Vivek Salunke 
IT Elite Systems Pvt. Ltd.

What is Content Management System?

Content Management System (CMS) is a system used to manage the content of a website. It allows the content manager or author to manage the creation, modification, and removal of content from a website without needing the expertise of a Webmaster .

Why do you need a CMS?

• Organizations that need to frequently update the content on their web-site need to release the information “just-in-time”. A good content management system reduces this time. The author can create the content themselves
• an enterprise where there is need for sharing of information across different units, maintaining the information becomes a nightmare. CMS helps by keeping a centralized repository of information which can be versioned and shared across enterprise.Maintaining legacy systems was a complicated job and a costly affair too.

CMS - Functional Architect

A CMS - System Workflow

Benefits of CMS

• CMS enables the content on the web sites to be up-to-date. This improves the customer satisfaction and also reduces legal issues associated with incorrect/outdated information.
• CMS enables consistent Look and Feel throughout website 
• CMS facilitates re-use of information across the enterprise.
• CMS ensures enhanced productivity and job satisfaction within the web team. The web master can concentrate on the technical issues related to the site. This enables a quick response time to act on the changes in the competitors’ web site.
• Decentralized content creation ensures:
  • Just-in-time content publishing
  • Accuracy of the content by giving the ownership to the subject matter expert – the author of the content
  • Ease of use across enterprise
  • Controlled flow of content around internal processes
• Separation of form from content: A good CMS keeps your data and your data's presentation separate by intelligently structuring your information, and your instructions for the way that information is to appear.

Buy Vs Build 

Buy	Build
· Lower cost of ownership	· Higher cost of ownership
· Rapid deployment	· Lengthy deployment
· Rapid integration	· Slow integration
· High level of functionality	· Low-moderate functionality
· Easy to use and maintain	· Harder to use, complex maintenance
· Follows best practices	· Custom design may be poor
· Features you could never afford to build	· Lacks sophisticated features
· Committed support	· Contingent support
· Upgrades and improvements	· Limited or no upgrades
· High quality	· Low Quality

Issues with CMS                                                                         (top)

• Visibility/portability: A good CMS should make sure the web site is accessible on different platforms (browsers, operating systems) and different versions of the same platforms.
• Performance: Since the content is stored in a Database, the system has to put a page together when a request is received before it can provide the requested content.
• Dependency on Database: Since the content is retrieved from a centralized database, if the database fails, then the usability is greatly reduced.
• Emerging technology: The CMS is a new technology known to select few organizations. The affordability of a good CMS system is an issue faced by small-to-medium size organizations around the world.Refacing                                                                        ( top)

Summary

Content management system allows a platform for non-technical people to manage the content of the site. The employees can re-use the information across different application and information can be distributed to business partners and customers seamlessly. A CMS ensures uniform look and feel throughout the web site. The subject experts ensure the accuracy and timeliness of content.

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