SDL Structured Content Technologies, the leading developer of Component Content Management (CCM) and Dynamic Publishing solutions and part of the SDL Group, the leader in Global Information Management (GIM), today announced the resounding success of its second annual DITA Fest conference, an important industry venue for sharing emerging best practices and lessons learned in the adoption and use of DITA. The conference was attended by technical publications teams and DITA experts who gathered to share their hands-on knowledge and experience with other colleagues that have adopted or are adopting DITA.

DITA Fest, held on October 14-15 in Santa Clara, California, was attended by more than 60 people representing 53 organizations. The growing adoption of DITA and the SDL Trisoft™ Component Content Management system was underscored by the large number of Silicon Valley high-tech and internet companies present to discuss DITA’s impact on their global content and product lifecycles. DITA’s growing importance beyond high-tech was also visible with attendees representing companies from the semiconductor, life sciences and medical equipment industries. Attendees shared their experiences and best practices with each other on their journey to DITA.

We continue this journey to DITA with our ongoing DITA webinar series.   If you are interested in learning more about DITA and Dynamic Publishing, plan to join us for an informational webinar on Wednesday, November 11 at 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST. Reserve your online seat today by clicking on this link: http://www.sdlxysoft.com/en/news-and-events/events/2009-11-11-dita-and-dynamic-publishing.asp.

Dr. JoAnn Hackos, director of the Center for Information Development Management, delivered the DITA Fest keynote address, sharing her insights about what makes a DITA deployment successful and the significant benefits achieved by companies that had taken a thoughtful approach to DITA adoption and Information Architecture. 

“In speaking with attendees, several common themes emerged at this year’s DITA Fest,” said Chip Gettinger, vice president of XML Solutions, SDL XySoft. “Compared to a year ago, many more organizations can now speak authoritatively from their own experiences about what it takes to successfully write with DITA.  DITA Fest is a unique chance to flesh out important issues related to the DITA standard, and SDL XySoft is pleased to have had the opportunity to host this event for so many companies serious about benefiting from DITA.”

The 2009 DITA Fest also included illuminating  presentations by Ann Kana, FICO’s vice president product services, entitled, “An Executive Perspective: Making DITA An Operational Reality,” and a presentation by Martha Morgan, an information architect, in NetApp’s Information Engineering organization, entitled, “Developing DITA Expertise Across Your Virtual Team.”

The DITA Fest was followed by an SDL Trisoft user day for those companies using SDL Trisoft CCM to manage their DITA implementations. The day brought together SDL Trisoft customers to review the product roadmap with the SDL Structured Content Technologies executive staff, as well as to share best practices with fellow users in targeted breakout tracks for managers, technical writers and technical specialists. 

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