SDL Tridion Named Leader in Web CMS for External Sites

The Forrester Wave for Web Content Management For External Sites, Q2 2009 is out and there are 10 web content management vendors on the list that we all know and love well. SDL Tridion (news, site) took the top honors this time with Interwoven and FatWire close behind.

Why are these three vendors at the top and who else is on the list? Let's take a look.

WCM Has Evolved

Again we go back to what Sitecore VP of Product Marketing Darren Guarnaccia said about web content management: It has become a commodity. As a result we are seeing WCM solutions become about more than just storing and publishing content. Forrester agrees saying, "they [enterprises] want to accomplish specific business goals, such as increased sales conversion rates and improved customer service."

As a result, WCM has become part of a "persuasive content architecture". What does that mean exactly? It means enterprises utilize WCM and related technologies to truly understand their customer's needs and deliver content based on those needs.

Forrester - Persuasive Content Ecosystem

As we have clearly seen WCM vendors are trying to differentiate on toolsets and user interfaces. We have seen this recently with vendors like Interwoven, Sitecore and SDL Tridion, who have all launched their own versions of Online Marketing Suites.

Evaluating WCM Vendors

Forrester offers some guidance in what to look for when evaluating WCM vendors today. That guidance comes in two forms:

1. User Interface: In-line and in-context editing, integration of desktop tools like MS Word, easy to design workflows, globalization and localization management.
2. Integration with Other Persuasive Content Tools: Integration with other enterprise content applications and repositories was top on the list of many organizations surveyed for this report. We're talking about capabilities like Audience Targeting, analytics and testing, digital asset management, social computing, portals and multichannel delivery.

Who Made the List?

Ten Web Content Management vendors made it to the list for this report, with a focus on delivery functionality for external websites: Day Software, EMC, FatWire, IBM, Interwoven, Microsoft, Open Text, Oracle, SDL Tridion, and Vignette. All of these vendors have over US$ 25 million in revenues and focus on enterprise level organizations (1000 employees or more).

What were they evaluated on?

• Current Offering: Including content management administration, content publishing configuration and administration, multisite/channel management capabilities and product architecture.
• Strategy: Vendor Roadmap for delivery persuasive content capabilities and their ability to deliver on that roadmap.
• Market Presence: An evaluation of the vendors current market presence.

Forrester Wave Results

The Leaders

SDL Tridion leads this pack of vendors with a particular emphasis on content targeting, multisite management and multilingual site management. The Pitney Bowes relationship that supports delivery to the Print channel is a strong point as is their Blueprinting technology (despite the fact that it is said to be challenging to implement). Forrester mentions a need for a stronger social computing strategy.

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Tags: autonomy interwoven, emc documentum, fatwire, forrester, ibm, industry news, open text, oracle ucm, sdl tridion, sharepoint, vignette, web cms

The Forrester Wave for Web Content Management For External Sites, Q2 2009 is out and there are 10 web content management vendors on the list that we all know and love well. SDL Tridion (news, site) took the top honors this time with Interwoven and FatWire close behind.

Why are these three vendors at the top and who else is on the list? Let's take a look.