Alterian CMS consists of a range of products which include a web content management system, social media software, email marketing software and analytics software.
The company itself is a major marketing platform provider which focuses upon multi-channel communication with its users.
They work with industry experts, developers and business professionals –or ‘partners’in a variety of locations around the world which helps to further improve their product as well as sharing best practice.
Alterian CMS is focussed upon user experience: on providing fresh, relevant and useful content which fulfils individual user needs as well as building current and future loyalty.
The Alterian CMS is based upon a .Net or JSP framework, Windows or Linux OS and a MySQL or Oracle database. Content is produced via the Alterian ‘Smart Client’ desktop tool (www.alterian.com) which integrates with Microsoft Word and other similar applications.
This is popular with users who are familiar with Microsoft Office but do not have any technical skills such as web development or programming.
Alterian products
The WCMS is the main selling point which is easy to use, enables consistency and relevance across a site, and uses social media for communication and engagement with a variety of users.
It offers three types of WCMS: corporate, professional and enterprise which serve the differing needs and priorities of these organisations.
The corporate edition is suited to internet/intranet sites for large organisations; the professional edition is suitable for a single site and multiple sites in a variety of locations; the enterprise edition which offers the same service as the professional edition.
Within that the WCMS uses three tools: ‘Web Client’,‘Smart Client’and ‘Page Studio’ to enable non-technical users to create, maintain and share content without the need for lengthy training courses. These tools can integrate with other applications such as Microsoft Word and Outlook, which many users are familiar with, to manage their content.
Tasks such as drag and drop can be performed within Web Client which runs on many well-known browsers: plus collaboration and file sharing is available through the Microsoft SharePoint connector which enables the user to access SharePoint content from within the CMS before publication.
Other products include:
- Social Media Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Engagement Management and Analytics
Alterian is moving into the mobile technology market by entering into a partnership with Mobile Messenger. They will incorporate mobile marketing into their marketing campaigns for clients using their Dynamic Messenger application. This application will allow Mobile Messenger’s mobile gateway to distribute content o a range of mobile devices through the Alterian application.
(Source: www.alterian.com)
For more information about this and other products visit the Alterian website at www.alterian.com.
Characteristics of Alterian CMS
Other features include:
- Extensibility
- Analytics tools
- Multi-channel delivery to the customer, e.g. social media
- Usable and accessible
- Collaboration via Microsoft SharePoint Server
This type of commercial CMS has a strong marketing bias with the emphasis on customer engagement and choices. It uses multiple channels such as social media, instant messaging, and direct email to ensure that the customer receives content which addresses their needs.