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One of the stickiest issues in implementing a content management system (CMS) is getting end-users to actually use it.
Complicated, big-bang IT projects in this area can fail miserably if this obvious point is ignored, according to some industry insiders.
Only about 38 per cent of content management IT projects are successful, well below the general industry average of 50 per cent, says Darren Guarnaccia, director of technology at RedDot Solutions, a New York-based provider of enterprise content management software and a subsidiary of Toronto-based Hummingbird Ltd.
"The adoption problem is one of the biggest issues in the industry," he says. "Many such systems were built for IT developers, with nary a thought to the end-authors. If they can't learn how to use the system in a couple of days, they'll abandon it – and back it goes to IT to manage."
Ease of use coupled with rich but flexible features were key selection factors that led Toronto-based CHUM Ltd. to replace its homegrown CMS with RedDot's software.
A large Canadian media company and content provider, CHUM owns and operates 33 radio stations, 12 local television stations and 21 specialty channels, as well as an environmental music distribution division.
The company's old CMS had been cobbled together over the course of five years, and was expensive and difficult to maintain, says Dave Fallon, director at CHUM Interactive. "It required specialized knowledge, so it was a problem when trained employees left the firm."
In addition, CHUM recently acquired some TV stations, including the associated Web sites for each station. The company wanted to consolidate these in a way that provided a common infrastructure and branding umbrella across all its 33 Web sites, while also allowing each site to retain its distinctive, local identity.
"RedDot acknowledged there are higher-end systems out there, but these are more expensive and are complex to implement," says Fallon. He said the RedDot system was a "good fit" as it was feature rich and permitted custom development.
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