At the Forefront of the Publishing Market, Hachette Book Group Adopts North Plains’ TeleScope Publishing Platform

TORONTO and NEW YORK - North Plains Systems, Inc., the leading provider of digital asset management (DAM) and publishing solutions, today announced that Hachette Book Group (HBG) will implement North Plains’ revolutionary TeleScope Publishing Platform(TM) (TPP). The new agreement will provide HBG with an unprecedented ability to manage their entire asset lifecycle from editorial, typesetting, eBook creation, promotion through to the distribution and monetization of their books.

The ‘game-changing’ introduction of TPP completely revolutionizes the publishing process by removing the need for conventional typesetting and editorial mark up. Delivering up to a staggering tenfold reduction in page production costs and up to 75% reduction in production times - publishers, like HBG, can now quickly, cost-effectively and automatically produce quality PDFs and eBooks from a single, centralized and secure platform.

“The TeleScope Publishing Platform represents an exciting evolution for the publishing industry,” said Ken Michaels, COO, Hachette Book Group. “It is the result of our strong relationship with North Plains over the years and their deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges publishers like HBG face. This solution addresses every aspect of our digital publishing workflow from creation to distribution and the ultimate sale of our content. Streamlining our production workflows will give us the ability to capitalize on emerging revenue opportunities.”

The TPP’s modular nature gives publishers the option to choose the area of their business that they would most like to improve, while a full deployment would provide a completely integrated publishing solution. Achieving all this with existing solutions would require a complex and expensive integration exercise with several separate vendors, cobbled together in a somewhat precarious design.

The TeleScope Publishing Platform is the direct result of over 15 years of experience working closely with a cross section of the industry’s leading publisher organizations. It is North Plains’ passion, vision and proven ability for bringing innovative publishing solutions to market that continues to drive its unmatched pioneering spirit - raising the technology bar to previously unimaginable heights.

“By partnering together, North Plains and HBG further solidify our respective leadership positions in the publishing industry,” said Hassan Kotob, President and CEO, North Plains Systems, Inc.. “This partnership is a milestone event for both organizations and underscores the industry’s need for truly innovative publishing solutions that produce real, tangible and significant operational benefits.”

In addition to announcing the arrival of its new TPP offering, North Plains will now provide publishing services that include the digitization of books, typesetting and eBook creation, among other things. Now publishers can access North Plains’ outsource services to reduce production times and overall costs while building in scalability to meet emerging revenue opportunities.

North Plains will be showcasing the TeleScope Publishing Platform at BookExpo America and the Henry Stewart shows this week in New York City.

The TeleScope Publishing Platform

The TPP is a logical extension of North Plains’ award-winning TeleScope Digital Asset Management Platform. Currently used by some of the largest and most respected publishers, TeleScope helps orchestrate and manage every aspect of the publishing process from creative through to digital book completion and archiving. The demand for eBooks, audio books and other digital products is expanding - which makes having a solution built on a single platform an essential component of every publisher’s digital workflow process and IT infrastructure.

About Hachette Book Group

Hachette Book Group (www.hachettebookgroup.com/) is a major US trade publisher owned by Hachette Livre, the second largest publisher in the world. In one year, HBG publishes approximately 600 adult books, 150 young adult and children’s books, and 65 audio book titles. In 2008, the company had a record 107 books on the New York Times bestseller list, 35 of which reached #1. In addition to selling and distributing its own imprints, HBG distributes publishing lines for Arcade, Chronicle Books, Filipacchi Publishing, Gildan Audio, Harry N. Abrams, InnovativeKids, Microsoft Press, Octopus USA, Phaidon Press, Time Inc. Home Entertainment (including Oxmoor House and Guiness World Records), and Weinstein Books.

About North Plains Systems, Inc.

Founded in 1994, North Plains Systems, Inc. is the world’s leading provider of digital and video asset management solutions. With a portfolio of over 475 satisfied customers, North Plains’ TeleScope platform streamlines the complexity of managing increasingly challenging digital asset environments. From centralized workflow optimization, asset creation, production and virtual collaboration, to delivery and distribution, North Plains provides end-to-end solutions that scale to meet your unique business requirements. Benefit from North Plains’ proven deployment expertise and join its growing list of global customers, including: AOL, Boeing, Bowling Green State University, Gallaudet University, Harcourt, HarperCollins Publishers, Microsoft, Ogilvy and Mather, Playboy, Publicis Groupe, Publishers Clearing House, Rodale Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Utah Education Network, Viacom, and Warner Bros. For further information please visit www.northplains.com.

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This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by Send2Press(R), a unit of Neotrope(R). www.Send2Press.com

Source: North Plains Systems, Inc.

Jeremy Sohn of North Plains Systems, +1-416-345-1900, jsohn at northplains.com; or Becki Parkhurst of PAN Communications, +1-978-474-1900, northplains at pancomm.com, for North Plains Systems