing quality content about your product. The documentation can now be developed more fully, resulting in happier customers, and thus a stronger branding of your product.

5. What do you mean... a new manual for the Russian market without any extra translation costs?

Asko Appliances success story again illustrates how cost-effective and logical your documentation production can be with Skribenta. The following illustrates how Asko Appliances was able to use Skribenta to quickly and easily generate a new manual for the Russian market. Normally, when a new block of text is written, it is sent for translation in all the required languages. At Asko, up to 15 languages are translated and the content stored in Skribenta. When the Russian sales office requested a new manual, they only had to select the Russian language code in Skribenta which then automatically produced a PDF file in less time than a coffee break.

6. A cost reduction by almost 80%... is it really possible?

Yes, it is possible with Skribenta! The FLIR Systems success story explains how the company reduced the cost of maintaining and updating a wide variety of books by 75 to 80%. Said the lone technical writer at FLIR: "In 1999, I produced manuals for only six cameras. Now I am the only technical writer of 700 manuals, translated into 21 languages and covering over 100 camera models... Automation with Skribenta enables me to manage this, and we have still not reached our maximum capacity. Without Skribenta, FLIR would have needed to hire 10 more technical writers to handle the documentation. Click here for the rest of FLIR's success story!

7. There is a lot of talk about single sourcing in the context of automation. What does this mean?

Single sourcing has become a real buzz word that shows up in all possible contexts. It is a cornerstone in successful automation; by organising all your information in super manuals, it becomes possible to generate new manuals based on that structure, and this reduces the workload dramatically. To us, single sourcing is a method we use to streamline and automate processes. We also have a one-day course called Single Sourcing Fundamentals that outlines out the concept, explains how the method works, and when it is appropriate.

8. But... I am the only writer at my company. Will Skribenta still pay off?

Most companies have at least one technical writer employed, or may hire consultants when the need arises. And every company can gain by using Skribenta. To complete globally, and expand into growing international markets, you probably have need to translate your information into more languages. If your company has started to experience a more intense product development growth, maybe with several new brands, more consultants, more people, more marketing... then your document automation potential with Excosoft Skribenta is limitless. In most cases, your company can get maximum Return On Investment (ROI) within 12 months, everything included.

9. Where can I learn more about automation and single sourcing? 

We know many writers are interested in learning more about these hot topics and about automation. Because we are also talking about saving your company money, this is of particular interest at the management level of international companies. Excosoft offers various training courses and seminars for writers, executives and marketing and sales managers. Click here and read about Excosoft's programs!

10. Okay, I'm almost convinced. But how can I make the technology leap without disrupting the work flow?

Excosoft's consultants help our clients during all phases of implementation. From the initial analysis, during the start of production and even after you are operational and a regular user. The first phase is to analyse and discuss your current documentation department, including procedures, programs, tools, other IT environment factors and the internal work process. We will then show you what Skribenta might look like in your environment and what the effects would be by automating your documentation in terms of financials/ROI and productivity.