February 2001

FIRST LOOKS

Manage Content, Minimize Customization

by Marvin Pyles

"People are recognizing that the days of throwing more money at Web initiatives are over," says Hank Barnes, vice president of marketing for Eprise, Framingham, MA. Responding to this change, Eprise is bringing more out-of-the-box functionality to its Participant Server Web content management system.

Participant Server's 3.0 release is aimed at rapid deployment, with plenty of built-in functionality. Commonly installed as a plug-in on Microsoft Internet Information Server, the system serves Web pages dynamically by combining content stored in a relational database with presentation information from predefined templates.

Running in either a Windows NT or Sun Solaris environment, Participant Server has an open architecture that integrates with third-party applications using Java, Java Beans, COM/DCOM or XML. The product also supports Windows 2000.

Using "Quick Forms," nontechnical business users manage Web content via a browser-based interface. Personalized content is delivered to site visitors using permission-based logins. Other standard functionality includes automatic link generation, version control, workflow maintenance and content audit reports.

The audit reports notify business owners when specific site content has been viewed. When a page is accessed, an email is sent alerting a specific content owner. Not only will the owner be notified how often content is viewed, but Participant Server also captures the IP address of the site visitor. Using the audit report, users can gauge how effectively content has been written or structured.

Release 3.0 of Participant Server improves three major areas: Scalability, Enterprise Deployment and Usability.

"More, more, more," says Barnes, explaining the need for these improvements. "Businesses are deploying content to bigger sites that have more content and more users. We're responding to that."

Scalability is one of the most important factors when developing a Web site. If a site crashes, content can be completely lost. Release 3.0 improves scalability by automating page caching, streamlining memory management and providing multiserver deployment (including caching synchronization).

Integration with the Content Delivery Suite from Inktomi, Foster City, CA, allows Participant Server to schedule and deploy content delivery to an unlimited number of multiple servers. Employing a graphical user interface, dynamic and static content is replicated using the most recent, published version. If a server is down for maintenance, the content will be synchronized with the up-to-date information when the server is reactivated.

Eprise has expanded Participant Server's capabilities by enabling content delivery to mobile devices such as WAP phones. The company has also eased integration with back-end applications such as Siebel, IBM WebSphere and BEA application server.

From a usability standpoint, content entry templates received a facelift by leveraging eWebEditPro, a browser-based editing component from Ektron, Amherst, NH. This combination allows users to format text, create tables, check spelling and create hyperlinks using a Microsoft Word-like interface.

Beyond the interface upgrade, authors can now visually compare content changes using a new viewing tool that places the original and edited content side-by-side in a separate browser. In addition, an improved workflow interface allows users to create event-driven workflow processes initiated when content is revised or updated. Users can attach notes, edit content, and add or change permission levels.

This all adds up to an extensive Web content management system offering flexible deployment, customizable workflows and plenty of built-in functionality.

Marvin Pyles is a content management consultant based in Atlanta. He can be reached at mpyles@cms-analysis.com.