Content Management Systems Overview

There are nearly 2,000 Content Management Systems currently listed on a dozen CMS online directories around the world. (Reference article - Where the Wild CMSs are!, EContent Magazine, December 2005.)

Bob Doyle collected a list of Content Management Systems in a spreadsheet of 28 CM Systems Directories Worldwide (Excel). He also maintains a listing of known CMS directories, some with feature comparators.

CM Professionals are challenged to select the right CMS for a particular content management application from among this vast number of choices.

CMS Overview

There are many overviews of CM Systems around the world. CM Pros is working on a general overview of CM Systems, based on the CMS Markup Language (CMSML). CMSML is a markup language for describing and classifying content management systems. The markup language will be based on a 'feature list' or critical set of attributes (facets) needed to describe a CMS.

Our goal is to compile a comprehensive list of content management systems, classify them according to the feature set in CMSML, and then provide comparisons between CMS for purposes of evaluation.

As CM Pros we choose not to have our own CMS Overview, but instead to provide this CMSML to several publishers of overviews. In the future, our task will also be to do the distribution and control of both the CMSML and the registered systems.

There are now two overviews available that are based on CMSML:

CMS Review Overview, based on CMSML version 1.00

Hartman ECM Overview, based on CMSML version 1.10

The Dutch government is also working on a CMSML-based overview of all ECM systems that are used within the Dutch government. We will provide a link as soon as this overview has been published.

Lifecycle

To help CM professionals with the selection process, we hope to identify the major steps in the CMS Lifecycle. Almost every organization is faced with upgrading their CMS or migrating their content to a new CMS sometime in the future. We can for example breakdown the CMS Lifecycle into the CMS Selection process and CMS Implementation (including Migration from and existing CMS).

To help evaluate a particular CMS, we also will identify the major stages or phases in the Content Lifecycle. A CMS must be evaluated separately for its abilities in each of these stages.

As a resource for CM professionals we are working on a CM Lifecyle Poster illustrating the major stages of the Content lifecycle. Within each stage there are several critical activities for which CM Pros hopes to identify Best Practices.

Larger version (opens in new window)

CMSML

CM Professionals is partnering with CMS Review, Hartman Communicatie, OSCOM, and the University of Washington iSchool.

The CMSML project is in the hands of the CM Pros CMSML community.

The markup language will be based on a 'feature list' or critical set of attributes (facets) needed to describe a CMS.

Bob Doyle made a list of CMS Features from three overviews (CMS Review, Hartman and CMS Matrix) in a spreadsheet (Excel). Erik Hartman combined this with a feature list of two overviews from the Dutch government. He is now working on a CMSML-based overview of ECM systems that are used within the Dutch government. Together with Bob Doyle's work on describing XML editors, updating the Markup Language with these new features, the CMSML will evolve in version 2.00.

The main goal of the CM Pros CMSML Community is to provide CM professionals with a comprehensive list of content management systems, classify them according to the feature set in CMSML, and then provide comparisons between CMS for purposes of evaluation. In the future we hope to test content management systems in a worldwide network of independent labs.

CMS Review provides a model of a Faceted CMS Directory and CMS Feature Comparator that's based on this classification.

Erik M. Hartman wrote an article on CMSML (.pdf) for the Rockley Report.

This article was based on the Gilbane Report on Classification and Evaluation of Content Management Systems. More info on the history of CMSML, is to be found at the CMSML Organization Page.