With SharePoint, you can implement effective security, but managing it with the tools you get out of the box isn’t the easiest. Here we look at the challenges you will face managing security and permissions within SharePoint and discuss why you should make it a key element of your Information Architecture plan.

WordPress as a content management system is often debated among CMS enthusiasts due to it being known so much more as a fantastic blogging platform. However, with the right plug-ins, WordPress can be setup also as a great CMS too. This list is dedicated to those that love to make such lists that weigh the pros and cons of a particular CMS.

There are some definite advantages as well as drawbacks in using WordPress as a CMS platform.  This list is dedicated to those that love to make such lists that weigh the pros and cons of a particular CMS.

There’s a sea change going on – a quiet revolution in the way we work as teams. Successful virtual teams, without question, have been on the forefront of this change. But co-located teams are also beginning to reap the benefits of a new way of working.

When Meetings Ruled the Day

To decode the secret, let’s start by examining a simple concept that traditionally has been critical to teams:  meetings.

Back in the 90’s, most work, status, decisions, and deals happened in meetings.  Meetings were the way things got done. In the days or hours leading up to the meeting, we would prepare bits and pieces of collateral to present or reference in the meeting. We compiled agendas, collected status updates, drafted documents, and printed out static plans. Project managers used their powers to exert control over the process in an effort to move the ball forward.

Then at the appointed time, everyone would gather, spend a couple hours talking about what was prepared, and try to make some decisions. More often, they would end up making provisional decisions, after which they’d disband before coming back together a few weeks later with revised information and the same constituents in the room again. Picture the people as the sun - the collateral orbited around them and their gatherings.  

Virtual Team, Virtual Office

Today that scenario, for many teams, is turned on its head.  Instead of the project collateral orbiting around the people, people orbit around project collateral that is centralized in an online workspace. This configuration supports our modern workspace, which is – for a vast number of teams – virtual. People are distributed across the globe, are in different time zones, and come and go as projects are executed.

As an online marketer, I used to work in different environments, but since joining Foliovision, I spend virtually all my time on our clients’ content management systems. Some days ago, I logged into a completely different CMS after a long time. It didn’t look bad at first glance, but spending just a few minutes working with this interface was enough to see the striking difference between this CMS and our own; this one was really medieval! I am a marketer, certainly not a hard-boiled developer, and for the first time, I’ve summarized my thoughts about what makes a good CMS. These are the pillars of success but also the risks involved.

I. Low initial costs

This means open source, choosing from the three respective candidates (here we explain why we chose Wordpress out of these three). There is a crowdsource counting dozens of millions of people who develop, test, rate, and upgrade several open source CMSs. You can’t beat this crowd with your team. Spending weeks developing your own or buying some obscure CMS from another company means you’ve wasted money form the beginning.

RISK: Some open source projects serve for years with the same or even increasing quality. Unfortunately, some start to slide backward as the time passes, and you have to leave the sinking ship at the right moment.

II. For all clients and purposes

Of course, you have to add “within the range of what CMS should provide.” There is nothing worse than getting your first BIG client and then realizing that the wooden legs of your CMS can’t accomodate your vision. Our example: we need to serve both a local Toronto realtor and a major Canadian insurance broker with different traffic, database requirements, and marketing strategies — not an easy task if you’re not prepared for it.

Want to take control of the unstructured information that overwhelms your office? Looking to automate business processes and improve management of your corporate intellectual property? Are you unsure of how to choose the right Workflow and BPM provider? If your organization would like to gain substantial improvements in business processes, while reducing paper costs, here are seven tips to help you select the solution that will help you achieve your goals and get a quick return-on-investment (ROI).

1. Proven ROI

When selecting an ECM solution for your organization, look for one that offers a proven and quick return-on-investment. Some ECM providers have enabled customers to successfully achieve ROI in as little as 6 to 9 months. This can be realized in a number of ways including fast implementation, smooth integration with other business applications and more.

When evaluating ECM solutions, consider both the direct savings–such as reduced resources and hardware costs—and the “soft dollar” benefits. By increasing productivity from 50% to 500%, organizations can enjoy significant savings by redirecting valuable resources to other critical areas of the business.

2. Knowledgeable Professional Services Team

When your organization is evaluating ECM solutions, make sure to -by-side to ensure that deployment strategies and product integrations are properly planned and supportable. A knowledgeable professional services team with document management and workflow experience can make all the difference in a smooth implementation.