Picture this, Proof that

By: Jim Rosenberg Exactly a year ago, just as systems vendors made another go at supplying front-end software as a service, two other companies separately serving newsrooms' text and image needs announced managed hosting options for their software.

Tansa Systems in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., released Text Proofing System 3 Workgroup Edition ? a hosted version for smaller dailies, weeklies and magazines unable to afford the standard enterprise solution. Tansa data centers host the Internet-accessible Workgroup Edition server. The online version is for sites with up to 25 named users of Adobe InDesign or InCopy, Microsoft Word, or QuarkXPress or CopyDesk.

So far, all Workgroup Edition clients are overseas. Sales Vice President Chris Grimm says it "may be of more interest to some publishers" this year. System 4 is about to come out, with a revised, streamlined user interface. The U.S. version uses the AP Stylebook, and users may customize a publication's dictionaries.

Meanwhile, MerlinOne, Quincy, Mass., offered its picture desk and digital asset-management system as a hosted service at "significant cost savings" to publishers willing to outsource image storage and management. The company also will host its Trax assignment and workflow, which manages photo, video, story, graphics, audio, scanning and research assignments, and can incorporate rights management, scheduling, contact information and more into the process.

The "predictable costs" can relieve "the capital burden of continuous server and storage upgrades [and] IT department workload," says MerlinOne CEO David Tenenbaum. MerlinOne's secured data center runs fault-tolerant systems with generator backups and connections to four Internet backbones. Its technology cuts the required storage capacity by up to 70% ? savings that users share.

Four mid-size to large dailies have signed for hosted services. Others are in final discussions, says Business Manager Rande Simpson. "We expect virtually all of our newspaper customers to switch," adds Tenenbaum.