RE: Standard list of WCMS features

-----Original Message-----
From: Austin, Darrel [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2004 10:36 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [CMS] Standard list of WCMS features

...Software is malleable. I don't think enough companies understand that.
They
tend to accept whatever vendors tell them when they start hitting
limitations of the product...

Software is malleable if you have deep pockets when you start to hit that
wall. Oh the pain of being at the mercy of a vendor whose product does not
do what they said it would do without extensive (and expensive)
customization. Then the additional pain that comes when they have an version
upgrade but no clear upgrade path for your customizations. Then the
additional, additional pain when it turns out that you now have a single
point of failure, that one person who understands the customizations, and
they leave.

Much better to find a solution that works properly, does *most* of what you
want without extensive programming customizations and can be easily learned
by replacement. The prevailing thought that a CMS must have lots of
customization to "fit the company" is vendor sales talk to position their
professional services. 

I say write the software properly in the first place for a particular type
of delivery (Web, records, documents, etc) and stop trying to sell yourself
as being all things to all people.

Sorry, but I learned the  hard way.

Christine L. Mitchell
Internet Content Manager 
Penske Truck Leasing
www.pensketruckleasing.com