Canto announced the availability of Canto Cumulus 8.1, available free of charge to all customers on active software maintenance contracts with Canto or Canto Certified Partners. Cumulus 8.1 is the product line’s first scheduled upgrade since May’s release of Cumulus 8, which introduced a new core architecture. A new version of the Cumulus Client enables users to work with Cumulus Server-based catalogs, or catalogs created and stored locally for personal use. The metadata of Cumulus Server-based catalogs can be edited offline. Once reconnected to the Cumulus Server, local metadata edits can update the Cumulus Server, or vice versa. Included with Cumulus Workgroup, Enterprise and Complete systems, the new Cumulus Web Client helps users connect to Cumulus via Web browsers to find and download assets, edit metadata and upload new assets. The statistics and usage tracking introduced with Cumulus 8 includes new reporting options that include new report types and PDF output options. http://www.canto.com
Category: Content management & strategy (Page 135 of 479)
This category includes editorial and news blog posts related to content management and content strategy. For older, long form reports, papers, and research on these topics see our Resources page.
Content management is a broad topic that refers to the management of unstructured or semi-structured content as a standalone system or a component of another system. Varieties of content management systems (CMS) include: web content management (WCM), enterprise content management (ECM), component content management (CCM), and digital asset management (DAM) systems. Content management systems are also now widely marketed as Digital Experience Management (DEM or DXM, DXP), and Customer Experience Management (CEM or CXM) systems or platforms, and may include additional marketing technology functions.
Content strategy topics include information architecture, content and information models, content globalization, and localization.
For some historical perspective see:
https://gilbane.com/gilbane-report-vol-8-num-8-what-is-content-management/
Inmedius, Inc. announced the general release of iConvert, a comprehensive environment for the conversion of documents into structured eXtensible Markup Language (XML). The software supports conversion from legacy paper, Microsoft Word or PDF files. iConvert also comes pre-configured for XML conversion of original S1000D, 40051B and ATA documents, and supports any Document Type Definition (DTD) or XML schema. iConvert synchronizes the original document with the converted XML document in a multi-pane, on-screen display. This approach to XML conversion should allow for the continuous fine-tuning of document conversion rules for increased automated transfer. iConvert’s has modified its user environment and workflow design that guides the user through the XML conversion process. At the same time, iConvert provides a visual inspection of the original document that is synchronized with the configured XML output. During this step, the end-user should be able to drag and drop both unconverted pieces of data, as well as content that has been transformed properly. User defined rules files applied to create the original conversion are updated, allowing for a second pass with increased accuracy. http://inmedius.com/
At Gilbane we talk of “Smart Content,” “Structured Content,” and “Unstructured Content.” We will be discussing these ideas in a seminar entitled “Managing Smart Content” at the Gilbane Conference next week in Boston. Below I share some ideas about these types of content and what they enable and require in terms of processes and systems.
When you add meaning to content you make it “smart” enough for computers to do some interesting things. Organizing, searching, processing, and discovery are greatly improved, which also increases the value of the data. Structured content allows some, but fewer, processes to be automated or simplified, and unstructured content enables very little to be streamlined and requires the most ongoing human intervention.
Most content is not very smart. In fact, most content is unstructured and usually more difficult to process automatically. Think flat text files, HTML without all the end tags, etc. Unstructured content is more difficult for computers to interpret and understand than structured content due to incompleteness and ambiguity inherent in the content. Unstructured content usually requires humans to decipher the structure and the meaning, or even to apply formatting for display rendering.
The next level up toward smart content is structured content. This includes wellformed XML documents, content compliant to a schema, or even RDMS databases. Some of the intelligence is included in the content, such as boundaries of element (or field) being clearly demarcated, and element names that mean something to users and systems that consume the information. Automatic processing of structured content includes reorganizing, breaking into components, rendering for print or display, and other processes streamlined by the structured content data models in use.
Finally, smart content is structured content that also includes the semantic meaning of the information. The semantics can be in a variety of forms such as RDFa attributes applied to structured elements, or even semantically names elements. However it is done, the meaning is available to both humans and computers to process.
Smart content enables highly reusable content components and powerful automated dynamic document assembly. Searching can be enhanced with the inclusion of metadata and buried semantics in the content providing more clues as to what the data is about, where it came from, and how it is related to other content. Smart content enables very robust, valuable content ecosystems.
Deciding which level of rigor is needed for a specific set of content requires understanding the business drivers intended to be met. The more structure and intelligence you add to content, the more complicated and expensive the system development and content creation and management processes may become. More intelligence requires more investment, but may be justified through benefits achieved.
I think it is useful if the XML and content management (CMS) communities use consistent terms when talking about the rigor of their data models and the benefits they hope to achieve with them. Hopefully, these three terms, smart content, structured content, and unstructured content ring true and can be used productively to differentiate content and application types.
CrownPeak announced the launch of its Online Marketing Management Suite, with content management and marketing tools designed to enable online marketers to more easily and effectively engage target audiences. The completely new Suite of tools empowers business managers to test, target and measure content relevance in Web sites, landing pages, banner ads, mobile devices, social media and other online channels. Users can create “playlists” of persona segments based on implicit data such as referring URLS, external marketing campaigns, paid vs. organic search, geography or even specific IP ranges. Additionally, CrownPeak enables the creation of explicit segments based on what is “known” about each visitor from online registration or other forms (e.g. Webinar or white paper sign ups, polls and/or survey results). Also introduced within the new Suite are new form building tools to make it easier for CrownPeak customers to create any type of data collection form, and use that data for content targeting purposes. CrownPeak’s new tools can be integrated into other online marketing solutions and social media programs. From CRM solutions such as Salesforce.com, email solutions such as ExactTarget, and Web analytics solutions such as Omniture’s Site Catalyst and Google Analytics and Website Optimizer, CrownPeak provides pre-integrated solutions. The new CrownPeak capabilities are immediately available to users. http://www.crownpeak.com
Alfresco Software announced that it has included the OASIS Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) Version 1.0 in Alfresco Community 3.2 to enable developers and organizations to participate in the public review process. The OASIS CMIS Technical Committee (TC) has recently approved CMIS Version 1.0 as a Committee Draft and announced the start of a two month public review period. The objective of the CMIS specification is to deliver a common REST or Web Services API that can be used to develop write-once, run-anywhere, next generation content and social applications. The CMIS specification is backed by vendors including Alfresco, Adobe Systems, EMC, IBM, Microsoft, OpenText, Oracle and SAP. As an OASIS TC member, Alfresco is able to offer an implementation of CMIS for developers who wish to participate in the public review process. The public review ends December 22, 2009. The OASIS TC has issued an open invitation to comment and strongly encourage feedback from potential users and developers. CMIS 1.0 Public Review can be downloaded with Alfresco Community 3.2 at: http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Download_Community_Edition.
As part of next week’s Gilbane Boston Conference, the XML practice will be delivering a pre-conference workshop, “Managing Smart Content: How to Deploy XML Technologies across Your Organization.” The instructors will be Geoff Bock, Dale Waldt, Bill Trippe, Barry Schaeffer and Neal Hannon–a group of experts that represents decades of technical and management experience on XML initiatives.
A tip of the virtual hat to Senior Analyst Geoff Bock for organizing this.
Smart content holds great promise. First with SGML and now with XML, we are marking up content with both formatting and semantic tags, and adding intelligence to electronic information. Using richly tagged XML documents that exploit predefined taxonomies, we are developing innovative applications for single source publishing, pharmaceutical labeling, and financial reporting. By managing content snippets in a granular yet coherent fashion, these applications are revolutionizing our capabilities to meet business needs and customers’ expectations.
What’s working and why? What are the lessons learned from these innovative applications? Does the rapid growth of web-based collaborative environments, together with the wide array of smart content editors, provide the keys to developing other business solutions? There are many promising approaches to tagging content while doing work. Yet we still face an uphill battle to smarten up our content and develop useful applications.
In this workshop, we the five members of the Gilbane practice on XML technologies will share our experiences and provide you with practical strategies for the future. We will address a range of topics, including:
- The business drivers for smart content
- Some innovative content management techniques that make authors and editors more productive
- The migration paths from ‘conventional’ documents to smart content
- How to apply industry-specific taxonomies to tag content for meaning
- The prospects for mash-ups to integrate content from disparate application communities
We will discuss both the rapidly developing technologies available for creating, capturing, organizing, storing, and distributing smart content, as well as the organizational environment required to manage content as business processes. We will identify some of the IT challenges associated with managing information as smart content rather than as structured data, and map strategies to address them. We invite you to join the conversation about how best to exploit the power of XML as the foundation for managing smart content across your organization.
We’ve been providing regular updates on Gilbane Boston over on our dedicated announcements and press release blog, as well as on Twitter, but since not everybody subscribes to either of those, here is a quick summary for both conference attendees and technology exhibit visitors, with links.
Open to all:
- Opening Keynote Panel – A Conversation About Content, Collaboration & Customers with Mass.gov, the Smithsonian, and Philips
- Industry Analyst Debate: What’s Real, What’s Hype, and What’s Coming with: 451 Group, Burton Group, Forrester, Gilbane, and IDC
- Special Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Experience classroom – Hands-on with SharePoint 2010 content management
- Technology showcase with 48 content management technology vendors
- Sponsor Reception, Wednesday December 2
- Access to Product Labs on Wednesday and Thursday
Conference options:
- Five different conference packages
- Four in-depth pre-conference workshops
- CM Pros (Content Management Professionals) Summit
- Two in-depth CM Pros workshops
- Thirty-three conference sessions with the industry’s best speakers
- Register
Follow the conference Twitter stream. The main hashtag is #gilbaneboston, but others will emerge from the attendees as #futurewcm has. You can join (dm @gilbaneboston) or follow the list of twitterers at Gilbane Boston.
There is also a list of Google “Wavers” at the conference to follow.
Hope to see you there.
Canto announced the release of Canto Cumulus 8.1, built upon the Cumulus 8 system architecture first introduced last May. Among the new capabilities are a standalone version of the Cumulus Client, which is designed to enable users to create and work on local catalogs, connect to Cumulus Server catalogs, and update assets and metadata between the two. This was designed for traveling professionals to work with catalogs even when Internet access isn’t available. New report types include assets cataloged during a period, check-out “time spent” reports, asset inventories by format, and the ability to use search queries as the means for selecting report assets. Reports can now be saved to PDF format and automatically emailed. A new image comparison mode makes even subtle differences between images clear. Asset cataloging starts up faster, and a bulk editor offers users an “apply to all” option when adding metadata to cataloged assets. Users can create asset “placeholders” for assets in production, with the purpose of adding metadata and track production before an asset is ready to catalog. Sorting improvements can display the pages of PDFs, layouts, presentations etc. by page number, regardless of the primary sort field. A secondary sort order is now available, and algorithm changes speed sorting operations and ensure all field types sort as expected. Catalog back-up reports and system log (syslog) messages generated by Cumulus can each be emailed automatically. Added support for Microsoft’s Failover Cluster technology offers protection for Cumulus Servers running on Windows Server 2008. The Cumulus Web Client (formerly Internet Client Pro) has been updated for Cumulus 8.1. A retooling of Canto’s Web publishing technology is scheduled for release early next year. Cumulus 8.1 will be available for download the first week of December. http://www.canto.com
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