This commercial CMS enables users to create, publish and manage content across a large global website. It is suitable for content authors/editors, developers and business people and contains a range of features which cater to their individual needs.
This CMS is used by business and organisations in many parts of the world and includes a range of products which are designed to meet customer needs. These include web content management, marketing services, mobile, e-commerce and business-related social media. It is used for internet sites, extranets and intranets.
The emphasis is on dynamic, up to the minute content which can be managed by content editors without the requisite programming skills. This saves both time and money and removes the need for buying in technical expertise which can be better deployed elsewhere.
The authoring environment is similar to other CMSs in that the user is able to create or edit content directly within the website – known as ‘in-context editing’; or via XML templates which ensure a uniform, coherent structure throughout.
Ektron is part of Microsoft’s .Net framework which supports a range of programming languages and a class library which developers integrate with other tools to create applications. Many CMSs are built upon the MS .Net framework.
Ektron products
Apart from the WCMS, there are a range of other software products to consider which are designed to improve customer loyalty, user experience and market penetration. These include:
- Social Business Software
- Marketing Optimisation
- E-commerce
- E-Intranet
- Mobile Web
In regard to the last item, there has been a growth of interest in system for mobile technology such as PDA’s, mobile phones etc. Ektron along with many other providers has recognised the importance of enabling users to access websites on mobile devices as well as laptops, netbooks and the standard desktop computer.
They have devised their ‘Mobile Web’ package which caters for the needs of mobile users such as platform specific templates, and a ‘detection library’ which identifies the requirements of every individual device.
For more information about this and other products visit the Ektron website at www.ektron.com.
One advantage of a commercial CMS such as Ektron is access to technical support and advice. Ektron has a support team who are able to provide help and guidance plus online help via an agent or user guides.
Characteristics of Ektron
The main feature is the WCMS which allows authors to make changes quickly and easily. This can be done directly on the page or using the system templates which ensure that a consistent approach is maintained. It also prevents duplicate content.
The document management feature controls the lifecycle of a piece of content –from initial creation, through to editing, version control, approval and publication.
Another useful feature is ‘geomapping’: this provides location and travel details for users, e.g. Google Maps which can also be integrated with geolocation functionality found on mobile devices.
Other features include:
- SEO tools to ensure site optimisation and high rankings within the search engines.
- Social media software for business which includes tag clouds, forums, blogs and group spaces.
- Extensibility
- Flexible, robust API
- Synchronises content and data to and from Web 2.0 environments.
- The E-Intranet product integrates seamlessly with other business systems such as SharePoint.
This commercial CMS enables companies to build large, enterprise websites with professional looking, personalised content which addresses individual customer needs. This is a move away from the one size fits all type of content towards customer profiling and the importance of ‘context of use’.
This content is translated into multiple language versions which are important in today’s global marketplace.