“The Web
content management market is mature and expanding,” says Gartner’s latest
MarketScope for Web Content Management (MacComascaigh, Gilbert, Bell, Shegda, Andrews). “Vendor
consolidation has fallen (slowed)… functions such as workflow, ease of use and
multi-site management are no longer differentiating factors; they are the
norm.”
Findings:
Open source solutions (OSS, represents only 3% of the
total WCM market) are increasingly stable, robust and growing in market
share
Web 2.0 phenomenon is driving
WCM innovation
Change management and user
adoption will need to be applied to both internal and external users
The total WCM market, at $750
million per year, will grow at an annual rate of 15% through 2012
(representing 25% of the total ECM market)
Recommendations
for implementing a new WCM system (CMS):
Develop specific business
goals and link these to business objectives
Understand the cultural shift
represented by Web 2.0
Interoperability (multiple
systems working together or migrating from one to another) needs to be
considered, as does rationalization of multiple WCMs
Hosted SaaS solutions are not
growing as fast due to business and technical reasons
Total cost (TCO) of OSS solutions should take into
account initial price tag
Highest
rated vendors (strong positive):
Interwoven
Ektron
Lowest
rated vendors (caution advisories):
IBM (Lotus)
Mediasurface
Also of
note:
Vignette gets a positive
rating but with caution due their financial performance (also read Vignette
still in transition)
Microsoft SharePoint (MOSS)
is listed as a very average “promising” with lots of caveats and listed
weaknesses (see What the experts say about SharePoint (MOSS)
Gartner estimates a typical
replace of a WCM system to be around 5 years
My
analysis:
Gartner’s
MarketScope is somewhat different from the average Magic Quadrant in that the
qualifying vendors must have $10 million in licensing revenue to qualify, and
there is no magic quadrant but rather a 5-point rating scale:
Strong negative
Caution
Promising
Positive
Strong positive
While
there are hundreds of WCM solutions (thousands, really) only 17 qualify.
The
report is concise and solid intelligence for a representative snapshot look at
the current marketplace. This report is a good starting point to understanding
the market, but is not an adequate tool for helping an organization select a CMS. If you have significant
experience with WCM (CMS) and have very detailed and documented requirements and
plans for WCM, then a better report is the CMS Watch Web CMS Report 2009. If you
don’t have a solid understanding of the market and solutions, and what to watch
out for then you better consider Prescient’s CMS
Blueprint service.
Additional
notes on vendors:
Interwoven – Though due for a major tech upgrade, I
like how Interwoven has evolved in the past couple of years. The updated, AJAX-powered
U; the campaign management functions, etc. This is a
very powerful system, but overkill for an intranet… it’s sweet spot is the
external, product marketing website.
EPiServer – the Swedish-based
vendor is a real up-and-comer – and it’s average contract value is below
$10,000 which gives all the others a run for its money.
IBM (Lotus) – despite its
caution rating, this is still a reasonable solution… if you’re a Lotus
shop and/or use WebSphere. Outside that, there are far too many good-looking
alternatives.
Microsoft – I think it’s
generous to label SharePoint (MOSS) as WCM. It really is a portal /
development platform that is really quite weak bang-for-the-buck for WCM.
Garter cites its weaknesses particularly “ease of content reuse, multisite
management, workflow and enterprise-level federation capabilities such as
replication and multi-farm synchronization.” MOSS is a good enterprise
portal solution in a small to medium-size organization.
What is
absent:
The Content
Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) specification or standard was
ignored in this report.CMIS defines a
model or framework ensuring that content can be used by one or more Enterprise
Content Management repositories or systems. Frankly, I wouldn’t buy a WCM (CMS) if the selling vendor hasn’t
agreed to implement this standard.
(GENEVA, SWZ) I rarely share my
adventures with readers simply because… who cares what a Canadian does (beer…
blah, blah…. Hockey... blah, blah…. Doughnuts… its all been done before)?! However,
I’m going to make a special exception today because people need to be warned –
the world needs to be warned about Gare du Nord.
I’ve been
through Gare du Nord (GRD), the preeminent rail station in Paris, a half-dozen
times or so in the last couple of years. Traveling to and from GRD via Eurostar
is a breeze; other rail lines are a little more chaotic, but manageable if
you’re not in a rush; the RER is a f—king nightmare.
Yes, I
swore on this blog – for the first time in the nearly four years I’ve been
writing it. Let me repeat myself for the record – just in case you thought I
was drunk or just slipped on the keyboard –the Gare du Nord – RER combo is a
f—king nightmare. (Caveat: this Swiss beer I’m presently drinking – only my
first today so I’m quite lucent thank you – isn’t helping my mood, nor is the GenevaAirport, one of the most annoying in the
Western world… good thing I’m not in Tampa drinking Busch Light).
Where to
begin…
1-Behemoth - If you’ve never been through GRD then it’s
worth a look at some point. But if you’re traveling into Paris or traveling by rail, it’s very
difficult to avoid. As far as I know, it’s the biggest rail station in the
World (I’m not a rail roadie though so I’m only guessing… it dwarfs Waterloo in London. If there’s a bigger one then I’m
damned impressed.). GRD is a monstrous network and labyrinth of rail tracks,
caverns, cafes and tens-of-thousands of people (I swear there was 150,000
people there today at 2pm when I was passing through)
divided into multiple levels, untold sections, hundreds of platforms and spread
amongst hundreds of retail outlets and ancillary services. You’ve heard of the
10,000 pound gorilla? This is the million pound uncle – whacked-out on baguettes
and Merlot, and really friggin’ mean, smelly, and vengeful.
2-Signage – Hartsfield (Atlanta) and O’Hare (Chicago) International Airports are
behemoths. Last time I checked, they were #1 and #2 in the World in terms of
total passenger and cargo traffic; phenomenally complex cities that are
stunning in their magnitude. Despite their size and complexity, it’s easy to
get around these two giant airport cities because the signage and layout is so
well done, and the terminals are so well organized (yes, flight delays at
O’Hare are unrelated and an entirely different blog). Bear with me here… I’m
building up to a point before the Swiss beer buzz kicks-in. The layout and
signage at Gare du Nord... well it sucks – it sucks eggs (oeufs en francaise…
or ‘ass’ if you’re on the playground). There are signs on the floor, sandwich
type boards, signs on the walls, signs hanging from the ceiling, sign posts
mounted on the floor, television screens of all kinds and sizes everywhere, and
signs waved in your face by drivers and gypsies begging for money (or
out-in-out stealing it from your pockets… more on those urchins in a bit). But
these signs don’t help… they confuse, distract, and bewilder. Oh, they also
come in all shapes, sizes, colours and fonts too. The signage is so bad, and
the layout and organization of all the platforms, tracks, levels, and lines are
so garishly awful, that station employees and other Parisian’s are confounded.
I waited 30 minutes on one track after two different people, and one station
employee (security guard) had told me to do so… and they frequent the place…
only to find I was waiting on the wrong platform. The locals were confused; and
all I was trying to find was the line to one of the world’s biggest airports,
Charles de Gualle!!!!!
3-Pick-pockets – The pick-pockets are bad (though I’ve never
been burned as I’m too paranoid and hawkish)… but the wandering gang types are
truly wonderful: they make English football hooligans look downright seductive.
Aggressive street types openly wander the areas
waiting to make eye contact so that they can start up a conversation, usually
initiated with a “Can you spare a cigarette, buddy?” But there’s nothing
‘buddy’ about the approach or their tone… the question is not so much a query
as it is a statement: “Answer my question so I have an invitation to murder you
for what ever measly Euros are in your pocket because I need crystal meth
something bad.” One guy asked me for change and I just ignored him without
saying anything (really it’s the best policy as you most definitely want to
avoid physical contact, and absolutely don’t want to get into a conversation
that could distract you while his buddy robs and rapes you). This particular
Don Juan didn’t take kindly to the silent treatment and started yelling at me
while following me through the crowd. I’m pretty certain he had a ‘shiv’ and
was gonna shank me, but I wasn’t too worried as there’s always an elite
commando squadron close by. “Hah, ha Toby, very funny…” You’re thinking the
Swiss beer has finally kicked in and I’m exaggerating for affect, but no, I’ve
now switched to Carlsberg (god bless those Danes) and I’m quite sober thank
you. In all seriousness, there are combat squads patrolling the station…
multiple squads. Not single guys, or pairs, but they patrol in formations of
three – two in the front, and one in the back. And they have machine guns; not
on their shoulders, or over the back, or in a case, but guns-in-hand,
at-the-ready, with their fingers on the trigger guards. Full fatigues,
battle-ready, army personnel. You ever see Aliens (not the first, but the
sequel)? Those are the bad-asses prowling GRD, and they’re everywhere. Okay,
I’ve painted a bit of a canvass for you and I’ve barely scratched the surface…
4-Tickets – God this one is painful and maddening to write
about; the dentist or a Barry Manilow marathon are joyous holidays in
comparison. I don’t know who in the hell is in charge of ticket systems at GRD,
but they should be fired – instantly. Do they still have the guillotine hanging
around from that little revolution they had…?!?!? I’m going to spare you most
of the details here but I’ll summarize: their ticket machines don’t take credit
cards (most of the time; they work some of the time… but most of the time they
ask for your PIN or reject your card outright. PIN?!? For a credit card purchase?!?!
Who in the hell remembers that?!?!). Your debit card won’t work either; the
machines don’t take cash; and unless you have 12 euros in coins tearing a seam
in your pocket, you’re S.O.L because there’s no change machines either!!!! The
only thing these idiot boxes take is change and there are no change machines!!!!
But they’re very pretty machines… wonderful colours. So they’re trying to sell
you tickets, but you cannot buy them. But you’ll discover this after you wait
in line at the machine for 15 minutes while all the other folks ahead of you
try and figure out how to pay for a ticket and storm-off fuming with the
frustration you’re about to wear like a Dick Cheney hangover from a hunting
party. There was a couple with a child that up-and-left and went to hire a
driver to take them to the airport… (the taxi line-up at GRD is another blog unto
itself). Sadly, I wasn’t as smart. So now what…? You have to go buy a ticket
from a human. Okay that’s reasonable, right? Get in line. The line is 30-people
deep and your flight leaves from Charles de Gualle in 60 minutes – and you’re
still in the purgatory otherwise known as Gare du Nord. Once you finally get
your ticket, avoid certain death from a street thug, and survive the maze that
could easily have doubled for the one that claimed Johnny in “The Shining”, now
you’re ready to find your train…. That’s the funnest (go back and read
paragraphs #1 and #2 again).
I could
go on but I think you get the point: the next time you’re in Paris, take a taxi to the airport.
PS – The
Danes make good beer, the Swiss don’t… but they’re all owned by the Belgians.
But now that I’ve got the aforementioned off my chest, I’m just a happy
Canadian on my way to Portugal. Cuidado!
PSS – I normally read history and business books, but my Kruschev
biography is too big and heavy for this trip… so I bought and am half-way through
the autobiography of Slash, lead guitarist for Guns ‘N Roses and Velvet
Revolver. In a word, it’s frigging awesome! What insanity and debauchery… it
doesn’t matter if you don’t like the music or disapprove of the scene or rock
n’ roll lifestyle, this is a must-read look into the music world without the
MTV filter, make-up, and half-rate PR shroud. Anyone read Nicky Sixx's book? Recommend?
Vignette
still in transition) 
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