Web Content Management System Brick

Web Content Management Systems (WCMS) consist of applications used to create, manage, store and deploy content on the Web, including text, graphics, video or audio, an application code. Web Content Management Systems are often a component of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Solutions. However, this standard is focused specifically on technologies that may provide basic web content management services. 

The NIH enterprise has multiple WCMS applications within its baseline today. However, there are internal and market drivers that will drive organizations within NIH to reassess their WCMS strategy and portfolios. Given that organizations across the enterprise will require both large scale and small scale WCMS implementations, this standard includes a portfolio of large and small scale WCMS solutions. As with all applications used by the Federal Government, it is required that these applications be section 508 compliant.

• Tactical and strategic products were selected to leverage NIH's investment in products that are a proven fit for NIH's known future needs. Leveraging baseline products in the future will minimize the operations, maintenance, support and training costs of new products.
• Some baseline products have been designated retirement and containment. These products are either not as widely or successfully deployed at NIH, or they do not provide as much functionality, value, or Total Cost of Ownership as the selected tactical and strategic products.
• Current projections are that Microsoft Content Management Server 2002 will no longer be supported after 2009. Therefore, owners of websites that do not migrate off of this platform by this time may be at risk.
• It is strongly suggested that in lieu of complete custom development, open-source solutions be considered.
• Some open-source solutions are more developed/refined for web content management than others.
• Ektron CMS400.net is a non-open-source alternative for smaller implementations.
• All costs should be considered with open-source solutions, due to the potentially higher development and maintenance costs.
• Enterprises should look deeply into content security, uptime contract clauses, and migration and recall prior to committing more than project-level interest in hosted services.
• Although Adobe Contribute and CrownPeak are currently in the NIH baseline and appear promising, there is only one reference implementation each. Therefore, they are considered emerging at NIH.
• Opentext RedDot should be considered when the OpenText LiveLink document management solution is also being implemented as part of a broader Enterprise Content Management (ECM) implementation. See the Document Management Tools Brick.
• The brick group recommends consideration of migration on existing content.
• Project teams should consider usability testing on the supported website before it is deployed.
• IC’s are strongly encouraged to partner with each other for WCMS implementations to reduce cost and technical risk.