What is Content Management System
A content management system (CMS)
is a set of software that helps in the creation
and management of documents and all other types
of content. It not only speeds up the work but also
makes the content much easier to control. A CMS
is frequently a single web application used for
managing websites and web content. However, some
content management systems need separate applications
for editing and constructing the content.
Most content management systems have the following
features:
-
Identification: A CMS is able
to identify the key users and their roles
- Roles assignment: A CMS assigns different users’
roles depending on the content category
- Workflow control: A CMS alerts proper content
managers about changes in the content
- Versions management: A CMS tracks and manages
multiple versions of the same document (or any piece
of content) which is its most important feature
as it allows restoring older version of documents
in no time.
- Publishing: A CMS is able to publish the edited
content to make it easier to use
Common types of content management systems are the
following:
- Web content management systems that assist in
web publishing
- Transactional content management systems (T-CMS)
that help in managing e-commerce transactions
- Integrated content management systems (I-CMS)
that enable control over all enterprises’
documents
- Publications management systems (P-CMS) that
assist in managing the non-electronic publications
History
The first content management systems were born independently
from each other in various organizations because of
their need to handle a large quantity of content and
documents. As the workflow speed increased and the
number of documents increased, organizations found
it harder and harder to keep the whole publishing
process under control. In 1995, the first commercial
CMS became available.
From that time on, the CMS market has been growing
larger and larger, and companies other than publishing
houses are finding CM systems useful.
Today
Today almost every bigger company understands the
need for a CMS and employs it. Here are several reasons
for that:
- A CMS gives unique opportunities for tracking
the changes made to the documents or other content
as well as organizing content for easy consumption.
- A CMS greatly reduces the amount of missing documents
or other parts of content in the company.
- A CMS allows clear assignments of responsibilities.
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