Forrester report predicts web content management will grow in spite of economy

A recent report from Forrester authored by Stephen Powers predicts that web content management will continue to grow in spite of the economy because it is an investment companies must make to remain competitive. Powers says companies plan to continue to invest in WCM products and that's got to be good news for vendors shaken by the economic downturn.

Among the findings in the report:

• A whopping 72 percent of respondents plan to increase their web content management investment, while another 19 percent plan to keep investments level from last year.
• When asked to name the top one or two business drivers for purchasing WCM, 64 percent of respondents chose improving the customer experience. The next closest response was streamlining the web publishing processes at 25 percent.
• When asked which functions they plan to deploy in the next 12 months 64 percent answered "personalization," with 61 percent stating "rich Internet application" and 55 percent "audio and/or video." (They could choose more than one.)

That was the good news for WCM vendors. The bad news is customers cited overall dissatisfaction with WCM, although vendors were not always the root cause. Powers writes in the executive summary: "Dissatisfaction with current WCM initiatives remains, largely driven by lack of IT and business alignment, unrealistically high expectations, and corporate politics."

Companies recognize that to remain competitive, they have to invest in websites and build interaction with the customer. If corporate politics and internal strife remain the chief road block to smoother WCM implementation, the vendors need to find ways to make implementation easier and take some pressure off the internal organization. They also need to build a solid business case, so that the various parties find it easier to align their needs and expectations. It appears as if the market is there, but the path is fraught with peril, and someone could make a good living helping these companies find their way.

For more information, see:
- the Forrester report page

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