With topic of “content management” in today’s Internet space, our image, of course, gets fuzzy. Without careful correction, administrative boundaries often blur. The problem for many organizations is, do we need a CMS, or a portal? All three seem to offer similar benefits at first sight, but once you scratch below the surface, their real intent varies off in different directions. This is where CMS integration comes in: imposing order within chaos.
CMS Core
CMS is foundation of modern websites. It gives non-technical personnel the tools to send, publish, and update digital content without ever necessity of a line of code. In operation, it manages the face a site presents to things inside and outside it – how things actually look on your screen, plus when they go live.
CMS functionalities frequently include capabilities like this.
- Properly organized, the system accepts input from end users (writers, editors, and layout personnel are many).
- Control over exactly what goes on the live site. When new content is ready but still in draft form.
- Finally, it should free editorial or design people from the tedious chore of figuring out their own navigation path across desktop interfaces geared largely for system administrators.
That said, a CMS isn’t trying to create content itself but rather to control its formatting and its life cycle online.
Integration with systems such as CRM, ERP
If a CMS answers the question “How should this appear on our site?”, a DMS answers “How do we manage this document behind the scenes without everybody slipping up all at once?” In most organizations, these tools complement each other.
Portals: The Bigger Picture
A portal is something different again: a central hub that brings together information from many different sources. Users can add dashboards, reporting widgets, and even real-time data feeds – all without needing to be trained in content contribution. Point of portals is not to create new content; it’s to offer a highly-personalized window into what already exists elsewhere. Portals are not about making new content. That’s what computers and DMS are the most useful for.
Think of it this way:
- A CMS outputs content to a publishing system;
- A DMS serves as an input point of sorts; it manages content to be copied and sent out for publication;
- A portal brings information from disparate sources together, making it easy both for it to be exchanged with other systems and for your visual layout to be more user-friendly.
Integration in Action
Suppose we take an intranet in a hospital.
- Policies and procedures are collaboratively written and versioned.
- Key updates are easily pushed out across the intranet through a CMS.
- A portal lets staff personalize their homepage for easy access to the most relevant resources. The resources they access most often would be there waiting for them every time they logged in.
Why CMS Integration Matters for Business
The way that groups within organizations might inadvertently end up using their own, proprietary names and/or style guides has repeatedly caused some of the biggest challenges corporate IT departments will face. It’s a CMS that stops these things in their tracks by:
- Enforcing design standards right across the entire website;
- Reducing manual errors and duplication of time and money;
- Allowing immediate updates to page content in response to new policies or campaigns;
- Gaining insights into what content is out there, where it’s located, and who eats it up.
For companies that are planning on scaling out onto the Internet, CMS integration isn’t a luxury – it’s an absolute necessity.
Choosing the Right Direction
The distinctions are real, although they may be blurred by vendors in their demos. The real key is to match the needs of your organization with the right solution for you.
- Is the challenge a bit of both, managing documents and group work?
- Enabling and publishing content on the web steadily? (CMS)
- Or is it the cinema service that sees each information source as an all-comprehensive view? (Portal)
The CMS integration has become even more significant at this point. Now it is the pivot that connects digital processes usefully to united digital machinery, ready for the future.
Why Work With Eternity Design?
For us, every project is a partnership. When it comes to website design, it’s about so much more than the way things look – it’s about developing a solid digital experience for the people who will eventually have your site in their hot little hands. We provide:
- Bespoke applications scaled to your specific needs;
- Clear communication and routine updates;
- Great value for the price;
- Ongoing help to develop your site.
With Eternity Design, your website becomes a source of growth, not just an online presence.