Introduction
An enterprise-class CMS needs to be very capable, stable, and extendable by ECM (enterprise content management) developers. It will not be a handicap if it uses a less-common codebase or needs specialist hosting, though the closer it keeps to popular code languages and to basic hosting, the more useful it will be to those with smaller budgets.
The CMS may need to handle intranet / extranet tasks as well as web publishing. In terms of functionality it will need comprehensive content handling and publishing, strong ACL, versioning, workflows, audit trails, and document handling. If any kind of web popularity is envisaged, it would be wise to look at those CMS that prioritise for quality in the web standards area, with strong standards-compliance values leading to code that both validates and passes accessibility testing. This helps with search success and legal compliance. Currently, many implementations have problems in these areas.
In addition, legal issues are likely to become more relevant, partly because accessibility issues will become important. In many countries, all sites offering a public service must now pass accessibility testing to level A in order to be legally-compliant. Busy sites are likely to attract inspection by interested parties.
Currently it looks as though 99% of websites in general - and CMS sites are no exception - would fail an accessibility pass at the second level (level AA) - and certainly the top level, AAA. It is likely that government and local authority sites, and possibly those in the media spotlight, will need to pass at AA in the future - which is beyond many CMS implementations at present. It is worth considering this when specifying a solution, as fixing issues like this further down the line might be expensive. Contrary to some opinions it is possible to build a complex CMS with a wide variety of content to level AAA, and there are examples. Frankly, though, the level of skill needed to do this is quite beyond most implementers.
The applications listed here have a zero license fee since they are open-source. Where a CMS has both GPL (free) and commercial options, we only considered the GPL core application. However, it needs to be remembered that initial software cost may be a minor component in a large implementation - so for corporate users, this factor may not be relevant. However, there are many non-profits and similar organisations who need a large and capable CMS with a cost-conscious attitude.
Also consider these facts:
- The core application might be free, but at this level, extensions usually aren't
- Implementation costs will be the highest component - and might be even when software costs are considerable
- Support is not cheap
- A capable webmaster is needed
- Hosting for these systems costs more than for standard CMS - they have a variety of specialist needs
Some of these systems are available as hosted solutions, which is becoming more popular. With a Hosted CMS, the system is leased on a monthly basis, and the software authors or others host and run it for you.
Lastly, it needs to be clearly stated - as always - that open-source is simply an alternative to commercial. The quality or functionality is no less, and in fact it may seem easier to locate high quality in open-source at the moment. The bills are lower but the web team's workload may be higher, due to the wide range of supply sources instead of a one-stop shop.
Open-source Enterprise-class CMS
These are some of the contenders in open-source enterprise-class CMS:
Platforms/Download: Web App |
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
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Platforms/Download: Web App |
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
Read more...
Platforms/Download: Linux | Mac OS | Web App | Windows (Desktop) |
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
Read more...
Platforms/Download: [field_blackberry_download] | iOS | Linux | Mac OS | Web App | Windows (Desktop) |
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
Read more...
The 'Blank Canvas' Class of CMS
It is possible for very capable developers to create an enterprise-class CMS with one of the top free / open-source 'blank canvas' CMS - a term that can be applied to those WCMS that install in a blank sheet style - ie not much there to start with. The developer creates everything required. This means that if the devs can hack it, you could have a highly-capable CMS at zero licence fee. But if the developers aren't up to it, there would be problems. Here are two candidates of the highly-capable but blank-install type:
Radiant
A highly capable CMS product from the Ruby on Rails developer community handles just about anything web-wise.
Platforms/Download: Linux | Mac OS | Web App | Windows (Desktop) |
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
Read more...
Platforms/Download: Web App | Windows (Desktop) |
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
Read more...
Related Products and Links
You might want to check out these articles too:
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