CMS - Discover the Reach of Software that Manages Content

By Bill Thomas
From my “DocuBLOG” column
Bill works for USA-ONE Interactive

What is CMS? At first blush, the answer seems simple, and frankly, obvious. CMS is a system that manages content. That’s clear enough, right? … until you begin thinking about it. To truly define, and understand, what CMS actually is you must first set some parameters. For example, what is the content the CMS will manage? In its simplest form, “managed content” could be names and addresses in a Rolodex. Content: names/addresses. Managed: alphabetized on a circular file.

However, in the electronic world, where the term CMS is most often applied these days, content usually refers to any variety of digital info an organization wishes to retain and use. This includes such things as text documents, graphics, records, sound — almost anything that could be managed in an electronic venue.

OK, now that we understand the vast variety of content a CMS can deal with, let’s consider for a moment, what we mean by manage? Do we simply mean store? Unfortunately, that’s what some systems’ reps seem to imply. However, a truly effective CMS will combine processes, rules and workflow considerations in such a way as to make the materials being stored more accessible and more logically organized than they would be otherwise. CMS is a tool to make information access — both internally and externally, as allowed — more efficient.

Often when someone refers to a CMS, they are talking about a system used to manage the content of a website. This CMS is actually a combination of two different components: the Content Management Application, which makes it possible for someone not schooled in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) to control the creation, alteration and deletion of content, and the Content Delivery Application which actually uses the information input to update the site.

In deciding to implement a CMS in your organization, a couple of considerations need to be pondered:

• How large is your organization and how far-flung are your offices. This is especially important if the CMS content will need to be used across international borders. This complicates the process of CMS implementation considerably.
  


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  How diverse is your organization’s data? If the CMS will control a wide variety of formats(video, audio, diagrams, text, graphics), management becomes more difficult.

For best results and long-term satisfaction with your CMS, work with a trusted representative as you set up the rules and protocols that will be followed by your system.