CMS comparisons – one problem, many possible solutions

OpenSource solutions are attracting increased attention. This is particularly true of Web Content Management systems, especially in commercial business sectors. This tendency is not only due to the cost advantages of working with license-free software, but also the independence from proprietary solution providers.

Commercial providers frequently specify fixed life cycles for their Web CMS solutions, rigorously define their functionality, render the writing of extensions impossible and impose a system architecture or set of software standards that offer only partial compatibility (Vendor-Lock effect).

The OpenSource CMS market

Alongside a variety of commercial solutions, more than 250 Open Source Content Management Systems currently jive for pole position and customer favor. However, both commercial and OpenSource CMS solutions differ from one another in a variety of ways: 

• in the script or programming language upon which they are based, such as PHP, Java or Perl, as well as in the type of databank used;
• in their hardware resource requirements and installation procedures;
• in their user-friendliness for users, administrators and visitors;
• in their architecture and API, which both play a decisive role in future scalability;
• in the range of functionalities and extensions that the CMS offers and the resulting areas of potential use.

The latter aspect is a vital deciding factor. A Web Content Management System’s integrated functionality, its scalability and extendibility are of particular importance within a business-critical, commercial environment.

How does one define an Enterprise Web CMS?

Our experience has shown that the following functions are essential to a system intended to serve a business environment as a genuine Enterprise Web CMS:

• Multi-Language support with fallback options;
• Multi-Domain support under a common “roof”;
• Integrated access rights and authentication;
• Publishing-Workflow support;
• Connectivity with translation software;
• Integrated Templating Engine.

On the following pages you can learn about the differences between TYPO3 and other – whether commercial or Open Source – Web Content Management Systems.