T4. Open Source Tools That are Changing the Content Technology

Landscape

Gilbane Boston 2010

Presenter

Shaun WalkerCo-Founder & CTODotNetNuke Corporation

- 18 years professional experience in architecting and implementing enterprise software solutions for private and public sector organizations.

- Creator of DotNetNuke, a Web Content Management Platform for ASP.NET which is the largest and most successful Open Source community project native to the Microsoft platform.|

- Served as a founding Director for CodePlex Foundation, a non-profit foundation created by Microsoft for enabling the exchange of code and understanding among software companies and open source communities.

Agenda

Effective strategies for evaluating and deploying

Open Source Content Management Tools

Open Source CMS

◊ Open Source CMS systems have been available for over 10 years

◊ Share many common characteristics but also differ in many fundamental ways

◊ In recent years, many have evolved into Content Management Platforms

Value Proposition

◊ More economical than proprietary CMS systems

◊ Simple acquisition◊ Large accessible user base◊ Flexible and customizable

… do they deliver?

Licensing

◊ Understanding the most common open source licensing models and terminology

◊ “Libre” vs “Gratis”◊ GPL◊ BSD◊ Dual Licensing◊ Open Core◊ Forking

Platform

◊ Has your organization standardized on a specific technology platform?

◊ Do you possess in-house resources which are skilled with the technology utilized by the CMS?

◊ What other products does the CMS rely upon and what are the associated costs, licensing models, and business risks to consider?

Development Model

◊ Understand the differences in software development models

◊ Pro: Evolves rapidly, embraces new trends, high level of user influence

◊ Con: Not always predictable, roadmap not always clear or even available

◊ Organic vs. Commercial open source

◊ Policy regarding upgrades and the preservation of backward compatibility?

Ease of Use

◊ Simple intuitive web-based user interface

◊ Utilizes modern client-side capabilities to create a rich interactive user experience

◊ Most common tasks readily available, less common tasks reserved for power users

◊ New users come up to speed quickly and require minimal training

◊ Has a rich text editor that emulates the features available in modern word processors

Flexible Design

◊ Offers flexibility in web design which does not restrict creativity or artistic expression

◊ Supports the most common web design tools

◊ Has a variety of templates available which can be utilized or customized

◊ Has adequate documentation describing the design process

◊ Can identify a number of professional resources who can assist with web design projects

Customizable

◊ Provides an Open API and framework which can be utilized to easily build and integrate custom extensions

◊ Allows for deep integration with other systems

◊ Professional software development tools are available and cost effective

◊ Are there many resources available or is the skillset specialized?

◊ Supports software and content localization, multi-tenancy

Extensible

◊ Additional functionality can be discovered, acquired, and deployed simply and easily

◊ Terminology: Extensions, Plug-Ins, Modules, Widgets

◊ Free vs. Commercial Licensing◊ Does the deployment model

require IT involvement?◊ Does a certification program exist?◊ Is the volume and quality of

extensions increasing?◊ Are they being actively maintained

and enhanced by developers?

Scalable

◊ Are there reference users which are utilizing the product in high volume environments?

◊ Provides the ability to scale-up or scale-out based on your needs

◊ Is committed to preserving performance baselines as the product evolves

Secure

◊ Allows each author or administrator to have their own user account

◊ Allows for security groups or roles to be defined

◊ Has a rich permissions model which provides granular administrative rights to users

◊ Supports multiple authentication systems

◊ Includes full auditing of all changes in the system

◊ Has a public Security Policy

Community

◊ Has a large community of users who are vocal and actively involved

◊ Has a central hub where community members can interact with one another

◊ Offers community support services through discussion forums or wikis

◊ Has community representation in your region ( ie. through user groups )

Supported

◊ Community support channels have many active participants

◊ Commercial support options are also available

◊ Does the SLA match your business requirements?

◊ Has a variety of commercial partners worldwide

Business Model

◊ Vendor-led or Community-led?◊ Has a strong leadership team

which has demonstrated strategic vision and has the confidence of the community

◊ Has an understandable business model which ensures stability, accountability, and longevity

Questions?( Slides will be posted on my blog on www.dotnetnuke.com )

Thank You

Ecosystem6 million downloads

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