AMERiCA LEARNiNG MEDiA

Today we’re discussing a digital platform where publishers offer content targeted at business executives and employees searching forrelevant knowledge and solutions for their business needs. Interview with Cayetana Pablos, bluebottlebiz General Manager.

(@americalearning) “As Rifkin describes in ‘The Age of Access’, we are facing a social revolution: every day we pay more for the experience to use things, while the interest in owning them is disappearing. Before we would buy cars, today we have renting contracts; before we purchased CDs, now we subscribe to Spotify and listen to all the music that we want. In the same way, with the arrival of the digital library, buying books stops making sense and subscription models that allow you to access content have emerged,” Cayetana Pablos, bluebottlebiz General Manager, said after being consulted by America Learning Media  in relation to the growing rise in digital libraries and digital repositories.

“Organizations are reducing their inventory and contracting with third parties for processes that used to be in-house. The properties that before were considered active are often inconvenient to companies today. This is why organizations are eager for ‘plug&play’ solutions that don’t require an investment of their own infrastructure, but instead they can incorporate their workflows and pay for consumption in a flexible manner. Specifically, inside the world of training and talent development, more dynamic solutions are being demanded; solutions that answer employee needs and allow for continuous self-education and customized social learning” Pablos added. The platform was created in 2012 and developed from the initiative of a group of business-specialized publishers.

What is bluebottlebiz?

Cayetana Pablos: Created for professionals, businesses and business schools, bluebottlebiz is the cloud based solution that allows access to everything you need for business knowledge, when and where you need it. It offers you the know-how to face your professional challenges. bluebottlebiz offers relevant and high-quality information in order to make the best decisions, providing value to individuals, professionals, companies, and society. Thanks to its collaborative environment, it also allows you to share what you’re working on with others in an intuitive and instantaneous manner.

From what concept it is inspired?

The name was inspired by several things, starting with W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne’s book Blue Ocean Strategy. We want to give professionals the tool that helps them find blue oceans, where they can develop their business and find new opportunities. We firmly believe in the importance of making expert knowledge accessible, and in that way consider ourselves to be a container (a bottle) of knowledge. Lastly, biz was born from the diminutive of business, because of our specialization on business subjects.

How many titles does the library have and what subjects do they address?

bluebottlebiz incorporates more than 70 international publishers which covers 80% of the business book market. Our catalog is continuously growing, as every week we add new titles in both English and Spanish. bluebottlebiz not only has books, but magazines, reports and case studies as well. Soon we will also be offering videos. In total, we cover 15 categories that are related to the business world, such as marketing, entrepreneurship, finance, and production and operations management. Some of the publishers who support the project include, Palgrave Macmillan, Wiley, McGraw-Hill, ESIC, el Observatorio de Recursos Humanos and LID.

How can you access bluebottlebiz?

You can access bluebottlebiz from every electronic device that has internet access, whether it is from a PC, tablet, or cellphone. Individuals can choose between a subscription for 100% of the content for €24.99/month or, a subscription for a particular category (management, human resources, marketing, etc.) for €12.99/month. We give discounts to businesses depending on the number of employees. In addition, we give a free 20-day trial, no commitment required, so that our potential users can discover the platform by registering at www.bluebottlebiz.com/trial.

What value does bluebottlebiz bring to businesses?

bluebottlebiz can be integrated into a company’s intranet so that teams can access our comprehensive business library in a simple, flexible manner and without having to invest in infrastructure changes. A company  can easily see which subjects are most searched for by employees and will also gain valuable insight into areas where employees need more training. In addition, companies can upload their own content to add to the knowledge network where teams can share and learn in a social manner. All this is available without maintenance fees and because it’s a subscription model, the company has complete control over costs.

Why should a company implement bluebottlebiz?

Companies like McKinsey, Accenture, business schools such as TEC of Monterrey and CEPADE and institutions like BNMA  have already implemented bluebottlebiz as a knowledge development tool to develop their human capital, increasing their efficiency when needing to work in a team. Not only do they benefit from the knowledge that the content itself imparts, but they can also take advantage of the increased knowledge that comes from connected learning.

If you still haven’t subscribed to bluebottlebiz and you want to know more, register at http://www.bluebottlebiz.com/trial and try it free for 20 days. Whether on your laptop, tablet or cellphone, you can easily search for books, magazines, and reports covering topics like management and leadership, organizational behavior, marketing and communications, technology, economics, finance, and law, and in different languages, including, Spanish, English and French.

April 2014