The ASP moniker may be yesterday’s buzzword, but the on-demand delivery model lives on -- with struggling software segments
such as CM (content management) ripe for its promise of reduced complexity and costs.
Past fears about the financial viability of the hosted model have largely faded, due in part to the success of on-demand software
services companies such as Salesforce.com. Illustrating this hosted model rebound, research company IDC predicts on-demand
application services will grow from $425 million in 2002 to $2.6 billion in 2007.
Whether targeting Web content or the larger pool of corporate documents and digital assets, traditional installed CM software
has garnered a reputation for being costly, complex, and time-consuming to implement.
These factors have set the table for the quick rise of hosted Web CM, which focuses on the management of Web-based content
for intranets and public sites, including large, complex sites -- such as newspapers -- and those that support functions such
as e-commerce.
Economics is one reason the on-demand model is thriving for Web CM. High-end installed systems such as Interwoven’s TeamSite
start at approximately $150,000. In contrast, one-time setup charges for hosted offerings can range from a few hundred dollars
to $20,000, with monthly fees from $10 to $3,000.
Furthermore, today’s Web CM services typically are hosted in enterprise-grade datacenters, such as those run by IBM, with
the option for businesses to publish content to their own Web servers. Beyond this newfound flexibly and business safety net,
the hosted model alleviates a continuing problem with CM applications, namely keeping software updated and Web sites running;
vendors take responsibility for these essential tasks. Usability, without skimping on core functions, and quick ramp-up time
are other benefits of the hosted Web CM model.
I reviewed three of the top hosted Web CM offerings: Clickability cmPublish Version 4, CrownPeak Advantage CMS, and iUpload
Content Manager Version 5. Another notable player in this space, Atomz, declined to participate in my review.
I also took a quick look at two lightweight hosted services for intranets. MindHarbor’s mmprove is worth consideration for
more modest needs (see “Small-scale CM”). Although it’s more of a portal, Intranets.com also delivers high value to those seeking a collaboration-focused CM solution
(see “Instant collaboration from Intranets.com”).
Each of the three heavyweight Web CM services I tested offer intuitive interfaces that allow computer novices to add content
while still providing corporate functions such as approval mechanisms. On the back end, administration tools help Webmasters
create page templates and build out a basic informational site or intranet in weeks, instead of the months typically needed
with enterprise CM applications. The products differ in how they organize large media libraries (an area in which cmPublish
is especially strong) and in terms of depth of developer control (a strong suit of CrownPeak Advantage and, to a lesser degree,
iUpload Content Manager). None, however, has the document management power of TeamSite or Documentum.
When reviewing these services, I was looking for a scalable architecture that publishes to Web servers in various datacenters.
Workflow and approval capabilities are also very important, as is the ability to publish on a schedule and to a variety of
devices.
The wealth of functionality available through hosted Web CM does not point to the demise of high-end, installed solutions.
The back-office integration, developer-friendly environments, and additional security that installed solutions provide leaves
them plenty of room in the CM market. Besides, although hosted services give developers some leeway, going hosted isn’t the
same as getting under the hood with, say, Visual Studio .Net or BEA WebLogic Workshop.
But that brings us full circle to the whole point of hosted CM -- that, rather than having to worry about development efforts,
an enterprise should just get down to using the system.
Clickability cmPublish
Clickability cmPublish clients are often media outlets, including sites for television stations or online versions of high-profile
magazines. That’s understandable, considering the system’s capability of housing a large number of assets that can be easily
categorized and searched. Still, this same capability of publishing voluminous articles works just as well for product information
-- the staple of many corporate sites. And because enterprises don’t always have the luxury of in-house design staffs, cmPublish’s
simple template-tagging language makes it easy for novice designers to manage templates.
Logging on to cmPublish shows a comprehensive work center with a left-hand menu that changes context based on the main tabbed
area selected. Compared with navigating CrownPeak Advantage or iUpload Content Manager, initially this is a bit daunting,
but it’s functional nonetheless.
Developers familiar with HTML and template languages -- specifically the open source VTL (Velocity Template Language) -- will
feel comfortable in the Design area. In fact, I was more productive with cmPublish than with some installed systems. For example,
to include a top banner in my test site, the code I embedded in my base page was simply: $cms.template(“TopBar”). But it would
be even better if the commands were available as options from the UI -- as they are in CrownPeak Advantage -- although there
is a free Macromedia Dreamweaver Velocity extension available.
After about an hour, novice users should be able to find their way around the Publish space and be productive. One reason
is the Workspace menu, which organizes pending tasks, such as pages that require editing, along with options to create new
content.
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