The term ‘double-edged sword’ may have been created with content management systems (CMS) in mind. On one edge, they hold great promise for organizations in terms of their ability to create and manage content that is more accurate, less costly to produce, and more consistent in appearance. On the other, they can present a myriad of challenges in their implementation and acceptance by the people using them – and purchasing them. Let’s examine the challenges that a CMS presents, along with ways those challenges can be overcome…

Challenge #4: The People Factor
In our experience, the main competitor for a CMS is not really another vendor, it’s apathy.   Often, people who use MS Word to create their documents are comfortable using it and don’t care enough to try anything else – even if another program is more suitable for managing content.

The only areas of the company for which change is desirable are those where the pain of creating and managing content is particularly strong, such as product documentation – driven by deadlines, quality and other factors which typically don’t affect many other departments. Sometimes the opposite is true.

Executives frequently ask how the CMS can help on a more companywide basis, while writers wonder how it can help them specifically.  Often the true benefits of a CMS are realised downstream from the actual writing (workers from different departments drawing on each other’s work, greater consistency and efficiency).  Getting writers to alter the way they work purely for the sake of others can be a hard road to hoe.  In the end, the CMS is a two-part sell: the CMS vendor must demonstrate value to the organisation at large and to the individual as well.  It’s critical that every person in the process sees some improvement in the way they work.

Posted by Paul Trotter, CEO, Author-it Software Corporation