Content Management Futureproofing
Technology advances and globalization are two of the most important factors that are triggering fast socioeconomic changes in our society. In a strategic assessment of a new technology, we evaluate how much we should invest in it and what impact it is likely to have on our organization and on the market as a whole. The evolution of semantic networks, real-time communication, and all related enabling technologies are background parameters to gauge our level of adoption for content management systems (CMSs), which are perceived as challenging due to their novel levels of complexity mixing with new technology uncertainties.
It is true that on the one hand, content management (CM) is becoming integrated to the core of information infrastructures, it is also true that it is becoming much closer to the remote user via the browser -- as close as the inside of their pockets, in fact, if we think mobile. While such broad factors constitute the outer frame of the CM picture, a proper evaluation to the purpose of planning strategic adoption will inevitably lead to a stock-taking exercise: an assessment of information assets of the organization and a plan of how they should be used to serve organizational goals.
First of all, before adoption, organizations need to have very clear goals and inventory. Inventorying intangible assets such as "knowledge" and volatile commodities such as "information" may be perceived as ephemeral, but it is necessary.
In principle, CM tools can deliver efficiencies in many areas of organizational operation -- mostly where information and communication are concerned, whether internal or external, especially where assets are digital or have a digital dimension, such as product information.
Strictly speaking, software does not provide the ability to use information to gain operational advantage, but it will, however, enable and support operational intelligence, where available.
Traditional investment appraisal techniques can be successfully adopted, even when it comes to CMS. Costs over benefits will do, but we may have to stretch the existing notion of costs and benefits to match the unprecedented rate of change and related risks and opportunities.
The big decision to adopt is generally just the beginning of seriously unsettling times. This is a time for many questions, including: what, how, who, where, and how much. Everything needs to be looked at over and over again. In most cases, optimization highlights the redundancies and new needs.
It is useful to map all the organizational areas and relevant software environments interfacing with the proposed CMS. This analysis will produce a useful inventory of the "outer boundaries" that effectively constrain the space within which the new implementation exists. Then it's time to study the practical technicalities brought about by the new tools, starting with the skills and competencies of the staff. A good starting point for this analysis is a peopleware matrix of content management skills, such as the skills matrix donwloadable HERE
Adoption must take into account the ability of a system to comply with emerging content standards, as well as W3 consortium guidelines.
Increasing complexity requires an unprecedented variety of specialized skills. The market is now opening up to a new layer of CMS services currently offered by vendors to help customers find their way through the maze of decisions. Analysts, auditors, and consultants can play an important role in walking buyers through the field.
Best practices in CM will emerge as a mixture of standard common sense, experience, and understanding of online information products and services, as well as sound application of new technologies.
Reproduced courtesy of Cutter Consortium
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