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150 new entrepreneurs building Western Switzerland

Publiwide is featured in this special edition of PME Magazine: Click here for the article and magazine (p.49).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fribourg - Switzerland, 01.11.2011

Two Swiss Start-Up Companies Combine to Deliver the Electronic Books of Tomorrow

Publiwide and Sugarcube are combining their know-how in order to develop software for the transformation and distribution of interactive content. The initial target market is textbook and reference publishing. The main concern of publishers is to transform data in a sustainable manner in order to adapt to future market trends, for example, to offer new interactive and enhanced experiences to their readers.

The fundamental added value of this partnership is the provision of software that supports the digital editorial process and the distribution of content across all digital media.

«Publiwide has very a very specific vision of what electronically-available textbooks should be like and how they should be presented in new formats (such as the iPad) with optimal ergonomics», says Maurizio Rigamonto, CEO of Sugarcube. «Through close contacts with publishers such as Les Editions Pédagogiques in Switzerland or Hodder Education in Great-Britain, Publiwide first established a concept and then set up a technological platform that embodies an interactive and enhanced reading experience, accessible simultaneously on iPads, laptops and the web.»

Both companies are backed by Fribourg organisations (Friup/Genilem for Sugarcube and Seed Capital Fribourg for Publiwide) and are specifically partnering-up for the development of digital publishing technology in EPUB format.

«Sugarcube has the core technology that can transform existing documents and produce rich and dynamic content semi-automatically and in accordance with the standards in force in the publishing world», adds Sebastien Dubuis, Director of Publiwide. «While we target the international market, in particular Europe and the United States, creating a strong synergy with another entity in Fribourg is an indisputable opportunity. Alternatives on the market will multiply, but our approach provides  long-term value for the publication of any reference document. »

About Sugarcube

Sugarcube, founded by Jean-Luc Bloechle, François Jimenez and Maurizio Rigamonti, was born as a spin-off of the DIVA group at the University of Fribourg, with whom the company shares skills in document analysis and human-machine interaction. Sugarcube has developed a process of analysis and annotation for PDF documents, which was readapted in order to transform ordinary PDF content into an enhanced electronic book in EPUB format.

About Publiwide  

Created in 2010, Publiwide offers an ecosystem for the publishing and the distribution of enhanced e-books. Its primary objective is to provide publishers with a complete solution for the secure distribution of their content to learners indiscriminately connected to their laptops, tablets or mobile phones. Publiwide’s first customers are located in the United States, Great Britain, France and Switzerland. Sebastien Dubuis is the main shareholder of the company supported by Seed Capital Fribourg and Effort Fribourg.

Contact

For Publiwide : Sébastien Dubuis, sebastien.dubuis@publiwide.com, +41 26 401 2950

For sugarcube : Maurizio Rigamonti, maurizio.rigamonti@sugarcube.ch, +41 79 223 85 54

Frankfurt - Germany

Short video interview of Sebastien Dubuis, Managing Director of Publiwide during the Frankfurt Book Fair. Courtesy of Zukunft Forum team from the German Publishing Association and their initiative "Pathfinder - locations of digitalization"

Click here to watch the video.

SKS SIGNS CONSULTING AGREEMENT WITH PUBLIWIDE

Promote eBook transformation services

Lausanne - Switzerland

Scientific Knowledge Services (SKS), a Swiss company, announces the agreement concluded with Publiwide Sarl, a Swiss based company, for the promotion of eBook transformation services.

Publiwide is a company dedicated to providing a rich publishing framework and enhanced content transformation to publishing houses and any other interested parties.  The reflowable content can be accessed on most of devices used today, enabling publishers to reach 100% of their target audience.

Considering the extensive business relationships of SKS with various publishing houses, our company shall act as an independent contractor for the sale of Publiwide eBook transformation solutions (throughout the entire sale process, from the first contact, through solution presentation, quotation, negotiation, until the final sale). Under this agreement, SKS shall contact publishers from Europe, as well as North America.

Notes to editors:

About Publiwide:

Incorporated to provide learners of all ages with rich interactive knowledge via digital devices. Globally-minded, we operate from Switzerland and work with customers in France, Germany, United Kingdom and United States. Privately owned.

For further information about Publiwide and its products, please visit: www.publiwide.com

About Scientific Knowledge Services:

Scientific Knowledge Services is one of the preferred partners of leading publishers in the scientific environment, and the team behind the company comes with a 17 year experience in providing service, support and information on knowledge transfer, technology transfer, content supply, software applications, ebooks conversion, university ranking systems, academic sites visiting, etc. The company helps you distribute your digital content to various infomediaries and retailers like Kindle Amazon, Kobo and others, supports clients throughout the digital publishing life-cycle and offers solutions for data conversion and enhancement, secure web hosting and discoverability management.

For further information about Scientific Knowledge Services and its products, please visit: http://www.scientificknowledgeservices.com/en/Home/

Contact:

Name: Irina Buligescu

Email: irina@scientificknowledgeservices.com

Title: Foreign Relations Coordinator

Phone: : +41 – 793 949 475

Address: 12 bis Place-Francois | 1003 Lausanne

A Truly Interactive Textbook Platform

Fribourg – Switzerland

Publiwide announces the release of its enhanced textbook platform, with the new iPad Reader 1.0 now available in the AppStore. This innovative solution aims to provide students with a full set of digital applications (iPad Reader, WEBreader, Desktop Reader) in which to read and study richly enhanced textbook content.

“We believe our children will acquire knowledge and read eTexts in a multimedia environment,” says Sebastien Dubuis, MD of Publiwide. “Thanks to the emergence of tablets and home internet connections on a global scale, we are empowered to transform textbooks into content that will speak to the new generation of learners. We are making it interactive and media-rich.”

Business models for digital textbooks are in development. Forget the heavy backpacks loaded with books! The trend is towards students and pupils relying on their iPad and synching their data via cloud platforms.

Publishers are often looking to differentiate their print products from their digital products. Taking advantage of web browser or iPad capacities enables them to provide a more interactive approach to  textbooks. Developing content as ePUB empowers the editor to gradually enhance it. Updated versions of textbooks can include multimedia, self-assessment tools and references which can be made available to users in no time. 

“We want to position our solution as a cost-effective and real-life market test bed for educational publishers,” says Dubuis. “We offer a turnkey solution:  within a month, they can reach their readership on any device, just by submitting a book of their choice to us. We offer book transformation services and software platforms to take full advantage of the new product.”

Publiwide iPad Reader is available in the iTunes store as a free download.

If you are a content owner, a publisher or just curious, visit www.publiwide.com

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Incorporated to provide learners of all ages with rich interactive knowledge via digital devices. Globally-minded, we operate from Switzerland and work with customers in France, Germany, United Kingdom and United States. Privately owned.

Contacts:

Cristina Dubuis, cristina.dubuis[at]publiwide.com