Obtaining a CMS Package

In this section we're going to look at obtaining a CMS package, and the various options available, how you would go about selecting a particular CMS package, and how it applies to your intranet.

Selecting a CMS Package

Selecting a CMS package can be a daunting task. There are now a large number of "off-the-shelf" systems available, for use on a variety of different computer systems, and written in a variety of different languages. There is also a huge variation in price, ranging from free (under a GPL or similar license) to systems costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Alternatively you can create your own custom-built CMS specific to your business. This may in fact work out cheaper than one of the off-the-shelf packages, and you have the benefit that it's specifically targeted to your business's needs.

Setting Down the Goals

Before you can start looking at the various options available, it's very important to first identify your requirements, and what you want the CMS to achieve. The best way to do this is to ask heads of all the departments who will be using the system, to compile a list of goals that need to be achieved for that particular department. Rather than just sending a memo for example, it would be much better if someone involved in the development of the system briefed the staff on what information was required to help the department managers to create their list of goals that the system needs to achieve. Many of these goals will overlap with each other and can be combined.

When you're discussing what you need the CMS to achieve, it helps to think about the future, and try to anticipate any future directions that the intranet will take so you can choose a system that will still work and cater for these future needs.

It's also important to have a clear idea of the budget you have available, so that you can select a system that stays within your budget. It's important to allow some of the budget for costs which come after the system is purchased, for example if you need to hire consultants to set up the system.

Which Package to Choose?

Which package you choose will depend upon the size of the intranet, and the goals you want the CMS to achieve.

If your needs are fairly basic, and your intranet is fairly small, you could think about building one from scratch rather than an "off-the-shelf" system. It may be that your existing IT department will be able to complete such a project, if not you could always outsource the project to professional web programmers. If your needs are fairly simple, this could be the best option, and cheaper than buying a large commercial package.

To find out more about effective ways of designing your own CMS, see Content Management Systems (Phil Suh, et al., glasshaus 1-9041511-06-X)

Alternatively, there are many open source CMS packages available, which could be used as a base, and then customized specifically for the company's needs. Having a large part of the project already completed, using an open source solution speeds up development time if you are building your own in-house CMS. An example of an open source CMS is PostNuke at http://www.postnuke.com/. This system is widely used on the Internet, and there are many different modules available to add in extra functions. An open source system gives you a huge advantage if you're developing a custom system; all of the code is available to you, so it's much easier to adapt the package to your needs, and to recode the whole system, which wouldn't be possible with a commercial system.

Open source systems are obviously much cheaper to set up than a commercial package would be, and there are some extremely powerful open source systems around.

" Using an open source solution speeds up development time if you are building your own in-house CMS "

Even if you need a very powerful CMS, it may still be feasible to design your own system from scratch, depending on how much development time and resources are available, otherwise you can go for an "off-the-shelf" commercial system that will be quicker to implement.

If you go for a commercial system it's important to look, not just at the system itself, but also at the business behind it. When you are buying such a system, make sure the vendor provides a good after-sales service, and buy from an established company which will probably still exist in a couple of years' time when you might want to upgrade the system.

Although an off-the-shelf system is going to be faster to set up than developing your own system, you need to have an idea of the amount of time that the system will take to customize to your specific needs before the system can actually go live. You also need to think about who will be performing this customization; if it is to be done by the vendor it will be quicker since they know the package inside out, but it can also add extra costs to the development of the system.

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It's also important to check whether the vendor provides training, as this will be needed by the lT staff who will be administering the system and maintaining the servers.

Who's Going to be using the Package?

It's also important to think of the people using the CMS when it comes to choosing one. Bear in mind that it's likely to be used by all staff rather than just the IT staff, so it needs to be usable and intuitive, even to those who may only have a very basic level of computer knowledge.

No matter how simple the system is, you will still have to provide some training to get the staff used to the system. If you're going to build the package in-house, the training can be done by the department that designed the system.

If you are using an off-the-shelf commercial system, you will have to decide whether to do the training in-house (once the training staff have learned the package), or whether the software vendor can supply training and support. Good training and support is essential, as the system will essentially be useless if no one knows how to use it.

You also need to think about the IT staff that will typically be administering and maintaining the system. The new CMS may involve more complicated hardware for instance, and the IT staff will need adequate training.

Which Content Formats Need to be Understood by the CMS?

As well as who is going to be using the intranet, you also need to look at which content formats and hardware appliances are in use by the company. For example, if a company has staff out on the road, it would be useful for them to connect to the intranet using a browser on a PDA or some sort of WAP device to retrieve information.

If this is the case, then you would want to make sure that the CMS can output data in WAP format for example, so that all staff can connect to the intranet, no matter which device they are using.

Even if you don't currently have staff on the road, it's still worth considering. Smaller devices such as WAP-enabled phones and PDAs are getting more powerful, and it's likely that in the near future they will be used a lot more. As such it is a good idea to cover yourself by implementing a CMS that can handle PDAs and other devices, and this applies even more if the CMS will also be running your web site.

In terms of software format, the CMS should be able to use and read the formats already in use by the company. For example, if the business is using Microsoft Office, then the CMS will need to be able to read Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets so that it can index the documents and make them available within the CMS.

What Computer Hardware Will be Available to Run the System?

An important consideration in choosing a content management system is the hardware requirements. Many of the higher-end CMS packages need powerful dedicated servers and use complicated database systems. Clearly, this can mean it takes longer to set up the system and get it up and running.

The frontend of the system should be able to run on the staff's existing PCs, otherwise a large outlay will be needed to train staff and to purchase new hardware, and would cause a major inconvenience to the business. It's important that CMS can utilize the existing computer systems for its front end as these are the systems that the staff are familiar with.

How Long Will it Take to Deploy the System?

If you need a system that is fast to deploy, then an in-house custom-designed system will probably be out of the question, although development time can be cut by basing the system on an existing open source solution.

Commercial systems are much faster to deploy, but the time taken with each system must be looked at. A system may be fast to install, but you also need to consider how long it's going to take to customize so that it fits into your business and is integrated with your intranet. This time is often mistakenly not taken into account when people choose a CMS.

" If you need a system that is fast to deploy, then an in-house custom-designed system will probably be out of the question "

When Should the System be Implemented?

The answer to this is as soon as possible, the longer you wait to implement a content management system, the more data that has to be migrated into the new system, and the longer it will take to get the system up and running.

Also the sooner CMS is implemented, the sooner you will start to see the benefits for your business and allow staff to work more efficiently.

If You Already Have a CMS

If you are already using some form of CMS, it may be time to take another look at how the system is performing. CMS automatically handles all the routine tasks and administration of a web site or intranet, but because they're low maintenance, over time they can be taken for granted.

As businesses evolve, their needs change and so does the type and quantity of information that they handle. After a while the CMS can lag behind, become outdated and perform inefficiently, or it might be transferring tasks back to the staff, for example staff might be forced to convert data into a format compatible with the existing system.

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To help with the review it can be useful to set aside a small part of the intranet that allows staff to add their own comments about the system, and you'll have a ready-made list when you come to review it. It shows the staff that you value their feedback, and allows them to feel part of the system. Finally, you can use this as a list of accomplishments for end-of-year reports.

It's important to periodically review your CMS, just to check it is performing optimally. As well as the IT department reviewing the system for performance, it's important to speak to the staff who actually use the system on a daily basis, as they will be most qualified to point out bottlenecks or problem areas, and it is likely that you will find problems that you were previously unaware of.

Although this sounds like a major task, the more often a review of the system is carried out, the less work is needed as minor niggles can by nipped in the bud before they develop into major problems. It's much easier to maintain the system with frequent minor updates, rather than leaving the system until it starts to fall apart.

If your existing CMS creates log files, a huge amount of useful information can be gained from them. You can use them to find out which areas of the system are most widely used, and areas which are hardly used, either because a problem exists, or they're no longer relevant. Studying usage patterns helps to see which parts of the system are most important, and which areas need to be looked at and either "revived" or removed from the system.

To find out more about web traffic analysis, Practical Web Traffic Analysis (Peter Fletcher, et al., glasshaus 1-904151-18-3) contains interesting case studies of major web sites such as the BBC and eBay, detailing how they analyze their log files.

It also helps to analyze the user patterns, and the paths people take to reach the data. Frequently used data could be made more easily available higher up the menu hierarchy for example, to make it easier to get to, without having to navigate through a network of menus and submenus. Less frequently used data can be moved down the menu hierarchy; if it is rarely used it will not matter that a longer route is needed to get to the information.

Considering One CMS for the Intranet and Web Site

It's almost certain that if you have a company intranet it's also very likely that you have a company web site. If this is the case it makes sense to use CMS for the whole system, managing both the web site and the company intranet.

Doing it this way means that you do not have to duplicate information, and publish separately for the intranet and web site. Having one centralized copy of your data is also better in terms of data integrity, and saves you having to update the same documents twice, which could lead to errors.

Even though the CMS manages both the intranet and the web site, you can still keep the intranet private for internal staff only by using a private network separated from the Internet by a firewall, whereas the web site is of course open to everyone. You need to bear this in mind when selecting CMS, and make sure that it is able to handle this scenario. Security needs to be looked at in more depth if information is being served out to the Internet.

It's important that the CMS you choose can handle the needs of both the web site and the intranet. The web site needs are likely to be quite different from the needs of the intranet, and it may have a different design to the company intranet. Alternatively, two different systems could be used, one for the intranet, and one for the Internet, but both systems sharing the same data from a central data store.

Aligning with the Corporate Platform

When choosing your CMS, it's also important to look at how well it will fit in the framework of the company: in terms of design and the way it looks, but also in the way it works, and the software it works with.

In terms of design and looks, the CMS needs to be flexible and easily customizable. Some of the lower-end CMS packages use templates for the site, and you are limited to how much you can alter the templates. A good system will be flexible in terms of page design, and should be able to be modified to incorporate the business's look, colors, branding, etc. This is especially important if the CMS will also be running the company's web site.

It's likely that most interaction with the CMS will be through a browser, so ensure the existing browser base is suitable to work with the chosen CMS package. Different browsers have different capabilities; Microsoft Internet Explorer for example, has better integration with Windows and allows you to drag and drop from other Windows programs, which can make the system more user-friendly for staff. With an intranet, you have the luxury of choosing to target a specific browser and have everyone in the company use that browser, rather than having to lose functionality by making the intranet work across all browsers.