Oshyn's newest white paper filled with tips and guidelines to help you find the best CMS for your organization. To download the full version, visit: http://oshyn.com/landingpages/the-best-cms-for-you

1. The Best CMS for You: Tips on
How to Select Your Next CMS
Oshyn White Paper, Jennifer Posthumus and Christian Burne, August 3, 2011

2. Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction 2
2.0 Understanding the WCM Landscape 3
3.0 Approach 5
4.0 Selection Process 7
5.0 Other Considerations 13
6.0 Conclusion 14
About Oshyn, Inc. 14
1.0 Introduction
As websites continue to grow in size, features and functionality, the visitors to these websites
are also becoming more demanding and have higher expectations than ever before.
Companies who committed valuable time and resources to web strategies just five years ago
are finding they must re-evaluate and explore new options as their content, features and
online offerings must keep pace with the constant and rapid movement in the digital
marketplace.
For many of these companies, there is a strong case for making an investment in a Web
Content Management (WCM) solution. However, navigating through this vibrant marketplace
presents unique challenges as this space is ripe with acquisitions, upgrades and new and
evolving players with relative strengths. There are a number of feature-rich and powerful
WCM solutions available, but there are likely very few that are a wise choic e for each
individual company.
Most WCM solutions have the capacity to exceed customer expectations, but those customers who
are disappointed are most often those who pursued a flawed selection process. Recently, a

3. customer who fell victim to a poor selection process approached Oshyn. They had gotten to the
point that the product selected was purchased but never implemented, and sat on their shelf for
nearly a decade, thus posing a huge financial loss to the company both in the actual product cost
as well as subsequent costs of doing business for a decade without a solution. The customer had
created an exhaustive laundry list of requirements, permitting almost everyone at the company to
add to the list. However, they were then convinced by some of their staff to select a product
because it was in the same family of products as their Document Management System (DMS). In
essence, they permitted irrelevant external influences to control the selection process which they
then abandoned. This is an example of why a commitment to selecting the right WCM solution is
imperative for executing successful web strategies, creating process efficiencies, and increasing
transactions. Furthermore, with any WCM product, you should expect to have it for at least 48-60
months before re-evaluating the software you have purchased or seriously considering a
replacement. As such, the process by which a company embarks upon this selection effort is an
essential part of a decision as important as this.
2.0 Understanding the WCM Landscape
The Evolution of Users
Today's users are more demanding than ever before. With user adoption being critical for
success, it is imperative that web initiatives create relevant and engaging user experiences.
As user expectations have changed, so have the tools and techniques that address those
experiences. There are a multitude of mechanisms available to empower marketers and IT
professionals with the ability to better understand users, their needs, and their intentions. In
addition, the marketplace is paying more attention to context-aware computing to understand
how users are interfacing with information in an attempt to perfect user interactions. WCM
solutions acknowledge this market driver and are addressing the complexities around
content targeting and context aware computing to enable smart web initiatives.
Everywhere, All the Time
Users are also mobile creatures and more than ever are expecting online initiatives to
engage them regardless of their device of choice at any given moment. Whether it is the

4. kiosk at the airport, an iPad, or a smartphone, users have a myriad of devices at their
fingertips that permeate most areas of their lives. The rise in the importance of location-
based services such as Foursquare, Google Latitude, and Facebook Places, compounds the
emphasis of mobile in the marketplace. WCM solutions are following suit with a focus on the
dissemination of content across channels and recognition of their role in supporting location-
based services. While mobility may not be a stated high priority for some companies now, it
is a high priority in finding the right WCM solution. A recent Forrester survey identifies
delivery to mobile devices as the top initiative for WCM decision makers this year to enhance
customer experience. 1 And with the expectation that a WCM purchase will last four to five
years, mobile must be a critical part of any WCM purchasing decision.
WCM Decision-Makers Plan Customer Experience Initiatives (Source: “The Forrester Wave: Web
Content Management For Online Customer Experience, Q3 2011”, by Stephen Powers, July 13, 2011)
1
www.forrester.com/rb/go?docid=58958&oid=1-IYKI7A&action=5