Articles - Page 193

The Top 10 AI Tools for Small Business: From Automation to a Coordinated Team of AI Agents

matt-garrepy

During the recent CMS Critic North American Tour, Mike Johnston had the chance to sit down with Sean Schroeder and Matt Levine of the <a href="http://www.getmura.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Mura CMS</a> team.
Mura CMS is built with one focused purpose in mind – to make it easier and faster for people to build and maintain even the most ambitious websites. Whether you need to do something as simple as adding a news release or as complex as integrating website data with an enterprise CRM system, Mura CMS provides a clear and complete toolkit.
Notably, the platform was recently crowned winner of the <a href="/2014-best-enterprise-cms-other-langs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 2014 People's Choice award for Best Enterprise CMS (Other Languages)</a>.
To get to know Mura CMS, check the aforementioned interview below.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wDoMQpROFSw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
This interview kicks off yet another featured week here at CMS Critic, with Mura CMS under the spotlight. So, stick around for more coverage,
To find out more about Mura CMS, <a href="http://www.getmura.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">visit their website</a> or check them out through our <a href="/products/mura-cms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CMS Directory</a>.

CMS Critic Interviews Sean Schroeder & Matt Levine of Mura CMS

mike-johnston

To round off our featured week with <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/http://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Agility CMS</a>, I’m taking a look at the company’s focus on its relationships with customers.
Agility CMS serves up cloud-based digital content management solutions for leading brands across the world.
Previously, Mike Johnston was able to <a href="/cms-critic-interviews-jonathan-voigt-of-agility-cms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interview the Founder of Agility, Jonathan Voigt</a>, before being given a <a href="/agility-cms-walkthrough-video-with-cms-critic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sneak peek at the latest Agility project</a> due to be released later in 2015.
I then personally shone some light on the company’s <a href="/fun-fitness-community-outreach-why-working-at-agility-cms-looks-truly-awesome/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fun-loving and charitable culture</a>, before exploring Agility’s stance on CMS <a href="/why-agility-cms-doesnt-partake-in-feature-bloating/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“feature bloating”</a>.
For now though, it’s back to Agility’s client-centric approach.
<h2>That Personal Touch</h2>
<blockquote>“We try to add that personal touch to each interaction. Time and time again, our customers rank support high on the list of our best attributes.”</blockquote>
That’s the way Agility chooses to present itself. A content management system that actually personalises its approach for each client.
During his recent interview with Mike Johnston, Agility’s CEO and Founder Jonathan Voigt echoed this sentiment:
<blockquote>“We’re very customer centric. We work very closely with our customers to understand what their needs are, doing content architecture properly with them, and making sure that the system is configured properly.
A lot of CMS vendors will give [this job] to partners or just let you go with it, but the CMS is only as good as the implementation.”</blockquote>
Admirably though, there’s more substance to this claim than mere words. A quick look at a selection of Agility’s case studies reveal just how tailored their approaches can be.
First of all, let’s take a look at the work Agility did with Compass Group Canada. The project required complex dining plans, locations, menus, calendars, online ordering, social media integration, and more.
Yet the outcome was a resounding success thanks to Agility’s close assistance.
Another example lies in Agility’s involvement with Cineplex Entertainment. This project required Agility to exercise its technical abilities, with the website in question requiring better performance levels, scalability and language support.
Agility delivered through, giving Cineplex the ability to handle more traffic, and manage content is a more effective fashion.
<h2>Leading With Service &amp; Building Trusting Relationships</h2>
I also managed to ask Agility’s Head of Client Strategy, Brian Chung, some questions about the way Agility deals with each client.
He expanded on the way Agility feels about itself as a service provider, as well as a CMS:
What is Agility's number one aim when it comes to working with a new client?
Agility is founded upon core values important to our success – a couple of these being: Leading with Service and Building Trusting Relationships.
So with those core values driving the vision, our number one goal, really, is around being the best at Customer Satisfaction when it comes to working with new clients.
When it comes to supporting clients, how is Agility different from its competitors?
Realizing that we are competing within a fairly mature industry, it is key to have a competitive differentiator.
Many of our customers require customized solutions to meet their very specific needs, and Agility offers unparalleled support in helping each customer get the most out of their instances – from the very beginning of a project with wireframing, architecture, development, training and more.
We continue to work with customers well after a site launches and maintain strong relationships with them to help their solutions evolve.
To find out more about Agility CMS, <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">visit their website</a>, or check them out through our <a href="/products/agility-cms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CMS Directory</a>.

A Look At Agility CMS' Focus On Customer Relationships

After an <a href="/cms-critic-interviews-jonathan-voigt-of-agility-cms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interview with Jonathan Voigt</a>, our featured week with <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Agility CMS</a> is in motion.
The interview took place when Mike Johnston stopped by the Agility headquarters in Toronto, where Mr Voigt also made time to take Mike through a sneak peek of Agility CMS' latest project — including a brand new UI never publicly seen before.
If you're unfamiliar with Agility CMS, or if you're simply interested in what's in store with their latest upcoming release, then this video is for you.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UCn3zKfh0Zg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
To find out more about Agility CMS, <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">visit their website</a>, or check them out through our <a href="/products/agility-cms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CMS Directory</a>.

Agility CMS: A Sneak Peek Walkthrough Video with CMS Critic

In this video, Svetla Yankova, Product Marketing Manager for Telerik Sitefinity shows Mike Johnston of CMS Critic (https://www.cmscritic.com) through the product and answers his questions while demonstrating the powerful new features that are included with this release.
https://youtu.be/PC2GfuKt1ZQ
For those who are unfamiliar with Sitefinity, this video really covers the product well. Tune in for all of the details on this great release!
For more details on Sitefinity visit <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/products/sitefinity">https://www.cmscritic.com/products/sitefinity</a> or visit them on the web at <a href="https://www.sitefinity.com/">http://www.sitefinity.com/</a>

Telerik Sitefinity Walkthrough Video with CMS Critic

As part of the ongoing CMS tour, I've been visiting vendors throughout the US, Canada and (soon) Europe.  During my recent trip to California, I had an opportunity to touch base with the fine folks at Telerik.
In this video interview, I chat with Director of Product Marketing for Telerik Sitefinity, Robert Mattson about their recent acquisition by Progress Software, Sitefinity CMS and more. 
https://youtu.be/fR7vf7ZUEnM
Learn more about Sitefinity here: <a href="http://www.sitefinity.com/web-content-management">http://www.sitefinity.com/web-content-management</a><a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/products/evoq-content?utm_source=cmscritic-article-april-2015&amp;utm_campaign=cmscritic-april-2015"> </a>

CMS Critic interviews Robert Mattson of Telerik Sitefinity

During my recent visit to the DNN Software office in San Mateo, California, I took some time to sit down and have a chat with CEO Navin Nagiah. Topics discussed include the recent release of Evoq 8, expectations for the future, his thoughts on customer experience management and more. What's funny about this interview is that there was a spot during the interview where I had a great question ready to go but ended up getting too wrapped up in what he was saying and completely blanked. We had to pause filming so I could get refocused. Watch for the transition to see where that happened. Interestingly enough, that's never happened before so kudos to Navin for being too interesting ;).
Check out the video below:
https://youtu.be/CJEv0_LiqII
Learn more about DNN Evoq 8 here: <a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/products/evoq-content?utm_source=cmscritic-article-april-2015&amp;utm_campaign=cmscritic-april-2015">http://www.dnnsoftware.com/products/evoq-content</a>

Mike Interviews Navin Nagiah, CEO of DNN Software (Video)

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They're calling it, “the world's most advanced website editor”. 
<a href="https://pagecloud.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PageCloud</a>, which is due to launch later in 2015, has secured $2.2m in seed funding. It claims to transform any browser and any machine into a website editor. Users can login and make spot edits or create a new page in seconds, live in real-time.
The Ontario based platform works with existing web apps like Mailchimp, Shopify, Magento, PayPal, Google, Vimeo, Volusion, Eventbrite and more. 
Here's an introductory video to give you a taste of PageCloud.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IvMA1w9NeAs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Here's an overview of what PageCloud is offering:
<ul>
<li>A browser-based editor usable from any machine, that lets you simply hit ‘edit’ and make spot changes to any page you control in seconds </li>
<li>Complete integration with all your favorite desktop apps, even though this is a natively cloud-based application </li>
<li>Never before seen levels of desktop usability, with popular desktop features that have never fully made it to popular Web apps, such as: copy and paste across apps, undo/redo, page layout tools that outperforms desktop publishing apps in features and performance </li>
<li>A long awaited seamless solution to building custom font support into a user’s workflow that doesn’t rely on code </li>
<li>Complete integration with popular graphics tools such as Photoshop (™) and Illustrator (™) </li>
<li>Easy integration with e-commerce and all other Web-based widgets </li>
<li>Complete code-level extensibility for developers </li>
<li>The ability to use any page on the Web as a creative starting point</li>
</ul>
PageCloud's CEO and founder Craig Fitzpatrick had this to say regarding the news:
<blockquote>
“Existing website publishing apps require coding skills to manipulate content beyond just filling the blanks of a rigid pre-built template. The launch of this  advanced technology represents a dramatic shift in Web design, as it’s the first to deliver this professional level of desktop publishing experience to the Web.
Designers, many of whom have limited coding experience, can now go right from Photoshop to the Web with no programming required as they can simply copy and paste layers directly onto their pages and sites.” 
</blockquote>
Should PageCloud deliver on what they're promising, there's no doubt that their platform will be a game changer. Website building could finally take that extra step towards true accessibility — which is something I mentioned in my recent roundup of what I'd like to see from the world of CMS in 2015.
To find out more about PageCloud, <a href="https://pagecloud.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">check out their website</a>.

PageCloud, "The World’s Most Advanced Website Editor", Secures Funding For Launch

eCommerce solution <a href="https://www.avactis.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Avactis</a> has released the latest version of AvactisNext.
Avactis allows you to launch a cloud-hosted online store, and also gives you the option to download and self-host their software. The platform also integrates nicely with Facebook and existing websites. Signing up with Avactis gives users free access to its themes, plugins, and language packs. Let's take a look at what's new with AvactisNext 4.7.4.
Responsive Email Notification: All the email notifications that customers receive will now be totally responsive.
Ajax Filter: Users can now filter the extensions as purchased, free, and premium on your manage extensions page in the admin area without reloading the page.
Page Layouts: Page layouts have been enhanced at the manage extensions page
To find out more about AvactisNext 4.7.4, check out the <a href="https://www.avactis.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">official blog announcement</a>.
And of course, you can explore more of Avactis through our CMS Directory.

AvactisNext 4.7.4 Released

This year, CMS Critic is doing something that has never before been done in the industry. We're touring both North America and Europe to meet with interested vendors to learn (and share) about their products and the people behind them.
<h3>For our audience:</h3>
We'll be giving you a unique behind the scenes look at some of the top content management companies in the world at what (and who) makes these companies tick and is something you can only find right here.
<h3>For interested vendors:</h3>
While I'd love to spill the beans right here and now, this is a very unique offering and I'd hate to steal the thunder from the companies who are participating. Let's just say that this is what CMS Critic is known for, giving you material that you can't find anywhere else.
We've almost sold out completely in California but have a couple of spots that can be made available for interested vendors. We'll also be touring the East Coast before heading over to Europe for the European portion of our tour.
Piqued your interest? If I haven't contacted you already, then please drop me a note to mike@www.cmscritic.com for details.

CMS Critic is Touring North America and Europe this Year.

<a href="http://www.oxwall.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oxwall</a>, the popular social networking platform, has released a very interesting statement via their blog, identifying their, “key directions and objectives for this year”.
In my <a href="/cms-in-2015-what-we-want-to-see/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent article regarding what the CMS world needs to see more of in 2015</a>, I discussed how a social networking CMS needed to step up. Perhaps, starting with this announcement, Oxwall will be the platform to do it.
Oxwall is free and open-source and available to anybody who wishes to self host. <a href="http://wall.fm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wall.fm</a> on the other hand, is the hosted version of the platform.
Here is what Oxwall will be paying close attention to throughout 2015, as seen on their blog:
<blockquote>
<h3>CMS &amp; Interface Changes</h3>
Content management has always been an underdeveloped part of Oxwall. We’ve been busy with making Oxwall better in social aspects (it’s a social network product after all), but because of that some basic tools that any website requires (like CMS) went overlooked.
Having received fair criticism for that, we’ve developed our vision for content management in Oxwall’s next iteration. Together with that we refine existing interfaces and rethink some basic assumptions in the product, and how they match real life usage patterns.
This is going to be a series of releases spreading the new paradigm across the product and leaving plenty of time for user and developer adoption. Details will be gradually introduced in our Dev Diary column and beta release announcements.
<h3>Mobile </h3>
Pocket version of Oxwall has been around for some time but it still lacks important features. We will be working on that front since a lot of people now use phones instead of desktops/tablets, even if Oxwall is not especially accommodating for that. We laid solid foundation for the small screen version of Oxwall but haven’t been active on feature development side yet. This will change.
To reiterate, we think that the “pocket” version of Oxwall (the one adapted for phones) differs from the desktop/tablet primarily by usage patterns, let alone obvious input/output characteristics. That’s why we made a decision to essentially build two products instead of one, so now we have to catch up in the mobile part.
<h3>Documentation &amp; Test Coverage</h3>
More news coming to the Oxwall developers camp. This year we finally start covering code with tests and we’ll be working on better documentation. Right now third party developers mostly rely on the existing plugins to build their own ones. To create systematic approach to developing plugins we have to step up our game in the essential technical aspects. These works are to be launched together with the new development cycle.</blockquote>
For me, all of the above points raised by Oxwall are hugely encouraging. I personally see the social networking CMS sector to be a rather stagnant one, so hopefully this announcement will not only spark the beginning of a newly invented Oxwall, but also inspire other platforms to improve, too.
Oxwall users were equally excited about this announcement in the comments section of the blog post.
To see those comments, and to find out more about Oxwall's plans, <a href="http://blog.oxwall.org/2015/02/oxwall-2015" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">check out their blog announcement</a>.
Also, you can explore more of <a href="/products/oxwall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oxwall via our CMS Directory</a>.

Oxwall Reveals New Focus On Interface & Mobile Going Into 2015

The latest version of BuddyPress, the popular WordPress social network and community building plugin, has been released.
WordPress names its updates after Jazz musicians, but BuddyPress has the honour of having its updates named after eateries located in the New York vicinity. “Spumoni” then, is actually short for <a href="http://www.spumonigardens.com/">L&amp;B Spumoni Gardens</a>, a pizzeria located in Brooklyn.
BuddyPress 2.2 brings about a number of enhancements to the previous version, <a href="/buddypress-2.1-patsy-released/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BuddyPress 2.1 “Patsy”</a>. From what can be seen from the feature highlights though, it seems BuddyPress 2.2 is geared more towards the developers behind BuddyPress-powered communities, rather than the average user.
Here are those highlights.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/developer/member-types/">Member types</a> will allow developers to register different types of users.</li>
<li><a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/plugindev/post-types-activities/">Post type activities</a> will allow developers to connect custom post types to activity stream items.</li>
<li>Improvements to the Legacy template pack.</li>
<li>Several new query API’s (based on WordPress improvements) for retrieving exactly the results you’re looking for.</li>
<li>Continued cache enhancements, particularly for multi-site and multi-network WordPress configurations.</li>
<li>Improved Group invitations UI.</li>
<li>Tons of under-the-hood improvements.</li>
<li>Increased coverage of inline code documentation, actions, &amp; filters.</li>
</ul>
To read through the full list of BuddyPress 2.2 features, <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-2-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">check out the release notes</a>.
The initial announcement was made on the <a href="https://buddypress.org/2015/02/buddypress-2-2-spumoni/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BuddyPress blog</a>.
And as always, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/buddypress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BuddyPress via our CMS Directory</a>.

BuddyPress 2.2 "Spumoni" Released

TYPO3 has released a new version of its latest product, <a href="http://neos.typo3.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Neos</a>.
Just a few days after the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/faster-cleaner-typo3-cms-7-released/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">release of TYPO3 CMS 7</a>, the Swiss platform's community has come together to release of Neos 1.2.
Neos' newly implemented functions will help make the everyday work of editors and developers much easier. For example, the Open Source Content Management System (CMS) can now be operated a lot more intuitively.
<h2>Improvements for Editors &amp; Developers</h2>
Neos 1.2 is geared toward the needs and wishes of editors and developers, no matter whether they use a PC or a tablet. The perspective of the target audience can also be understood at all times because all contents can be viewed and worked on in a channel-specific manner.
As with the previous versions, Neos relies on working on the contents directly inside the display, therefore the editor is immediately able to see all of the changes that have been made in the corrected layout. The many minor and major improvements that have been made to the working environment for the content manager, which together define a new standard for quality in this main area of digital marketing are new in version 1.2.
Here's what editors can expect to benefit from:
<ul>
<li>Easier linking of contents and pages</li>
<li>New shortcut types, including links to social media channels</li>
<li>The right documents are displayed in the right places</li>
<li>Automatic review and display of access rights</li>
<li>Re-log in dialogue shows the contents that were worked on most recently after the password is entered again</li>
<li>Content that can be used multiple times</li>
<li>Longer texts can be worked on more easily</li>
<li>Pages can be selected manually and user-defined menus can be created</li>
<li>Improvements to the publishing button</li>
<li>Optimized inspector</li>
</ul>
Also, developers can look forward to the following:
<ul>
<li>Improved HTML Editor supports various formats such as CSS or Java Script</li>
<li>NodeURI TS: Easy links from TypoScript to Nodes</li>
<li>HTTP Header: Changes in the HTTP Header from TypoScript</li>
<li>Image TS: Rendering of images and image URI development from TypoScript</li>
<li>@if: Conditions on TypoScript buttons/objects</li>
<li>Configuration module: Review of various types of configurations and display of validation errors</li>
<li>Improved import and export of websites</li>
</ul>
Although Neos 1.2 is a sizable update within itself, it also paves the way for the upcoming version 1.3 — which is already available as a preview.
Version 1.3 (planned for the spring of 2015) will being a slew of innovations, particularly in the areas administration of rolls and rights, cloud capability, integration of Google Analytics, SEO optimization, multiple languages and a localized back end.
Neos 1.2 is available for download <a href="http://neos.typo3.org/download.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">right here</a>. To find out more about Neos, <a href="http://neos.typo3.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">check out the official website</a>.<a href="http://neos.typo3.org/download.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 
</a>
You can also explore more of TYPO3 Neos via our CMS Directory.

TYPO3 Releases Neos 1.2

eZ Systems has announced the release of version 5.4 of their enterprise content management system, eZ Publish. According to the release notes, 5.4 introduces several new features which makes it easier to use, faster to develop on and also continues to improve performance.
Like earlier 5.x releases for this release the developers have heavily contributed to existing projects in the Symfony ecosystem to bundle powerful components under the hood which together takes extensibility in eZ Publish Platform to a new level.
 Here are some of the major highlights regarding the release: 
<ul>
<li>
eZ Publish Platform 5.4 brings 28 new features, 45 improvements, and 184 bug fixes that were present in 5.3 or lower. Release notes are <a href="https://doc.ez.no/display/EZP/5.4+Release+Notes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> available here </a> .
</li>
<li>
A new Cluster System, inspired from the previous cluster system that has now been ported to the new architecture based on Symfony. This offers much more extensibility and also make it much simpler of use.
</li>
<li>
A new native images and binary I/O system based on the new architecture and without legacy dependence.
</li>
<li>
Out of the box native support for Varnish HTTP cache system.
</li>
<li>
New possibilities to deploy images in a cloud infrastructure like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or to use dedicated and highly optimized web servers for the delivery of images and rich media.
</li>
<li>
Out of the box premium content controlled access based on roles and permissions.
</li>
<li>
Many other new platform level features such as a new image alias system, an improved HTTP cache system, dynamic settings injection, url decorators and more.
</li>
<li>
eZ Publish Platform 5.4 is the last of the 5.x generation and will be available for long-term extended support up to fall 2019.
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
“We are excited for developers to get their hands on the latest version. We believe that eZ Publish Platform 5.4 is our most stable and most powerful version to date. We also would like to thank the many contributors that help us to create quality open source commercial CMS software, this is a great foundation for the future eZ Platform.” – Aleksander Farstad, Co-founder and CEO
</blockquote>
Why upgrade?
<ul>
<li>
The release significantly improves developer experience thanks to a system that relies very little on the old legacy system. For developers, this makes 5.4 more agile and more powerful than before thanks to the Symfony framework.
</li>
<li>
eZ Publish Platform 5.4 makes it easy for Symfony users to use and integrate with other Symfony projects.
</li>
<li>
The release makes it easier for newcomers to eZ to learn the new platform.
</li>
<li>
eZ Publish Platform 5.4 makes it easy for current eZ developers to move to the new stack and take advantage of all its benefits.
</li>
<li>
With 5.4, there is now a standard way to implement the management and delivery of premium content, a clear case where content really means business. You can promote your premium content to all your readers and deliver it in its full version only to the subscribers that have the right permissions for it, whether it’s based on a subscription or on any other mechanism.
</li>
</ul>
To find out everything about this new release, check out their brochure which covers the changes and enhancements in detail. You can find it here: <a href="http://ez.no/content/download/22784/440859/version/2/file/eZ+Publish+Platform+5.4+brochure.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">5.4 brochure</a>.

eZ Publish Releases version 5.4 of their flagship CMS

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