NP8 initiators found association
The «NP8» news portal platform has been in active use for half a year. Now, the founders have established an association to expand the solution.
Around one and a half years ago, Somedia in Chur and Gassmann in Biel jointly commissioned the development of the "NP8" news portal platform. NP8 is a news portal solution based on Drupal 8. Designed as a complete solution, NP8 not only takes care of the commercialization of content, but also covers many other areas, from the integration of local B2B customers to the personalization of content. The project was supported by SWS Medien in Willisau right from the start. Since then, the portals Suedostschweiz.ch, Willisauerbote.ch, Seetalerbote.ch and Letemps.ch have been relaunched by Ringier on the basis of NP8.
The initiators have now founded the "Media Commons Association" to intensify their collaboration. NP8 is the first product, and further projects are to be launched together in the future. And the association is set to grow: talks are being held with other media companies about becoming members. In 2016, at least Zol.ch and Bielertagblatt.ch will also be relaunched on the basis of NP8.
One of the main aims of the association is to pool development budgets and thus reduce costs. The members jointly develop and maintain the technical basis of the news portal platform and advise each other on keeping it up to date. Industry-standard functionalities are jointly specified and developed. (hae/pd)
