One on One with Arjan van Rooijen of SDL Tridion

Arjan van Rooijen founded Tridion in 1999 and served as a Chief Architect responsible for research, development and execution of Tridion's technological vision in the early years. SDL purchased Tridion in May, 2007. In his current role he focuses on Analyst relations and helps set company and product strategy based on his market insight and vision. We asked Van Rooijen about the changing face of the web content management market and how that was affecting customers and his company's product strategy.

FCM: I noticed your new product has a big marketing focus. How has the shift of content management to the marketing department changed your business?

AvR: At SDL Tridion, we closely monitor emerging market trends and work diligently to align our solutions with current and future business needs. We see, as confirmed by recent analyst reports, that enterprises want more from their web content management systems (WCMS) than simply the ability to store and publish content. Businesses are looking at how they can leverage a WCMS to achieve mission critical objectives, such as increased conversion rates and improved customer service. These business objectives are in the marketing domain, so it makes sense for us to align our product development and target audience messaging accordingly.

FCM: What impact is social media having on your customers?

AvR: We are seeing, with many of our SDL Tridion Customers--such as Yamaha, Renault and Breastcancer.org--that they are successfully implementing Web 2.0 and social media functionalities. They see this as an opportunity to create customer intimacy, improve customer engagement and enhance brand loyalty. This allows them to comply with the visitors' expectation of a compelling and interactive personal experience while engaging with an organization.

FCM: What kind of challenge do you face with two-way publishing where you can publish inside the firewall and customers, partners andâ€¨suppliers can publish to your website from outside the firewall?

AvR: SDL Tridion allows you to set up a secure sandbox environment for external content contributors. For instance, at the Visit Ireland site/portal, hotel owners are managing their own specific content (with SiteEdit). Workflow and audit trails are fully incorporated in this scenario, ensuring compliance with publishing guidelines.

FCM: What role do you think translation plays in web content management?

AvR: Language and country sites are the two most visible results of a global online presence. Even so, true web site globalization is so much more than copy and paste or translating websites for various countries. The complexity is in the intelligence of combining local needs with corporate communication strategies. Local needs go as far as localizing company messaging; local business functionality in web forms and applications; as well as locally targeted communications to multiple audiences through a website, e-mail and newsletter, or even print.

FCM: How well do customers understand the need to monitor website traffic and understand what visitors are doing?

AvR: Our customers definitely understand the need to monitor website traffic and visitors' behavior. SDL Tridion integrates web content management with web analytics to close the loop for marketers when they create, manage, monitor, improve and optimize their online communication. The challenge, however, is in making the right decisions and intelligent investments that allow them to make this data actionable and to create long-lasting relationships with their customers.