Cms functions

A smart information architect named Dan Brown has been writing about the limitations of various functional categories -- such as "role," "workflow" and "published" -- in describing how people really manage content. We think he's onto something. In various projects recently, we see more fluidity in terms of contributor rights and capabilities, as well a return to more collaborative, ad-hoc content development and approval processes. Some content management use-cases call for machine-like production workflows; most web publishers want greater flexibility. The trick is to know the difference...Read Brown's Blog

The French content management marketplace -- like others worldwide -- remains distinctly national. Check out this interesting survey by "Le Journal du Net" showing 8 leading CMS vendors in France, few very active outside francophonie. The piece seems to confirm my earlier impression, though, that French vendors are inclined more towards multi-functional suites (rather than point solutions), even in the mid-market. It would seem the technology buyer in France has a greater tolerance for having all their eggs in one basket -- or "aventurer tout à un seul coup," to make a rough translation...

The second of our 2-parter on the usability of web content management systems is available on EContent magazine. To quote:Here in Part II, I'll examine usability through the lens of system functionality. What does it mean to have a usable workflow? Can a "Help" subsystem make up for the inevitable gaps in user training and understanding? How can authors find what they need? To the extent that you can answer questions like these for your CMS project, you are well on your way to developing a more usable -- and therefore, by definition, a more effective -- content management system...

The hosted CRM vendor has recently announced that they will focus on enabling customers to run "their entire enterprise on The Business Web" according to CEO Marc Benioff. Already a third-party company called iCentera offers portal and content management functionality through Salesforce.com. According to the controversial author Nicolas Carr, "there is no doubt that Salesforce.com will develop engines for content management." That's a fascinating idea, but you should remember that the world of data -- where Salesforce.com has experience -- is quite different than the world of content, and a loosely modified CRM system will not a Web CMS make.

Niels Hartvig, founder of open-source CMS project umbraco (featured in this screencast) has managed to keep the core code-base quite slim (Niels says just 10,000 lines) and functionality quite straightforward. His watchword is KISS -- "keep it simple, stupid". Like their commercial counterparts, open-source software (OSS) projects can suffer from bloat, particularly those architected for most or all community contributions to be glommed onto the platform itself, rather than as optional modules. So, it's reasonable to inquire of your favorite open-source CMS project community, what is their approach? Just be mindful about using the words "KISS" and "OSS" in the same sentence...

IBM reportedly plans to support draft Java standard "JSR-170" across all its systems. JSR-170 specifies a standard Java API to access content repositories independent of implementation, which could be very useful for enterprise content integration and more generally should provide for better separation between content management functions and underlying repositories. That's good for services-oriented architectures, among other benefits. Interestingly, today's announcement came not from IBM, but from CMS vendor Day (citing a German IT magazine); Day leads the charge on JSR-170. Other CMS and database vendors also participate, but have been slower to declare support, perhaps because the standard still remains under public review...Read Day's AnnouncementLearn More about the Spec

In our Web CMS Report, we call out MOSS 2007 for having "perhaps the highest fee structure in its class," -- by which we mean among mid-market and departmental solutions -- particularly when used as a Web CMS for a public site. Seems others agree. Note, for example, some fine analysis by Brice Dunwoodie et. al. over at CMS Wire. Brice comes to this conclusion from real-world experience, since his consulting firm Cylogy has implemented both MOSS 2007 and its precursor, Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) for several clients. Because of certain functional limitations, we generally only recommend considering MOSS for Intranet scenarios (and even then, really just at the departmental level). Clearly there are financial reasons to keep a close eye on this as well.

RSS continues to flow into the mainstream. The Washington Post's excellent Internet columnist, Leslie Walker, recently wrote a fine synopsis of the growing trend towards syndication news readers. Just when you thought the browser was the universal client, think again. Open source readers like Amphetadesk are spreading fast. Some day IE and Mozilla will subsume this functionality, but until then, there's a whole new audience to reach. The early adopters are primarily techies, but that's changing. So when you look for CMS software, be sure to check out RSS compatibility (both in- and outbound). You say you're not a traditional news firm? Well, remember that syndication has huge possibilities for the broader enterprise behind the firewall too.... Read Walker's Column on RSS Syndication

We think the creation of formal user groups is a critical threshold for CMS vendors. So it is worth noting that -- at a time when many US-based players are retrenching in Europe -- Stellent is inaugurating an EMEA user group. It takes a fair amount of effort to organize UG meetings, and vendors usually find the feedback from the first sessions to be, well, rather bracing. But once over that hump, active UGs provide a way for a vendor's existing clients (especially the bigger ones) to exert a greater impact on product road maps. And perhaps more importantly, active user communities typically influence software product managers to focus more resources toward executing better on stated existing features before expanding functionality. That's good for everybody...Check out the Stellent EMEA User Group Agenda

Australia's James Robertson continues to debunk CMS myths. In a recent blog posting, he takes on the conventional wisdom that "Products are pretty similar." Oh no they're not. CMS solutions in the marketplace today may perform similar functions (even the cheapest tools provide all the basics these days), but as Robertson notes, the way CMS tools operate diverges substantially among vendors. And, we would add, those differences in approach can make or break a successful product selection...Read Robertson's Posting