Newsletter January 2026
Dear readers,
Welcome to our first newsletter of the year. We’re delighted that you continue to follow us and hope you’ve had a good start to 2026.
The year 2025 was marked by rapid technological development, a strong increase in demand for self-service offerings, and significant progress in the interaction between content, product data, and AI. Many companies set important strategic directions to deliver information in a more user-oriented and automated way – and we were pleased to support them in numerous projects.
Join us as we look back at the key developments of 2025 and ahead to the topics that will shape 2026.
Self-service on the rise
More and more companies are relying on intelligent information and service portals that enable users to solve problems and research information independently, reducing the need for personal support. These portals consolidate product knowledge from various sources and create measurable added value for both companies and users: information is taken directly from the source and can be found more quickly, easing the workload on support and sales teams.
On this journey, we supported, among others, the following companies:
- ifm electronic – content delivery strategy / platform preparation
- SEEBURGER – 360-degree analysis and self-service platform
- GS1 Germany – transformation project for smart content and modern content delivery
Artificial intelligence in practice
AI is increasingly becoming an established tool in technical communication. Whether for analyzing large content repositories, quality assurance, or migration projects, we actively supported and evaluated these developments. A selection of our contributions:
- The Model Context Protocol (MCP) for technical communicators
- How digitalization and AI are changing the profession of technical communicators
- Prompt engineering – how to communicate effectively with AI
AI therefore remains a key topic – not as a replacement for technical writing expertise, but as a powerful tool for accelerating, improving, and automating processes in technical communication.
iiRDS continues to evolve
Companies are increasingly adopting iiRDS as a standard to make content more structured, interoperable, and reusable. To further support adoption, the iiRDS Consortium has aligned the standard with current requirements and published materials to facilitate practical use.
Further information:
- Interview in tcworld Magazine: Thomas Ziesing (Endress+Hauser) and Ulrike Parson explain the significance and potential of iiRDS.
- Free guideline from the iiRDS Consortium to support a practical introduction to iiRDS and consistent metadata assignment – developed by Gerhard Glatz (plusmeta GmbH) together with Mark Schubert and Fabian Klopfer (parson).
- iiRDS version 1.3: Released by the Development Working Group in November 2025 with a new exchange format (iiRDS/H based on VDI 2770) and JSON-LD serialization; parson is represented in the working group by Mark Schubert.
- Together with NINEFEB, parson’s iiRDS experts are developing an iiRDS training course for information architects and technical communicators as part of tcworld’s e-learning program.
Digital twins and automated technical documentation for highly variant products
In 2025, the trend toward digital twins continued to accelerate. More and more companies are linking product data and documentation content – for example in knowledge graphs – to automatically deliver product-specific content and keep it up to date.
With increasing product variability and the requirements of the new Machinery Regulation, many companies face growing challenges in variant management – both for machines and devices as well as for product documentation.
Learn more in our knowledge article: Driving technical documentation from a digital twin
In a webinar, Franz Stötzner (Empolis) and Ulrike Parson explained how a modern documentation solution based on data from ERP, PIM, and configuration systems enables variant-specific technical documentation already during content creation – not only at the final output stage as PDF or HTML. See recording.
Digitalization projects in organizations
In addition to industrial and product documentation, parson was also involved in long-term digitalization initiatives, including:
- Supporting the state archives of Rhineland-Palatinate in the digitization of historical cabinet minutes
- Developing a sustainable system architecture for technical documentation in Körber’s Technologies business segment as part of the SAP S/4HANA transformation
More exciting customer projects from 2025
Additional projects included:
- Fr. Meyer’s Sohn – How FMS created an IT operations manual with support from parson
- ASAM – New technical standard for vehicle materials: parson supported with technical editing and publication pipeline
- Troester – Metadata model for a new content management system
- NXP – Maintenance of an XML-based authoring framework
New services for our customers
In 2025, we further expanded our service portfolio to support companies in implementing modern content ecosystems:
- 360-degree analysis of content processes and systems – a strategic instrument for preparing digitalization projects
- Digital product models – harmonization of distributed product data and machine usability as a basis for automation and self-service
- Smart technical documentation in the digital twin – intelligent integration of product data and product knowledge
Our conferences in 2025
At numerous professional events, we shared experiences, discussed trends, and gained new impulses – ranging from AI-supported content migration and knowledge graphs to iiRDS and smart content delivery. Highlights included:
- DITA Europe – Insights into migration strategies, including AI-supported workflows. More
- Nordic TechKomm – Knowledge graphs as the foundation of precise technical documentation. More
- Information Energy – iiRDS in focus: relevance, application, and future perspectives. More
- ConVex, San José (USA) – Metadata and iiRDS for AI-ready content. More
- tcworld conference and tekom fair – With several presentations and once again as a co-exhibitor at the world’s largest event for technical communication. More
These topics clearly demonstrate how technologies, methods, and roles in technical communication continue to evolve – and how essential integrated, future-ready content ecosystems have become.
Knowledge and blog – More articles on our website
- Help for self-help – from manuals to self-service portals
- Technical documentation: creation, application, and quality assurance
- Why companies benefit from a 360-degree analysis of their processes and systems
Outlook for 2026 – What will matter next
In 2026, the further convergence of content, product data, and service processes will move into focus. Content will become more intelligent, granular, and interconnected – creating new value for users, service organizations, and companies.
Central knowledge bases for professional or field service, hotlines, technical documentation, and training will gain importance to enable independent problem-solving and reduce the burden on service processes.
Isolated systems will continue to lose relevance. Instead, companies will increasingly rely on integrated platforms, interfaces, API-first architectures, and standardized data and knowledge models. Standards such as iiRDS will become a key factor for future-proof, scalable information architectures.
What matters in 2026
- More automation – Content becomes part of end-to-end digital processes.
- From documents to data structures – Static PDFs continue to lose relevance; digital product and knowledge models gain importance as a foundation for reliable information in self-service, field service, digital twins, and service automation.
- More interactive and contextual content – Users expect information exactly where it is needed: in portals, apps, machine interfaces, or support channels. The boundaries between hotline, documentation, and service continue to blur.
- iiRDS as a standard – Ongoing development of the standard enables new possibilities for connected content delivery, including personalized delivery and automation in knowledge management.
Thank you for 2025 – Welcome to 2026
We would like to sincerely thank all our customers, partners, and colleagues for an intensive and successful year 2025. Together, we delivered valuable projects and explored new paths in technical communication.
We look forward to 2026 – to new initiatives, new insights, and a shared view toward the future. Please feel free to contact us if you are planning a project or have any questions.
Your parson team
The experts in technical communication