www.waterandstone.com
defined Open Source CMS
a look back
~ changing the way we work ~
market leaders
other systems
selection criteria
TCO
Note: This presentation was created for the 2009 Travel Distribution Summit
held in Singapore on April 2, 2009

defined
what is a CMS ?
a look back
market leaders Open Source WCM systems are the topic today.
other systems
selection criteria CMS = Content Management System.
TCO
WCM = Web Content Management
A CMS is a software tool installed on your web
server that enables you to manage your site's
features, content and users through an easy-to-
use browser-based interface.

what do the following organizations have in common?
 NASA
 French Parliament
 Sesame Street (PBS)
 MIT
 The U.S. Navy
 The Brazilian Government
 Nokia
 Novell  They all use open
 Vagabond source content
 EuroStar management
systems.
 National Geographic

defined
basic functionality
a look back
market leaders A WCMS should provide the following features:
other systems
selection criteria  identification of key users and their roles
TCO  ability to assign roles and responsibilities
 ability to define workflow
 ability to schedule and publish content
 ability to limit access to content and functionality
 ability to administer the system
 ability to take site offline and perform
maintenance tasks

defined
what is Open Source?
a look back
market leaders Open Source software is governed by a license
that prohibits:
other systems
selection criteria
TCO (1) charging for use of the software
(2) closing the code (closed source)
These prohibitions apply to any modifications or
releases based on the original code.
(The most common license is the GNU Public
License – aka, the GPL.)

defined
if it's free, what am I paying for?
a look back
market leaders  design services
other systems  consulting services
selection criteria  custom development
TCO  deployment
 support
 maintenance

defined
if it's free, how do they survive?
a look back
Community Backed Projects
market leaders
 often supported by a non-profit Foundation
other systems
 community members contribute for recognition,
selection criteria
status, access to expertise
TCO
 e.g., Joomla!, Drupal
Corporate Backed Projects
 code developed by corporation, but released
under Open Source license
 revenue streams: dual license arrangements,
consulting, support, training, customization
 e.g., Alfresco, eZPublish

defined
not too long ago…
a look back
 Database driven websites were a new concept.
market leaders
The CMS came about as people added
other systems
interfaces to allow for easy manipulation of DB
selection criteria
content.
TCO
 Early players:
* Allaire
* Broadvision
* Vignette
* Interwoven

defined
who are the market leaders?
a look back
There are most than 500 projects out there!
market leaders
other systems According to the 2008 Open Source CMS Market
selection criteria Share Survey, 3 systems lead the pack:
TCO
 WordPress
 Joomla!
 Drupal

defined
WordPress
a look back
Pros
market leaders
 well over 1 million downloads
other systems
 over 4,100 extensions available
selection criteria
 known for blogging, but capable of much more
TCO
 excellent SEO
 LAMP stack
 good developer support
 decent documentation
 active community; stable project

defined
WordPress
a look back
Cons
market leaders
− default package limited
other systems
− no workflow
selection criteria
− no ecommerce
TCO
− has trouble scaling up

defined
WordPress – in a nutshell
a look back
 A great system if you want to run a blog or need a
market leaders
small marketing site with good SEO.
other systems
 Not the best choice if you need custom
selection criteria
development unless you are already running
TCO
WordPress and don't want to change.

defined
Joomla!
a look back
Pros
market leaders
 well over 1 million downloads
other systems
 over 4,500 extensions available
selection criteria
 LAMP stack
TCO
 presentation layer is very easy to skin
 decent ecommerce options
 wide developer support
 decent documentation
 very active community
 good community support
 affordable development costs

defined
Joomla!
a look back
Cons
market leaders
− no workflow
other systems
− fixed user hierarchies
selection criteria
− fixed content structure
TCO
− tough to maintain customized sites
− SEO is mixed
− scalability is limited
− extensions are widely variable quality
− increasing number of extensions are charging
and some are even encrypted (!!)

defined
Joomla! – in a nutshell
a look back
 A good choice for fast turnaround marketing sites,
market leaders
or for sites with little customization or only
other systems
moderate traffic.
selection criteria
 Perhaps not your best choice if you have heavy
TCO
customization needs or expect serious traffic.
 Cheaper to build; more expensive to maintain.

defined
Drupal
a look back
Pros
market leaders
 well over 1 million downloads
other systems
 over 2,400 extensions available
selection criteria
 LAMP stack
TCO
 solid API; highly extensible
 decent ecommerce options
 very flexible presentation layer
 excellent user controls
 good SEO
 easy to maintain customized sites
 robust

defined
Drupal
a look back
Cons
market leaders
− presentation layer can be a challenge to learn
other systems
− admin system less user friendly (really requires
selection criteria
competent developer to create usable system)
TCO
− documentation tends toward the technical side
− longer development timelines
− higher development costs

defined
Drupal – in a nutshell
a look back
 A good choice if you need customization and
market leaders
scalability.
other systems
 More expensive to get up and running, but
selection criteria
cheaper in the longer run and less prone to
TCO
downtime.

defined
what about the other 497 ?
a look back
Other Stand-outs
market leaders
 Plone
other systems
 powerful
selection criteria
 built on Zope (Python)
TCO
 Alfresco
 now have a WCM offering
 targets enterprise users
 Java-based
 corporate backed
 eZPublish
 built in ecommerce
 built in multi-lingual
 targets enterprise users
 corporate backed

defined
How to decide?
a look back
 conduct a needs analysis. Key factors – these can
market leaders
narrow your range of choices quickly:
other systems
 technical requirements
selection criteria
 workflow
TCO
 versioning and rollback
 multi-lingual
 multi-site management
 user hierarchies
 ecommerce
 your team's skillset
 level of support needed
 expected lifespan
 time to launch (speed to market)

defined
other considerations
a look back
 ease of customization
market leaders
 existing hosting infrastructure
other systems
 need to integrate legacy applications
selection criteria
 SEO needs
TCO
 design & development budget
 total cost of ownership

defined
who does what well?
a look back
 Community Site: Drupal, Joomla!
market leaders
 Document Management: Alfresco, Plone
other systems
 eCommerce: ezPublish, Joomla!, Drupal,
selection criteria
Magento
TCO
 Intranet: Drupal, Joomla!, Plone
 Marketing Site: Joomla!, WordPress
 Corporate Portal: J Boss Portal, Liferay, Plone
 Web 2.0: Drupal

defined
so, what CMS is right for you?
a look back
The answer: It depends.
market leaders
other systems  What do you need it to do?
selection criteria
 What skillsets do you possess?
TCO
 What platform are you currently using?
 Is legacy system integration required?
 What level of business risk can you tolerate?

defined
is open source right for you?
a look back
 There is a cost advantage.
market leaders
 A typical 10 seat installation from a popular proprietary
other systems vendor will cost $17,500. A parallel Open Source
solution will cost $7,500.
selection criteria
 The cost of implementing an open source portal is 1/2 to
TCO 1/3 that of closed source.
 Open Source can be vendor agnostic.
 Open Source presents less risk.
 Many eyes make for more secure applications.
 Open Source produces patches at an extremely fast
rate.
 Open Source is easy to install, configure and
customize.
 Open Source promises more rapid innovation.

defined
how to calculate TCO?
a look back
 Development Costs
market leaders
 site design
other systems  consulting
selection criteria  development (largely a function of the amount of
TCO customization required)
 content loading
 translation
 Ongoing expenses
 hosting
 domains
 maintenance (patches / upgrades)
 content management team

defined
how to get support?
a look back
 Community-backed systems do not offer formal
market leaders
support mechanisms. Your options are:
other systems
selection criteria  vendor support
 books
TCO
 online documentation
 forums
 mailing lists
 chat
 In this area, corporate backed projects enjoy a
clear advantage.

Ric Shreves
Thank you for attending.
Web: www.WaterAndStone.com
eMail: ric@waterandstone.com