Mindtouch is bringing back F1. But this time the help function is in providing customer service in Web applications.

It’s not the F1 of old, the one on your keyboard when you had a question about your personal computer.  Instead, the service is designed for application providers to add a level of contextual help for the immediate issues faced by the customer.  It’s intended to be simple, social and a way that people can get answers without mining forums or Q&A sites. Search engine optimization is built into the service,  allowing information about the application to surface to the top of search engine rankings and accessible across Web and mobile platforms.

MindTouch Contextual Help is what CEO Aaron Fulkerson calls social publishing. It builds on MindTouch TCS, a platform for turning static documentation into contextual information. The platform allows for authoring. Contributors can add articles that generates navigation from content semantics. The adaptive search engine delivers results by learning from your users’ behavior.

Fulkerson makes the point that first generation Web apps did not require a help system such as Mindtouch Contextual Help.  The applications were simple enough. Forums were accessible and a static, PDF document did help.

In today’s world, people need more help as apps are more complicated and the information is too often buried in potentially multiple PDF files that are difficult to search and navigate. Customers more often than not go to the Web to find their help.

Application developers are coping with the problem by creating their own systems, often which require developer resources that could be used for differentiating the application.

Here’s how the Mindtouch system works:

• Customers feed the service PDF files, CHM files, Microsoft World documents, HTML files.
• Mindtouch Contextual Help processes the data, creating a knowledge base about the application that gets smarter as more information is added and curated. Context is the goal.
• Javascript is embedded into the Web page which then triggers the contextual information. Customers get their answers. without having to search the Web, access PDF files or forums.
• The data gets smarter and migrates across the Web.

The Mindtouch Contextual Help service is designed to optimize search rankings as the data continually flows to the Web. It also provides the capability for marketers to add promotions and offers. It’s reaching the customer when they are looking for help.

Mindtouch is developing a service that we expect to see more of in the market. Companies such as Jive Software offers forums but not a knowledge engine like we see from Mindtouch. Other competitors to Mindtouch include Adobe Software and OpenText.

Services Angle

The need for deeply integrated contextual information is an issue that will be more important as Web applications become more sophisticated. In turn, applications are multiplying across the enterprise. In an age of IT transformation, we need ways to automate processes and provide an innovative edge for the organization.

Web-based applications are increasingly the norm. Mindtouch shows how a service can provide customer support but also the potential to be a potent marketing tool, too.