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Content Management heads to college

2-Sep-2006

Tags: Web Content Management, Marketplace at Large, Selecting Technology, , Cascade Server, Higher Ed

In the spirit of "back to school," it seems timely to mention the increasing number of colleges and universities investing in content management. That may be because so many colleges are at the same time in redesign mode, transitioning their web sites from simple information centers to ones that allow students to register for classes or buy something from the book store. This requires a shift from simple brochureware sites to ones that can handle ecommerce and complex scheduling and registration, which usually signals the need for software to better manage site content. Singaporean consultancy PebbleRoad recently evaluated 25 university web sites in the UK, Australia and the US, pointing out that few are up to snuff in the realms of accessibility or consistent branding and messaging. A few WCMS vendors pitch their products as a means to correct those problems, but we caution that technology is never the answer to problems of governance and process, be they at a Fortune 500 company or an Ivy League. Hannon Hill and Serena, which frequently compete against each other for business in the SMB WCMS market, have each added higher ed clients in recent months; Hannon Hill boasted 26 in the first half of 2006 alone. Look for reviews of both vendors' tools in the latest edition of the CMS Report, out later this week.

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