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Q&A about Paligo -- modern CCMS -- with VP of Product Rasmus Petersson

by Tom Johnson on Dec 1, 2024
categories: technical-writing

In this Q&A about Paligo, I chat with Rasmus Petersson, VP of Product at Paligo. We talk about structured authoring, how Paligo makes component content management more accessible, collaboration features for documentation teams, and upcoming AI-powered enhancements to the platform. The Q&A covers Paligo's evolution as a modern CCMS, how it compares to traditional HATs and DITA-based solutions, and why organizations might consider adopting structured authoring for their documentation.

Note: This is a sponsored post.

Tom: What is Paligo for and how is it used?

Rasmus: Paligo is a component content management system (CCMS) designed for technical writers, content strategists, and documentation teams responsible for complex documentation in industries like software, manufacturing, and more. It enables teams to create, manage, translate and publish technical documentation efficiently, with a focus on content reuse, single-sourcing, and multi-channel publishing in a structured authoring environment. Users can create modular topic-based content and publish to multiple outputs such as PDF, HTML, or CRMs like Salesforce, all from a single governable database.

Tom: What’s the origin story for Paligo?

Rasmus: Paligo was launched in 2015 to address the growing demand for a modern, cloud-based CCMS that simplifies structured content authoring, management and multichannel publishing for technical documentation and product documentation. The platform is built on elements of DocBook XML under the hood but offers an intuitive user interface, making structured authoring more accessible and without requiring knowledge of complex technical writing standards. Its founders Anders Svensson and Frank Arensmeier envisioned a solution that merges the power of traditional on-premise CCMS platforms with a user-friendly SaaS experience to bridge the gap between complex documentation requirements and ease of use.

Tom: Recent enhancements in the latest versions?

Rasmus:

  • Preflight for Salesforce: The Salesforce Preflight integration bridges the gap between Paligo and Salesforce Knowledge, offering precise control over content publication. It streamlines workflows by allowing you to preview changes, manage topic mappings, set article statuses, and ensure your knowledge base is always up-to-date and aligned with your needs.
  • Suggestions: Authors and contributors can collaborate by suggesting changes to structured content in Paligo’s ‘Contributor View’ without editing it directly. Suggestions are useful when subject matter experts (SMEs) contribute to your documentation, but you need your technical writers to have editorial control. If further communication with the contributor is needed, authors can simply comment on each specific suggestion.

Tom: How does Paligo differ from HATs like RoboHelp, Madcap Flare, and DITA-based platforms like Heretto?

Rasmus:

  • HATs - RoboHelp/MadCap Flare: These tools are primarily on-premises (i.e. local desktop installation only) and offer some basic structured authoring but lack the advanced and powerful CCMS features and functionality of Paligo. Paligo excels in collaboration (due to being cloud-native), scalability, and true component-based reuse, which can be limited in Flare and RoboHelp.
  • DITA-based platforms like Heretto: Paligo provides structured authoring similar to DITA but is built on elements of DocBook XML instead of DITA XML. Paligo focuses on a more user-friendly experience, reducing the complexity of XML handling. Heretto is highly DITA-compliant and suitable for organizations heavily invested in the DITA standard, while Paligo appeals to those looking for similar benefits without strict adherence to, or knowledge of, DITA or DocBook.

Tom: Where do you install Paligo?

Rasmus: Paligo is a cloud-based solution, so there’s no local installation. Users access it through a web browser, and all content is stored securely in the cloud. By being a native SaaS solution, Paligo eliminates the need for on-premises infrastructure and simplifies updates, backups, and scalability. It also unleashes collaboration.

Tom: Do you see the adoption of modern CCMS solutions growing or shrinking in the tech comm tools space?

Rasmus: The adoption of modern CCMS solutions is growing as organizations prioritize efficiency, agility, scalability, and ease of use in their content workflows. The rise of SaaS platforms, distributed teams and the need for multi-channel content delivery has driven demand for tools like Paligo. These solutions strike a great balance between traditional on-premises CCMS platforms and simpler help authoring tools (HATs), catering to both small and large teams while also being easy to adopt for technical and non-technical users alike.

Tom: Why/when should documentation teams consider structured authoring?

Rasmus: Structured authoring is ideal when teams face:

  • Content complexity: Large volumes of technical content, such as user manuals or compliance documentation, where reuse and consistency are highly beneficial for efficiency and governance.
  • Localization needs: Managing translations efficiently across multiple languages and regions, and lowering translation costs.
  • Multi-channel publishing: Creating and managing content, and maintaining consistency across diverse formats (e.g. PDF, HTML) from a single source.
  • Collaboration at scale: Teams working directly on content where subject matter experts (SMEs) want to do their part in a familiar SaaS environment no matter where they are in the world, without having to copy-paste from other tools. This improves quality, time-to-market, and reduces risk.

Tom: How does Paligo make structured authoring easy?

Rasmus: Paligo’s interface conceals much of the complexity of XML coding, although it can still be accessed if the author prefers. It offers a visual editor similar to a word processor, drag-and-drop functionality, and reusable content blocks, making it accessible to users without coding knowledge. While advanced users can access code view for customization, most can work entirely within the WYSIWYG interface. Features like content previews, guided templates, and robust search and reuse tools also streamline the structured authoring process.

Tom: How do SMEs/contributors/reviewers collaborate in Paligo?

Paligo supports collaborative workflows with features like:

  • Contributor and reviewer tools: SMEs and reviewers can comment and approve content directly within the platform, through a familiar, intuitive SaaS UI.
  • Role-based access control: Contributors have tailored permissions, ensuring they only interact with relevant parts of the content.
  • Integration with third-party tools: Paligo integrates with popular developer tools like BitBucket, GitHub and Slack for seamless collaboration between documentation and development teams. The workflow typically involves authors drafting content, SMEs reviewing and commenting, and reviewers approving it before publication.

Tom: What’s on the future roadmap for Paligo?

Rasmus: At Paligo, ease of use has always been a key priority, and we’re constantly exploring ways to make your experience even better. One area we’re focusing on is enhancing our main editor and collaboration, making it even more user-friendly in the future.

Alongside this, we’re excited to soon introduce AI-powered features designed specifically to address the authoring challenges you face. Our goal is to seamlessly integrate these AI capabilities into your regular workflow, ensuring they complement your process rather than feeling like standalone tools.

Another essential focus for us is content delivery. This is where all the effort you put into creating amazing content in Paligo truly shines. We’re actively working on improvements in this area and look forward to sharing some exciting updates with you soon. Stay tuned!

About Rasmus Petersson

Rasmus Petersson Rasmus Petersson is the VP of Product at Paligo, the most user-friendly Component Content Management System (CCMS) built for technical documentation and product content. Rasmus has extensive experience in product strategy and development, focusing on combining business and technology to deliver successful outcomes for customers.

More reading

See previous posts about Paligo:

About Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

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