Articles - Page 203

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

matt-garrepy

One of the best things about SharePoint is its name. The moniker suggest a friendly place where people can gather, work, and say to themselves, “a good time was had by all.” If the greatest thing going for a software is its name, then it probably has some shortcomings elsewhere. SharePoint has shortcomings, and in the rough-and-tumble world of collaborative web applications, SharePoint has received more than its fair share of criticisms. Let's find out what these shortcomings are, and maybe what we, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, can do about it.

What are SharePoint's shortcomings? To answer that question, we'll ask a less biased question — what is SharePoint anyway? There are three main promises that SharePoint has made about itself. We'll consider each of these, and uncover how it may not have completely fulfilled its promises on all three fronts.
<h2>1.  SharePoint is everything.</h2>
SharePoint is allegedly everything that you could have ever wanted — at least that's how it was described in its infancy by Jeff Teper. Teper, “the father of SharePoint” sold the product on the promise that it would integrate everything — doc management, CMS, intranet, sharing, blogs, etc. — into a ginormous silver bullet. It's been called the “all-in-one collaboration and communication server” by one <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/meet-the-father-of-microsoft-sharepoint-jeff-teper/4299" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">organization</a>. Teper preferred to <a href="http://creese.typepad.com/pattern_finder/2009/10/quotes-from-the-sharepoint-conference-keynote.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">describe it</a> as the “ultimate Swiss Army Knife.”  Swiss Army Knives are great, precisely because they can do everything. That's precisely the point (no pun intended):  SharePoint can do everything!
SharePoint's Wikipedia entry tries to make sense of it all with its descriptions, an unending stream of functionality:  “SharePoint can be used to provide intranet portals, document &amp; file management, collaboration, social networks, extranets, websites, enterprise search, and business intelligence. It also has system integration, process integration, and workflow automation capabilities…central management, governance, and security controls,” and more.
Let's see…did they miss anything?
Unfortunately, a system that promises to be and do everything will probably not be and do all of those tasks with the highest degree of competency. When users discover that SharePoint doesn't execute what they were hoping it would, they may choose to use something else. A further concern is that the multifaceted features of the tool become buried in an overwhelming array of knives, tools, bottle openers, and awls, making it difficult to determine what to use — or how, or when to use them.
Sometimes, a product that promises to be everything ends up being nothing. When a product aspires to be so many things, it loses the power of  a single selling point.
<h2>2.  SharePoint is “simple, simple, simple.”</h2>
When SharePoint developers became concerned that people wouldn't understand how simple SharePoint was, they decided to describe it as “simple, simple, simple.” So, its simple.
Or is it?
Teper himself admitted in a retrospective mourn, “We may have oversold how simple SharePoint was to deploy.” And that's another shortcoming of an end-all system. When you describe a product as “simple,” and it ends up looking like a do-it-yourself home helicopter kit without the instruction manual, you're going to disappoint a lot of people. In order for a system to gain a loyal tribe, it must have a slick UI, intuitive purpose, and deliver quick solutions to obvious needs. Instead of fulfilling its prophecy for simplicity, SharePoint became “quite ambitious and complex.”
Information workers are a fairly intelligent group of people, but we want things to be simple enough to use without having to take night classes. Climbing a learning curve is something we don't mind doing, but we'd rather not do it at all. When SharePoint releases multiple versions and expansions, trying to make sense of itself, it loses touch with its user group who is left in the lurch of its latest not-so-simple iteration. Keep in mind that not everyone using SharePoint is tech-savvy. When non-tech user meets teched-up SharePoint, the relationship can get a bit awkward.
<h2>3.  SharePoint is collaboration.</h2>
Just about everyone thought that SharePoint was a collaboration platform. Hence the name. Yet it is also a content-driven system. That's the problem. Collaboration and content don't dance together very well. Forrester provided their perspective on the system's collaboration capability:  It is “SharePoint's least successful workload.”
Collaboration is crucial, and if a system lags in this department, it's a huge downer. SharePoint's oft-touted collaboration power is not much more than a newsfeed. As we reported recently, the majority of SharePoint users are stymied by the system's <a href="/microsoft-sharepoint-research-highlights-gaps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inability to deliver satisfactorily</a> on this front.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
Lest this article degenerate into a SharePoint bash fest, let's back up and admire its strong points. There are a few. And, true, many organizations have profited from it. Many businesses continue to use and value SharePoint for its advanced technologies and tools.
It's come to the point, however, that we need to realize that a unified source for everything may no longer be the most realistic and practical way to go about performing operations. It sounds nice, sure, but is it for real? Is SharePoint going to last? More and more collaborative platforms, CMSs, and powerful platforms have filled the marketplace. Is there still enough room for SharePoint to live on as the dominate force?
Like it or loathe it, SharePoint's market share is big enough to mean that it's not going to fade into oblivion in the next few years. Yes, it <a href="/is-sharepoint-going-away/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">might be on the decline</a>, but we still get to use it for a while.
So, in the meantime, lets try to utilize SharePoint correctly and capitalize on the strengths that it does possess.

SharePoint's Shortcomings

daniel-threlfall

Telerik’s Web Content Management (WCM) platform, Sitefinity, has announced the release of the 6.0 edition. With this release, Sitefinity becomes the first platform that allows business users to take advantage of all three mobile development strategies—Responsive Web Design, mobile websites, and mobile apps. Business users can now deliver the right mobile presence optimized for multiple devices directly from one user interface.
Sitefinity 6.0 offers a one platform approach to mobile. This is critical because as business needs evolve, WCM platforms must be agile to quickly respond to changing market opportunities. By providing a single platform to address all mobile options, enterprises can use Sitefinity to mix and match mobile approaches as much as they like without having to scrap existing work to start over.
Access to unique Telerik technology gives Sitefinity mobile capabilities no other Web Content Management platform can offer. Sitefinity enables organizations to execute on any mobile strategy, yet still respond to future developments. With the ever changing mobile landscape, choice and flexibility are essential to ensure public-facing content stays relevant and ahead of the competition. In this, Sitefinity delivers.
Beyond advancements in mobile with the addition of a Mobile App Builder and improvements to Responsive Web Design elements, Sitefinity customers can now effortlessly surface SharePoint assets to mobile devices via the Sitefinity Connector for SharePoint.
The Sitefinity Connector for SharePoint is a two-way connector between Sitefinity and SharePoint which allows digital assets to be edited and synced from both ends. The connection enables the content authoring experience, page design flexibility and comprehensive solution to mobile content delivery of Sitefinity to be made available for SharePoint assets without disrupting existing processes and infrastructure.
Hybrid-Cloud is newly available from Telerik, enabling Sitefinity administrators to securely expose internal business data living in various systems to mobile devices. Users can choose what internal data to expose to the cloud and keeping the rest behind their firewall, minimizing worry around VPN connections or hosting infrastructure. Hybird-Cloud Services uses a non-relational database built for speed and scalability to maximize mobile app performance. RESTful web services result in less traffic and lightning fast mobile apps. All this comes with effortless –and automatic–syncing with your Sitefinity website.
In addition, Sitefinity 6.0 offers enhancements to many features, including SiteSync, Ecommerce, and more, to help our customers power their business success.
Interested in trying it out? Give it a test drive with the <a href="http://www.sitefinity.com/try-now">Sitefinity Demo</a>

Complete Mobile Strategies Now Possible with Release of Telerik Sitefinity 6.0

mike-johnston

Microsoft SharePoint has emerged as the gateway to the mass of stored enterprise information that organizations around the world rely on to conduct business each day, but there are areas in which its capabilities need to be augmented by additional applications – particularly for metadata management and automatic classification – according to new research.
A new <a href="http://www.smartlogic.com/home/knowledge-zone">whitepaper</a> from content intelligence software provider Smartlogic shows that the majority of information professionals in the US and Europe are disillusioned with SharePoint, but the report also explores solutions that could radically improve the performance of the workflow and content management application. The Smartlogic whitepaper, entitled Filling the Gaps, pulls together independent findings from recent studies by MindMetre Research and Gartner.
In the paper, Smartlogic chief executive Jeremy Bentley draws on the results of a survey of more than 500 information professionals by MindMetre, which found that more 53% of the respondents use Microsoft SharePoint to access internal information within their organization. However, the study also reveals that ‘findability’ could be an issue with the platform, as 80% of the SharePoint users surveyed say the application is falling short of their and their colleagues’ expectations when it comes to enterprise search – with 34% saying it is doing so by a considerable margin.
Bentley says in the report: “This, in turn, is leading to dissatisfaction with return on investment in SharePoint, with 62% reporting a degree of disillusionment with the ROI that the platform has delivered, due to the fact that some important content is still difficult to find and search results are not sufficiently relevant.”
MindMetre also found that 76% of SharePoint users surveyed see the elimination of work duplication is the one of the major goals they are trying to achieve with the application, but even more – 78% – are disappointed with the platform’s ability to deliver satisfactory access to internal information.
Discussing the significance of the whitepaper findings, Bentley notes: “At a time when organizations across the globe face continued economic uncertainty, improving returns on investment by better leveraging information assets is essential. The big challenge for the vast majority of enterprises is harnessing the information they have available and making it findable for staff, partners, clients, investors, regulators and other stakeholders.”
The Smartlogic whitepaper also draws on recent research from Gartner that identifies significant functional gaps in SharePoint that can be addressed with the installation of additional tools – particularly those that impact search performance. Specific functions flagged up in the Gartner report as areas in which SharePoint’s performance could be enhanced include the “mass-tagging of content and ingestion of existing content” and the “management of taxonomies and structures”.
“While SharePoint supports many crucial information applications, this report demonstrates that enhancing its functionality in the area of ‘findability’ can be of vital benefit to enterprises,” Bentley says. “Solutions are available that can be implemented alongside SharePoint to infuse it with ‘content intelligence’, enabling more precise and rapid retrieval of information.”
He adds: “By providing accurate and consistent auto-classification and visualization capabilities, as well as enterprise grade taxonomy and ontology management, these applications filter out extraneous documents and ensure that content is placed in context, enabling organizations to access, describe and control unstructured enterprise information.”
You can download this free whitepaper from here: <a href="http://www.smartlogic.com/home/knowledge-zone">Smartlogic whitepaper</a>

Microsoft SharePoint emerging as CMS platform of choice but new research highlights  ‘gaps’ that information professionals seek to fill

Joomla today announced the immediate availability of Joomla 3.1. The biggest feature of Joomla 3.1 is Tags, a built-in tagging system that allows dynamic tagging across content-types. Tags hasn’t been created for articles only, but rather Joomla integrated tagging into other areas of its core that made sense (e.g. contacts, feeds, etc). For example, Tags allow end-users to create lists, blogs, or other layouts that combine articles with other content types any way they like. These tags can be dynamically created from the content, without having to navigate to the Tags component, thus bringing both power and simplicity.
<blockquote>
“With Joomla 3.1, the most important new feature is definitely the support of tags,” said Paul Orwig, president of Open Source Matters, a non-profit created to provide organization, legal and financial support to the Joomla project. “Tags have previously been available through third party extensions, but for 3.1 we are adding them to the core. This will make it easier for third party extensions to integrate with them. Another underlying benefit is that the way the code has been written to support tags will lay the foundation for future enhancements for how Joomla content can be displayed with much more flexibility”
</blockquote>
Along with the new Tags feature, the Joomla 3.X series offers the following major features:
<ul>
<li>Mobile-ready. Joomla is the first and only major CMS that is fully responsive. It has a responsive site template, responsive admin UI, responsive core output, and it provides developers tools to make their extensions responsive</li>
<li>Customizable access control</li>
<li>User friendly interface</li>
<li>Streamlined 30 second install</li>
<li>One-click upgrades with backward compatibility, so that a site continues working seamlessly</li>
<li>Built-in multilingual capabilities. Again, the first and only major CMS that has such a feature</li>
<li>For developers, the Joomla User Interface (JUI) library gives a standardized backend &amp; frontend interface</li>
</ul>
Joomla 3.1 is truly a collaborative community-driven software project developed with the feedback gathered from more than 2.7 million Joomla forum posts, nearly 605,000 Joomla forum members and data from more than 6,100 Joomla extensions. To download Joomla 3.1, go to <a href="http://www.joomla.org/download.html">http://www.joomla.org/download.html</a>

Joomla! 3.1 Released; New Built-In Tagging System Makes Displaying and Finding Content More Dynamic

Nuxeo has announced the release of Nuxeo Mobile, now available in the Google Play store and within iTunes for Android and iOS devices.

Nuxeo Mobile is a customizable app that enables mobile access to a Nuxeo content repository, on premise or in the Cloud, from an iOS or Android device. With powerful content management features such as downloading, uploading, editing, and collaborating on content, Nuxeo Mobile offers flexibility and convenience for remote users of document management and content management applications.
For application developers and deliverers, Nuxeo Mobile also serves as a framework, with open source code, for building their own hybrid HTML5 / native mobile apps.
Key features of Nuxeo Mobile include:
<ul>
<li>Browse the Nuxeo content repository from any device (tablet or smartphone)</li>
<li>Preview content instantly within the Nuxeo app, without downloading</li>
<li>Open documents in your favorite mobile app (such as Quickoffice or iWork), edit, and save back to the Nuxeo repository</li>
<li>Upload new content, such as images, image libraries, and documents, from your mobile device</li>
<li>Collaborate with team members by adding comments, liking, and sharing content</li>
<li>Bookmark documents for quick retrieval either on the desktop or on the mobile device</li>
<li>Leverage extensive REST APIs to build business-specific logic and UIs.</li>
</ul>
Check out this video showing Nuxeo Mobile in action:
[[nuxeomobile]]
Want to learn more? Visit Nuxeo at <a href="http://www.nuxeo.com/">http://www.nuxeo.com</a>

Nuxeo releases iOS and Android App

Liferay, Inc., provider of the world's leading enterprise-class open source portal, announced today the launch of a new Ideation initiative designed to foster the development of new products and features for the Liferay Portal platform. The initiative is aimed to empower Liferay's worldwide community of users, customers and partners to better coordinate the technical resources and business requirements needed to develop new features for Liferay's products and create new apps that can be delivered through Liferay Marketplace, the company's public apps repository.
Liferay's new Ideation initiative includes the launch of a dynamic, easy-to-use dashboard of product and feature ideas and a more streamlined ideation process. In the new <a href="http://www.liferay.com/community/ideas">Ideas Dashboard</a>, community members can quickly see the most popular feature requests, champion app ideas to the community, and get a direct feed of upcoming features for Liferay products. This allows Liferay community members to actively participate in setting the direction of Liferay's products and to discover new ideas to implement for their own projects.
The dashboard also serves as a springboard for those wanting to develop apps for Liferay Marketplace. Developers can find other community members to participate in defining and developing new apps, which may not be on the company's road map, and use the Marketplace to make their apps available to the public. Liferay initially launched the Marketplace with over 70 apps and themes developed internally, and is now accepting third-party apps from its partners and community members.
“We are proud to say that Liferay from the outset has enjoyed a close relationship with its talented and dedicated community, and together we have made significant gains in raising the profile of open source software among enterprises,” said James Falkner, Liferay's Community Manager. “We hope this effort will help us better gather and put into action the innovative ideas of our community while empowering individuals to add their own unique voices to the advancement of the Liferay platform.”
Many key features in today's Liferay Portal have originated from Liferay's community, which generates thousands of feature suggestions each year and now number more than 85,000 members. Examples include Faceted Search, which debuted in Liferay Portal 6.1, and features that are now fixtures in the portal platform such as Communities, Virtual Hosts, Translations and Control Panel. With this new initiative, community members have a new way to propose and promote ideas of their own.
To contribute ideas to the Liferay community, visit the dashboard at <a href="http://www.liferay.com/community/ideas">www.liferay.com/community/ideas</a>.

Introducing Liferay's New Community Ideation Initiative

One of our readers recently made an interesting comment on one of my write-ups from the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-summit-2013-day-1-highlights/">Adobe Summit</a> that I attended this past week. The read asked “Where's the Criticism?”, which made me feel it was necessary to write this post so that the rest of our readers understand how we think and what we hope to achieve here at CMS Critic.
Our goal is not to bombard you with re-worded press releases (although admittedly, at times it's necessary to share them), but to keep our articles fun, fresh, and informative. We tend to share personal experiences alongside reporting which is why this site is considered a blog. You come here for the opinion, you get it when it's warranted.
When it comes to CMS reviews, make no mistake, we aim to be 100% unbiased in how we handle them.  We make it very clear that we will write what we think and we always aim to be brutally honest. I think, personally, that's what separates us from some of the other sites out there. Here at Critic, we like to think we bring a balanced view to the table no matter where we go or what we review. I've definitely written my share of reviews that were not necessarily positive and I'm sure I'll do the same in the future. That's part of the game and that's how we keep our reviews honest.
On the flip side of the coin, if we are invited to attend conferences by a company, we will absolutely ask the tough questions if we feel there are any that need asking but our objective when we are there is to COVER the news and share the experience with you and not to find negativity just for the sake of it. Would you like me to tell you that the food wasn't as great as last year? It wasn't, but does that really matter? Or would you prefer to just get a quick overview of the key elements of the conference and get a feel for what it's like should you choose to attend?
The latter, I believe, is more important.
Another item I'd like to add is that before most interviews or prior to question periods, I usually put a call out on Twitter to see if anyone has any questions they'd like me to ask. If I get no replies and I have no tough questions of my own, I roll with the punches.
We want this site to be as interactive as possible and we welcome any input from you as to how we can improve, what we can do, how you'd like to be involved. I think it's great that people raise points like this as they often form the basis for discussion and help us clear the air, which I think is great.
So that's what our goal is and that's how I think personally. Do you have comments or thoughts to share? I welcome them. Please offer up your comments and suggestions below. I promise to reply to each of them personally if warranted.
Thanks for reading,
Mike

Where's the Criticism?

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Today marked day one of the Digital Marketing Conference known as Adobe Summit. It kicked off with the usual fanfare and a crowd of over 5,000 people in attendance from over 27 different countries. Again this year, Brad Rencher started things off with his keynote address entitled “The Last Millisecond”.
In a nutshell, his keynote highlighted the need that all marketers have to capture and react within milliseconds in order to create individual experiences that compel consumers to act and engage with your brand.
Brad was joined on stage by Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, who reinforced Adobe's commitment to changing the way we, as digital marketers, work with their new Adobe Marketing Cloud (<a href="/adobe-kicks-off-adobe-summit-their-digital-marketing-conference/">read more about these announcements here</a>).
Rather than reiterate what was said, I'd suggest you watch the live stream here: <a href="http://summit.adobe.com/stream.html">http://summit.adobe.com/stream.html</a>
Following Mr. Narayen's address to the crowd, we were greeted with a taste of how the new Adobe Marketing Cloud makes it easier for all functional areas; from marketing to data analysts; to communicate quickly and efficiently without the need for huge delays and red tape.
For those who missed our tweets during the keynotes, here's a breakdown of the key items we, and some others, shared:[<a href="//storify.com/cmscritic/adobe-summit-keynote-highlights" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View the story “Adobe Summit Keynote Highlights” on Storify</a>]
Following the keynotes, we had an opportunity to ask questions of the Adobe Executives at a Press Q&amp;A event. Most of the questions seemed to come from analysts but we asked a few which we thought were relevant. The first of which is when can we expect to see the full suite of Adobe Marketing Cloud products generally available?
According to Brad Rencher, they are aiming to have them ready for public consumption by mid-summer and are beta testing as we speak with a number of partners and customers. Let's hope that deadline stands true and we can get our hands on this product sooner rather than later.
How long will the typical implementation last? Is it going to be faster than previous iterations of these products? Yes, says Mr. Narayen. The more we get these five solutions integrated with one another, the smoother the implementation will be and it certainly doesn't hurt that these services are all SaaS based now, which eliminates the need for deploying on customer hardware / environments.
What's next on the docket for CMS Critic today? We have the press reception to attend following by the famed Summit Bash we <a href="/the-summit-bash-at-the-adobe-digital-marketing-summit/">wrote about last year</a>. This year, we get a live concert from Grammy award-winning rockers, The Black Keys. Life is rough in SLC.. but trudge on we must…
Want to learn more about Adobe's products? Visit them online at <a href="http://www.adobe.com">http://www.adobe.com</a>

Adobe Summit 2013 - Day 1 Highlights

Sure, we could write all about the Adobe Summit (<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/adobe/">and we have</a>) but nothing speaks better than photos so we're going to share with you some of our favorites that we took at this years Summit.
Click on the pictures to get the full size. You can then view them in a slideshow if you like. Happy viewing!
[justified_image_grid ids=10041,10083,10082,10081,10080,10079,10078,10077,10076,10075,10066,10065,10064,10063,10062,10061,10060,10059,10051,10050,10049,10048,10047,10046,10045,10044]
For more on the Adobe Summit, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/adobe/">go here</a>.

Adobe Summit 2013 in Pictures

As you know, we think it's important to not just share the news but also to share the experience, so we've put together a few photos of the welcome reception that was held this evening at the 2013 <a href="http://summit.adobe.com">Adobe Summit</a> (Adobe's Digital Marketing Conference). For those who could not attend, this is for you. For those who chose not to attend, stay tuned, we'll be sure to show you all kinds of reasons you should have ?
In a nutshell, today was an excellent opportunity to mingle and meet with some of the many partners and exhibitors here at the Adobe Summit. The main conference program kicks off tomorrow morning with the keynotes and continues on through Friday.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for more from the Summit or <a href="http://twitter.com/cmscritic">follow us on Twitter</a> to get the latest updates.
As promised, here's a gallery of todays event:
[justified_image_grid ids=10044,10045,10046,10051,10050,10048,10047]

The Welcome Reception at the 2013 Adobe Summit

The Adobe Digital Marketing Summit is one of the largest (if not the largest) digital marketing summits out there and is, in my opinion, one of the best to attend if you want to stay on top of the trends happening in the industry. Adobe has become the top contender in the digital marketing arena and their products show their ability to not only stay current with customer needs but also to innovate and create new ways to position products and services.
The Digital Marketing Summit is set to be held in beautiful Salt Lake City, UT from March 4-8, 2013. If <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-kicks-off-the-digital-marketing-summit-in-style/">last years event</a> was any indication, this is going to be one heck of a conference.
<h2>Speakers</h2>
Speaking at this year's summit will be:
<h3>Felix Baumgartner</h3>
The Austrian skydiver and daredevil that set the world record for skydiving 39 kilometres reaching an estimated speed of 1,342 km per hour on the 14th of October 2012 and the first person to break the sound barrier without the assistance of vehicular power. He did this by jumping from a helium balloon in the stratosphere to Earth. This event was the most watched live broadcast ever on YouTube.
<h3>Adam Bain</h3>
Adam is the President of Global Revenue for Twitter, Inc. and former CTO of Fox Interactive Media. He is also a Director of The Advertising Council, Inc and former Director of the Interactive Advertising Bureau Inc.
<h3>John Battelle</h3>
John is an entrepreneur, journalist, professor and author. He helped launch Wired in the 1990's and launched The Industry Standard during the dot-com boom. In 2005, he founded Federated Media Publishing, now one of the top properties on the web.
<h3>Sal Khan</h3>
Sal is the founder of the Khan Academy, a non-profit with the  mission of providing free, high-quality education to  “anyone, anywhere” within the world. In 2012, Time magazine named Khan in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Amongst these speakers are a number of customer speakers who will share their success stories. A full breakdown can be found here: <a href="http://summit.adobe.com/speakers.html">Summit Speakers</a>.
The summit is comprised of two days of pre-conference training, followed by a full agenda which runs March 6-7. A full list of topics can be found here: <a href="http://summit.adobe.com/agenda.html">Summit Agenda</a>.
Following the Summit will be the infamous <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-summit-bash-at-the-adobe-digital-marketing-summit/">Summit Bash</a> with headliners, <a href="http://theblackkeys.com">The Black Keys</a>.
Need more reasons?
[media url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgc94nYA1HM” width=”600″ height=”400″]
Check out the <a href="http://summit.adobe.com">Summit website</a> for more details and if you are attending, see you there!

What You Can Expect from the Adobe Digital Marketing Summit 2013

Which is better — an open-source CMS or a proprietary CMS?
We're going to tip our hand here at the start by admitting that the question is unanswerable. The answer depends on who you are and why you're asking. This is sort of like the question, “What's better — chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream?” There's no right answer. It all depends on whom you're asking. Unfortunately, the open vs. closed debate engenders more negative emotions than choosing ice cream flavors.
With the preceding caveat in mind, we cautiously suggest that an open-source CMS is usually better for most. If you're deliberating over a CMS right now, or just want to get some insight on the open-source question, there are some considerations you should keep in mind. From white papers, to blog articles, to coffee-house conversations, the following six issues usually arise in the closed vs. open question:
<ol>
<li>Stability:  Is the CMS stable? Will it last for the long-term?</li>
<li>Support:  Can I get the help I need?</li>
<li>Cost:  What's it going to cost me?</li>
<li>Flexibility:  Can I move it, change it, or tweak it?</li>
<li>Security:  Will my sensitive material be safe?</li>
<li>Usability:  How difficult or easy is the CMS to work with?</li>
</ol>
Let's walk through each of these questions, introduce some facts, and come away with some answers.
<h2>Stability</h2>
Some of the opponents to an open-source CMS claim that open source systems are not stable. Stability is really important, of course, If you're a design or hosting agency, you want to provide your clients with rock-solid assurance that you've got their back. Though counterintuitive, an open-source system is usually stabler than a proprietary system. If the single company managing the proprietary system goes under, what then? An open-source CMS, on the other hand, has a life of its own. No one entity owns it. Thus, there will always (presumably) be a support network and stable foundation upon which it can exist. The community is the stability. Thus, if you are opting for an open-source CMS, select one with a large existing community. The best way to future-proof your web presence is to go with something with a huge root system.
<h2>Support</h2>
A survey of the marketing techniques of proprietary CMS providers shows one major feature:  They sell support. Far and away, what you're purchasing with those sky-high fees is not necessarily the CMS. It's the support — or at least the promise that you'll have it if you need it. Support is a critical factor, but keep in mind that an open-source CMS is not without its support network. In fact, it can be a lot easier to get the help you need through the vast community of open-source users who are huddled on forums, Google hangouts, and Facebook groups. Open-source platforms somehow breed a sense of loving loyalty that compels one user to help another user in need. Maybe there's no 800 number, but there sure are a heck of a lot of forums.
<h2>Cost</h2>
A commercial CMS can cost tens of thousands each year in licensing fees. No joke. For a small business, the cost can be just way too much to put up. Of course, no one is saying that it's free to implement an open-source system, but it is usually cheaper. Way cheaper. In the open-source world, instead of relying on capital to fuel your CMS, you're relying on tech-savvy personnel. Yes, such personnel may cost money, but the returns are generally a lot better.
<h2>Flexibility and Customization</h2>
The beauty of open-source systems is their ability to become exactly what you want them to be. A website provider I consult for has harnessed the power of WordPress to give thousands of end-users exactly what they need. They redesigned the entire WordPress admin for their target audience, and created custom plugins to meet their precise needs. Seldom is such massive customization available on a closed solution.
What about flexibility? Do you really want to be locked in to using a proprietary CMS for the rest of your natural life? What if you decide to switch your CMS for whatever reason? An open-source CMS frees you from the grip of someone else's system. With an open-source CMS, flexibility is definitely there.
<h2>Security</h2>
Do you risk your data by using an open-source system? Don't let the word “open” fool you. Open refers to the source code of the system, not the data you store in the system. If you execute the correct security procedures and/or plugins on your sites, your data is going to be just fine. If a hacker or wikileaks freelancer wants your data, he or she is going to get it whether you're using an open-source system or not. Even the White House uses Drupal, an open-source CMS. If you are conducting business that requires regular security audits, consult with your auditing agency to determine their perspective on open-source systems.
<h2>Usability</h2>
One web agency I consulted for recently told me that they were considering making their own CMS. They had been creating client sites on Joomla. Joomla is a great CMS, but the interface was confusing to their clients. When a client wanted to make a simple change to their website, they usually had to call the agency and find out how to find the page to edit, where to add the changes, and how to save and publish it. It was a headache. Of course, you're going to have to guide clients through some technical waters, regardless of your chosen CMS. For this agency, however Joomla was not a usable platform for most of their clients.
Simplicity and ease-of-use is one of the most critical factors in selecting a CMS. You may be able to navigate the world's most complicated CMS with utter ease, but can your clients?
Many proprietary CMS companies offer training along with their CMS. Take a look at the CMS and you'll quickly find out why. The level of complexity is disconcerting. An open-source CMS like WordPress, on the other hand, is rather simple, making it relatively easy for a newbie to get started editing his or her own site. The issue of usability depends more on the specific CMS you choose, rather than whether it's open-source or not.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
When placed on balance scales, open-source seems a winner — but that does not hold true for everyone. Some companies may decide that they need to create their own CMS to better serve their clients. Other companies may not have the technical expertise to set up their own open-source CMS, and so may contract with a proprietary service that provides setup and installation. Each organization must evaluate their own unique situation, and make a decision that best fits their present needs.
The two deciding factors on the open vs. proprietary debate are as follows:
<ol>
<li>What are your needs?</li>
<li>What CMS are you considering?</li>
</ol>
Comparing proprietary systems with open-source systems is a bit like comparing apples with oranges. Instead, you should first evaluate your own needs, then compare specific CMS, open-source or otherwise, with each other to determine what you need.
As you determine which CMS is best, CMS Critic is here to help. Be sure to check out our CMS reviews before you make a final decision.
Your thoughts? What decision did you make and why?

Good or Bad? The Verdict on Open Source CMS

How well do you know your CMS? Here's an inside peek at the top five open-source CMSs. You're probably going to discover some things you never knew about the CMS you use on a daily basis. If you are in the process of selecting a CMS, this brief guide may help you decide.

What are the most popular CMSs?
In this article, we're going to explore the following five open-source systems.
<ul>
<li><a href="http://wordpress.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WordPress</a> – “Web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog”</li>
<li><a href="http://www.joomla.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Joomla! </a>– “The CMS trusted by millions for their websites”</li>
<li><a href="http://drupal.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Drupal</a> – “A free software package that allows you to easily organize, manage and publish your content, with an endless variety of customization”</li>
<li><a href="http://typo3.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TYPO3</a> – “The enterprise open source CMS”</li>
<li><a href="http://www.dotnetnuke.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DotNetNuke</a> – “The leading open source ASP.NET CMS, content management system and.NET web application development framework”</li>
</ul>
We're going to ask four basic questions about each CMS:
<ul>
<li>How much does it cost? We'll uncover average setup costs and suggest a monthly maintenance cost.</li>
<li>How long has it been around?</li>
<li>How popular is it?</li>
<li>What companies use it? You may be surprised at the big-name sites that use these popular CMSs. Note that many large organizations (e.g., CNN) use multiple platforms for various sites. For this reason, some organizations may appear several times.</li>
</ul>
<h2>WordPress</h2>
How much does it cost?  
As well as being the most popular, WordPress is also the least expensive. Perhaps the two go hand in hand.
<ul>
<li>Setup:  On average, a professionally designed site will cost from $1,000 to $15,000.</li>
<li>Ongoing monthly:  $250</li>
</ul>
How long has it been around? 
WordPress was released in May of 2003, and has been developing and growing ever since. It's now in version 3.5.
How popular is it? 
WordPress owns 53% of the market share. According to TechCrunch's 2011 <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/19/wordpress-now-powers-22-percent-of-new-active-websites-in-the-us/">report</a>, WordPress powers 22% of the world's new active websites, and has 62% of the top million websites using a CMS. During 2011, there were over 100,000 new WordPress sites created daily.
What sites are built with it? 
The lineup is impressive. From techy blogs to huge news agencies, WordPress definitely has some heavy hitters.
<ul>
<li>TED</li>
<li>NBC Sports</li>
<li>UPS</li>
<li>TechCrunch</li>
<li>CNN</li>
<li>CBS Radio</li>
<li>Mashable</li>
<li>Forbes</li>
<li>Reuters</li>
<li>eBay</li>
<li>Sony</li>
<li>GM</li>
</ul>
<h2>Joomla!</h2>
How much does it cost?  
<ul>
<li>Setup:  From design to launch, a Joomla! site edges a bit higher than WordPress. The range is around $2,400 – $20,000. The cost increase over WordPress is probably due to the fact that WordPress is seen as easier to use.</li>
<li>Ongoing monthly:  $500</li>
</ul>
How long has it been around? 
Launch date was September 16, 2005. Joomla is now in its 3rd iteration.
How popular is it? 
Joomla claims 9% of the open-source CMS market. They've counted over 35 million downloads of the software. 2.7% of the largest 1 million websites are Joomla.
What companies use it?  
<ul>
<li>NASA</li>
<li>Warner Brothers Records</li>
<li>The New York Observer</li>
<li>Fast Company</li>
<li>Popular Science</li>
<li>Amnesty International</li>
<li>SonyBMG</li>
<li>Barnes &amp; Noble</li>
<li>Ikea</li>
<li>Forbes</li>
<li>Harvard University</li>
<li>LA Weekly</li>
<li>eBay</li>
<li>Pizza Hut</li>
<li>General Electric</li>
</ul>
<h2>Drupal</h2>
How much does it cost?  
Drupal has the highest startup costs of any other platform.
<ul>
<li>Setup – $5,000 – $50,000</li>
<li>Ongoing monthly – $1,000 – $2,000</li>
</ul>
How long has it been around? 
Drupal came onto the scene in 2001, an early comer to the CMS world. It was the first majorly popular CMS to use PHP as its platform. It started out as a message board project by Dries Buytaert, the Belgian entrepreneur (and genius). When it became apparent that Drupal could do more than messages, it went open source. The rest is history. Drupal is now in version 7.
How popular is it? 
Drupal claims 6% of the CMS market. It's no WordPress, but there are plenty of sites built with Drupal. EngineIndustries thinks that there are over 7 million
What sites are built with it? 
<ul>
<li>WhiteHouse.gov</li>
<li>U.S.A. Department of Commerce</li>
<li>Data.gov.uk</li>
<li>Commerce.gov</li>
<li>MIT University</li>
<li>Harvard University</li>
<li>Duke University</li>
<li>World Bank</li>
<li>Reuters Labs</li>
<li>BBC</li>
<li>ABC</li>
<li>BarackObama.com</li>
<li>Jabber</li>
<li>The Onion</li>
</ul>
<h2>TYPO3</h2>
How much does it cost?  
<ul>
<li>Setup – $4,000 – 40,000</li>
<li>Ongoing monthly – $800 – 1,500</li>
</ul>
How long has it been around? 
TYPO3 is the oldest of the CMSs. It was released in 1998 by Dutch Developer Kasper Skårhøj. This was back in the day when “CMS” wasn't even a term.
How popular is it? 
The Typo3 package has been downloaded over 5.8 million times, but Sourceforget.net claims that the mirror download sites could boost that number by a million or so. Typo3.org <a href="http://typo3.org/home/typo3-in-numbers/">estimates</a> that there are half a million sites built with Typo3. The estimated TYPO3 market share is around 2%
What companies use it? 
<ul>
<li>Cisco</li>
<li>HP</li>
<li>Epson</li>
<li>Unicef</li>
<li>Philips</li>
<li>The Economist</li>
<li>Bayer</li>
<li>Lindt</li>
<li>Ford</li>
<li>Lufthsana</li>
<li>Brita</li>
<li>Air France</li>
<li>Unesco</li>
</ul>
<h2>DotNetNuke</h2>
How much does it cost?  
<ul>
<li>Setup – $2,500 – 30,000</li>
<li>Ongoing monthly $1,500</li>
</ul>
How long has it been around? 
DotNetNuke was born on Christmas Eve in 2002. DotNetNuke has a close relationship with Microsoft. It runs on Windows .NET platform, rather than PHP.
How popular is it? 
Its been downloaded over 7 million times, and DotNetNuke claims to back over 700,000 websites worldwide. It is the #1 WCMS for Microsoft.
What companies use it? 
<ul>
<li>Creative Commons</li>
<li>Aegis Mobile</li>
<li>Kiwanis</li>
<li>Cash Flow Depot</li>
<li>Chrysler</li>
<li>Delphi</li>
<li>Kia</li>
<li>Hilton</li>
<li>Bose</li>
<li>Motorola</li>
<li>Croatia Airlines</li>
<li>Little Ceasars</li>
</ul>
We are grateful to <a href="http://www.dotcominfoway.com/">Dot Com Infoway (DCI</a>) for the cost data used in this article.

Four Features You Should Know about the Top Five CMSs

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