Finding the right CMS to fit your organization

CMS Myth [1] recently had an excellent post called "Does Your CMS Fit?" [2] The premise of the post is that there is no perfect CMS out there, only the one that most closely fits the needs of your organization. Further, CMS Myth believes, and it's hard to disagree, that the current methodologies for choosing a CMS are fundamentally flawed. Simply looking at a list of requirements, listening to a presentation and checking off which companies meet those requirements misses so much.

A better way is to look at the big picture, says CMS Myth. This means considering: Technology, culture, process and features. It also means seeing how well the CMS fits with your marketing department--increasingly the department responsible for content management (at least certainly web content management)--and how wall the vendor fits.

This is a great list, and it takes into consideration factors well beyond the feature fit. The cultural component is huge, for instance, and it is often overlooked. You can build it, but it doesn't mean they'll come. If people hate the system, they'll look for every reason to circumvent it. In fact, if the system fails at any of these key criteria defined by CMS Myth, it could sabotage the best laid plans.

And don't underestimate that last point, vendor fit. Chances are, in a complex system like a CMS, you will be working closely with the vendor and if you don't have a good relationship, it's going to be a very long haul pulling the system together.

CMS Myth has really nailed a comprehensive list of factors to take into consideration when buying a CMS, and beyond the marketing factor, for this particular technology, these could apply when buying any enterprise system.

Related Articles:
Make sure your CMS vendor understands your needs [3]
It's time for content management vendors to agree on standards [4]
Not all cloud vendors are created equal [5]
You can play hardball with your CMS vendor [6]