Malaysia's Star Media Group is pushing ahead with multiplatform publishing plans with an alliance with Layout International.
The publisher of the country's leading English daily will optimise its newspaper production and accelerate its transformation into multiplatform and 'digital first' news publishing with Layout's NewsPublish system and A7pro digital archiving.
Turnaround time and efficiency of The Star's automated production cycle will improve for print, digital, online, mobile and social media platforms. Layout International will also further develop the existing online sites, adding new features and streamlining content.
Star group chief technology officer Kang Yew Jin says the implementation of NewsPublish is a core building block of the group's transformation: "It will replace a number of older systems that we have, streamline technology architecture and be fundamental in improving efficiencies as we ensure that content written once can be published and applied across our group.
"Mobile and digital-first is today's reality and critical to a publisher's sustained survival and growth."
Group chief operating officer Roy Tan says he believes the partnership will enable them to achieve business goals "quickly and concisely, with tangible results that benefit our consumers."
Layout chief executive Jean-Michel Habis says a new southeast Asia support centre is being established, providing "dedicated and timely" support to publishers in the region.