Hi all, just a plea here for the handling of images to be taken into account. All too often I get told, we can't do this because our system doesn't do it - correct display of colour space, metadata handling, attribution of images, image retrieval, taxonomy handling, integrating image workflows across an organisation. These are all important aspects to consider before looking at software solutions.
I would agree with Cristiano - why reinvent the wheel when there are solutions out there that have spent years getting basic things right. I'm not an IT specialist, just an imaging specialist, but I know what the consequences are when organisations think only in terms of IT solutions and forget the workflow needs of the media they are handling.
Sarah
On 16 Oct 2013, at 13:06, Derek Williams wrote:
> Hi Nick,
>
> I'm very much of the opinion that an out of the box CMS is the way to go as
> it allows you to spend the available budget on things that actually matter,
> like presentation and content rather than spending dev time on the basics,
> like user management.
>
> Technology companies who push a custom CMS are doing so for their own gain
> and not yours, cynical as it sounds - they're interested in customer
> retention as it's painful for you to leave and being able to bill you for
> more dev hours. The decision is really open source or hosted solution,
> there's a lot of great systems out there!
>
> D
>
>
> On 16 October 2013 13:00, Mike Ellis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> 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
>>>
>>> ---
>>>
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>>>
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