Selling content and intellectual property online has become an imperative business model for book and periodical publishers, database and archive aggregators, directories and multi-media providers.

Business models for information publishers are varied, with new ones being constantly launched. Current models include special-purpose service advice and subscriptions, pay-per-view, consortia, openURL, standardized access, concurrency control, download limits, digital rights management, Web services, SOA, back-end integration, cross-sell and up-sell, RSS, targeted search and navigation, search engine optimization and advertising, in addition to secondary delivery channels such as voice and handheld devices.

The advent of mobile technology publishing has become an even more exciting and challenging marketplace.