As I walked to get my lunch, I thought - "there's also The Third Way" - so, yeah, totally agree with Cristiano - the other option is paid systems like EE, Umbraco or similar...
_____________________________
Mike Ellis
Thirty8 Digital: a small but perfectly formed digital agency: http://thirty8.co.uk
* My book: http://heritageweb.co.uk *
On 16 Oct 2013, at 12:57, Cristiano Bianchi <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Nick,
>
> very interesting question - as also pointed out by Mike.
>
> I agree with Mike, but from a different angle - as I don't necessary
> believe that only open source (the free flavour) systems should be
> considered: there are a lot of excellent industry standard, enterprise
> solutions that are not free (although in most cases they are still open
> source - in the sense that if you want you can access and edit the source
> code) that exist for a very good reason: they get the job done and
> typically save you lots of time and money. Tiny disclaimer here: like Mike
> before me, I am biased - as we have a CMS platform - but it's not bespoke
> to any of our customers: they all use the same.
>
> I personally don't buy the argument that your technology partner are
> floating: that is that a bespoke solution is the best fit for you. How is
> it better? If you have do design and build a website, do you want to focus
> on design, functionalities and content - which is already quite a challenge
> to do in any project timeline - or do you want to start building the basic
> tools and embark into a software development project, which will require
> extra months in your project schedule and add massive elements of risk?
>
> More, will the new and bespoke CMS possess all the features that are
> standard in the vast majority of CMSs, free and non-free, such as granular
> user permissions, audit trails, scheduling manager, media manager,
> multi-versioning and video transcoding? We have been building our
> commercial CMS platform for over 12 years and these things take time - and
> a lot of it.
>
> Another question. What will the lifecycle of the new CMS be? Will it be
> used by your technology partner in other projects - so that will own its
> IPs and will be developing it in the future? Of you will be left with a
> platform that was build specifically for you, that no one else understand
> and that (unless you have an in-house very competent technical team with
> Ruby skills) you will have no exact understanding of? I would not count on
> the fact that Ruby is a well known technology and it'll be relatively easy
> to find other developers. The reality is (as Mike points out), that few
> others will want or be able to take on from where another developer has
> left - it is not impossible: when you work with Drupal or Wordpress (or our
> own) you also work with other people's code - but it'll be a lot more
> difficult.
>
> As to performance and flexibility, I don't agree with your technology
> partner. Most current CMS systems are powerful and flexible enough to let
> you do whatever you want with your content. The really important feature is
> that content is completely separated from presentation (and in that I'd
> also cast a doubt on Drupal) - we usually build two completely separate
> layers: the CMS manages content and one (or more) web/mobile/anything else
> applications extract it and present it.
>
> Bottom line for me: building a CMS is an independent software project. If
> building a website is your goal, I'd stay away from it. If you want to be
> even more radical, I would not choose a CMS until you have specified and
> designed at least part of the website - and then see what fits the bill: a
> modern CMS solution, based on a content delivery framework will be capable
> of adapting to (nearly) anything, with slight variations.
>
> Good luck with your project!
>
> Best, Cristiano
>
> ---
>
> Cristiano Bianchi
> Keepthinking
>
> 43 Clerkenwell Road
> London EC1M 5RS
> tel +44 20 7490 5337
>
> [log in to unmask]
> www.keepthinking.it
>
>
>
>
> On 16 October 2013 11:54, Nick Sharp <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi MCGers,
>>
>> Firstly quickly wanted to introduce myself I started at the beginning of
>> September as Head of Digital here at the Royal Academy. Do get in touch to
>> say hello!
>>
>> I'm working on a website redevelopment project here, and I wanted to
>> canvass opinion on our technology choice. Our technology partners are
>> suggesting building a bespoke CMS (primarily using Ruby and other open
>> source technologies), rather than adapting a CMS (like Drupal, for the
>> sake of argument).
>>
>> I've worked with both solutions in the past, but I wondered if any MCGers
>> had any thoughts based on their experience in this sector.
>>
>> My concern is that, when I've worked with a custom CMS before for
>> example, GOV.UK it's involved a large internal development team,
>> something we currently lack. I don't want to tie us into a relationship
>> with one supplier (as with proprietary systems of old), but at the same
>> time, assuming the language and technology are well-supported by the
>> developer community, a custom CMS will offer us a lighter, more elegant
>> solution.
>>
>> Does anyone have any experience of making similar choices, or how it has
>> worked out for them? Realise this is quite a broad question and brings up
>> loads of associated questions, both philosophical and practical. But would
>> be interested in your thoughts.
>>
>> Couple of thoughts below:
>>
>> Benefits of a custom CMS
>>
>> * we can build exactly the right CMS for the RA, we don't have to bend an
>> off the shelf product into shape
>> * it will be faster, the database structure is optimised for the RA, an
>> off the shelf CMS database is designed for flexibility
>> * we can design a more dynamic system, unconstrained by the particular
>> usage model an off the shelf CMS would bring
>>
>> Drawbacks of a custom CMS
>>
>> * extending the system will require more in depth knowledge, currently not
>> existing in-house
>> * Could tie the RA into a difficult/expensive issue if technology moves in
>> a different direction
>>
>> Benefits of an off the shelf CMS
>>
>> * a community of developers exist that understand how to use it
>> * can be extended easily to add functionality
>> * includes robust code for handling classic content management tasks
>> * powerful
>>
>> Drawbacks of an off the shelf CMS
>>
>> * upgrades to an of the shelf CMS could have unforeseen consequences for
>> the system
>> * an off the shelf CMS represents a retrospective view of the trend in
>> content management. In contrast we are trying to build a future facing
>> approach for the RA.
>> * might cost money to buy a licence on a recurring basis
>> * the CMS design might go out of date, or be superseded by better designs.
>> * complex, lots of features are included which are not needed by the RA
>> * Could prove expensive to build and customise for RA requirements
>>
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Nick Sharp @emuroad
>>
>> Head of Digital
>>
>> Royal Academy of Arts
>> Burlington House
>> Piccadilly
>> London W1J 0BD
>>
>> 020 7300 5803 | 07718 236871
>>
>> www.royalacademy.org.uk <http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The Royal Academy of Arts is a registered charity under Registered Charity
>> Number 1125383 and is also registered as a company limited by guarantee in
>> England and Wales under Company Number 6298947. Registered office:
>> Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD.
>>
>>
>>
>> The Royal Academy of Arts is a registered charity under Registered Charity
>> Number 1125383 and is also registered as a company limited by guarantee in
>> England and Wales under Company Number 6298947. Registered office:
>> Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD.
>>
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>
>
>
> --
>
> Cristiano Bianchi
> *Keepthinking*
>
> 43 Clerkenwell Road
> London EC1M 5RS
> tel +44 20 7490 5337
> mobile +44 7939 041169 (UK)
>
> [log in to unmask]
> www.keepthinking.it
>
> ---
>
> Registration no. 04905582
> VAT 831 1329 62
>
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