Full RSS Feed
Receive
the Free CMSWire NewsletterWeb content management continued to be an interesting space in 2010 — from shaker acquisitions to the pivoting role of open source, not to forget SharePoint 2010 and a slew of new acronyms and debates. Let's review the highlights of what's happened.
1. WCM and WEM
The historical value proposition of web content management has been around ease of use for non-techies. Since then, the web has graduated from simple HTML and swirling graphics to a more multi-dimensional channel. Many organizations are starting to ponder not only how to manage their web presence, but how to manage user engagement more efficiently.
Brochureware days are over. The notion of a marketing campaign has changed. Web Engagement Management (WEM) is not a replacement for WCM, but rather an supplemental area of practice that includes many of the tricks for marketeers to do their jobs better.
Vendors jumped on the WEM bandwagon and started sprucing up/re-inventing their Online Marketing Suites, Website Marketing Acceleration solutions and Web Experience Management tools.
While WEM as a discipline is valuable, beware of vendor marketing and positioning messaging that doesn't carry the weight behind it. If looking for WEM capabilities, be sure the tools are truly able to provide targeting and personalization, and tailored, relevant, localized, actionable content.
Consider larger scheme of things and the notion of the umbrella term of CEM - Customer Experience Management. Whether these acronyms are mere buzzwords or the real thing time will tell. But we'll hear as much about them in 2011 as we have in 2010.
Related articles:
- What is Web Engagement Management (WEM)
- The 5 Pillars of Web Engagement Management
- WEM - Rebirth of WCM or Marketing Ploy
2. SharePoint 2010 and .NET CMSs
One of the biggest events of 2010 is the release of SharePoint 2010. Many held their breaths expecting a galore of new features. Some saw a lot of improvements, while others came to the conclusion that SharePoint 2010 (to put it mildly) is not the best technology to manage external web sites.
Many of SP's shortcomings contributed to the rise of mid-market .NET CMS alternatives. While the Java vs. .NET debate will permeate the technology landscape for as long as both are alive, .NET shops are expressing more interest in CMSs that are not coming from Redmond, but can work on their Microsoft-centric infrastructures.
Let's not forget that there's also a set of vendors with mixed technologies under the hood. One of them, Alterian, discontinued their Immediacy CMS this year and dropped the Morello brand. The only standing product Alterian CM has a .NET delivery and APIs, but still is very much Java under the covers.
Related articles:
- Mid-Market .NET Web CMS Darlings Push Ahead
- Is SharePoint 2010 the Right Web CMS for Your Internet Site
- SharePoint 2010: Experts Dish on the Good and Not So Good
3. Day is Now Part of Adobe
In the spirit of market consolidation and CEM-for-all movement, Adobe has acquired Day Software. Following the Omniture acquisition, Adobe now has the needed bits and pieces to offer a set of tools for the customer experience management journey (online, offline and around) - if the integrations go well.
Technologically, there seems to be a lot of traction with LiveContent, LiveCycle, ES, CQ5, CRX and JCR in the play. The mélange of predominantly European and mainly American DNAs may present a cultural clash at some point, but which acquisition goes without some blood being shed, especially when a smaller company is trying to fit into the software giant that Adobe is?
Ever since Day broke its three years of WCM silence with the release of CQ5 in late 2008 and overhauled the upper echelons, we saw promising things coming out of Basel. How will things change with "now part of Adobe" in the tagline?
Related articles:
- Apps as Content, or How Day and Adobe May Fit Together
- Sneak Peek into Day's CQ 5.4 CMS
- Perspectives: What the Adobe + Day Software Deal Means
4. EPiServer: From Failed IPO to Acquisition
Quite quietly, Web CMS vendor EPiServer tried to set out an initial public offering, kept it under wraps when failed to do so and then got acquired by a company that has not been active in the technology space prior to this buy. The acquisition itself is not that interesting. The buyer is. With a myriad of technologies in EPiServer's basket, let's see next year which ones will be the good eggs.
Related articles:
5. Open Source Web CMS
Open source had a great impact on the Web CMS market. Market view of the open source continued to change from unknown and scary to "Hmm, let me take a look at this thing." While it still costs money to implement an open source Web CMS, there are several advantages weighing heavily in favor of OSS.
There's been no lack in activity from vendors like Drupal, Liferay, dotCMS, Hippo, Magnolia, Jahia, Alfresco and many *many* others.
Related articles:
- How to Make Money with Open Source Software
- CMS Review: Drupal Gardens SaaS Web CMS
- 2010 Open Source CMS Market: Drupal Trails Joomla!, DotNetNuke Challenges
6. WordPress as a CMS Debate
Yes, the wildly popular web publishing and blogging tool (that is sometimes used as a simple tool for managing content for simple sites) has been on the minds of many this year. The debate on whether it's a CMS or not has gotten to theological depths. Some started covering WP in their Web CMS reports. Others rebelled. Countless tweets and blog posts were exchanged fighting for the Holy Grail of the only truest truth. Turns out, there isn't one.
Continue reading this article:
Email It
