Vignette marches forward with release of VCM-V8

Vignette announced this week, a soft release of the latest version of their web content management product dubbed VCM-V8 or Vignette Content Management-Version 8. The product will be released officially in the second half of this year.

The new version boasts ease-of-use features aimed at making it simpler for end users to get up and running quickly, while still giving IT back-end control of design and branding. Their claim is that you can build a site in 20 minutes and even non-technical end users can work with this version. Unlike the upgrade from version 6 to 7, there is no code-based change so there won't be the pain involved in transitioning to the new version that there was from version 6 to 7.

IDC's Melissa Webster says this version addresses a common problem she sees. "Our conversations with enterprise clients often revolve around the difficulties non-technical users face when editing and publishing web content. Business and marketing teams must be enabled to share company information and messaging in a timely manner. This is an important edge in today’s competitive business atmosphere,” Webster said.

The release comes against the back-drop of the recent purchase of Vignette by Open Text (as we wrote in Open Text buys Vignette: Reactions from around the web [1]). While the product appears to have lots of useful features, customers will have to weigh what to do in light of the purchase as there is bound to be uncertainty around any company during the transition period prior to take-over by another company.

While it would seem to be in Open Text's best interest to maintain good relations with existing Vignette customers, especially ones they don't share with them, it's something you have to consider.

For more information:
- see the Vignette press release [2]