WebCommand Proprietary CMS vs Open Source CMS
Open Source CMS solutions –free to license, lots of modules with constant ongoing development from developers all over the world and wide community support – why would anyone consider anything else for their next CMS platform?
I’ll admit it’s a discussion we seem to be having more and more and it’s not hard to see the appeal. While the debate goes on between proponents on both sides of the fence, at the end of the day the arguments for and against open source and closed source seem to be driven largely by perceptions and philosophical ideals.
This paper isn’t intended to be a defence of open source or closed source even though it seems to be often where the debate is at. The intent here is to refocus the discussion in terms of what matters to our customers and how DDG can help them implement the best solutions.
Broadly speaking open source is used to refer to software whose source code is openly available to the public. Anyone (individual developers and companies) can participate in the ongoing development and maintenance of the source code, and the it’s free from license fees. It’s a model that works, but not in all cases. There are many success stories, although the majority fail to gain the traction needed and eventually die a slow death. In the area of Web Content Management Systems (CMS) there are a number of notable successes that are widely adopted.
Given that DDG recommends Web Command (a proprietary system / closed source) as the core of our Web solutions we need to be upfront and acknowledge that we are usually found entering the debate in defence of our proprietary CMS. For some this may place us in the closed source camp, but that’s not necessarily a label we are comfortable wearing as it creates the presumption that we are ideologically opposed to open source which is not the case. DDG’s primary concern is to deliver a solution to our customer that delivers what we consider to be the best possible solution within the defined budget parameters while maintaining a strong value proposition. While Web Command is DDG’s proprietary system, we do also incorporate open source platforms into our solution offering where it makes sense and have done this on a number of projects simply because in some cases it provides the right solution to the problem.
From our experience, the question of using open source will often come up early in the discussions when we are approached by a customer to build a new website. In a handful of cases, this can become a non-negotiable and mandatory requirement. I want to look at the question “why do our customers care?”. In most cases, I’m not convinced their reasons are well understood. Somewhere along the way someone has made a convincing argument that open source represents some kind of silver bullet.
If you are interested in learning about the various open source projects, pros and cons etc., just type “Open Source” into Google to get started – there is a wealth of useful information and viewpoints already published that covers this in detail. Instead I just want to distil this down to the key questions we get asked and provide our perspective.
If open source CMS’s are free, why should I pay for a proprietary CMS system? Won’t this mean we will end up paying more?
This may be true if you consider the license cost of the CMS platform in isolation. In reality, the CMS license is a relatively small component of the total project cost and since a project is made up of many components, it’s the total cost to deliver the complete solution that really matters. A typical web project for example is made up of strategy, scoping, information architecture, graphic design, implementation, testing, content entry etc.
The relationship between the various cost components rather than the CMS component in isolation is going to be the decider. In a typical web project, the labour involved in the implementation will be by far the most influential driver of cost. How closely your requirements match the strengths of one particular CMS platform will in most cases play a significant part in determining the total cost.
With some of the better open source solutions there is the option to build a complete website out-of-the-box thereby minimising implementation and design costs. For this to work, you have to orient your online presence around the out-of-the-box functionality provided and while this may be possible in some limited cases, maximising the potential of your online presence requires a more strategic approach with custom development to make sure those opportunities are fully recognised. In most cases this requires more than an out-of-the-box website.
At DDG our development process maintains a strong upfront strategic focus with our customers typically coming to us looking for their 3rd or 4th website generation. Since they’ve been down the path a few times they know that websites require careful planning. The strategy and solution design is independent of the CMS and is focussed on maximising the impact of these objectives.
Web Command has been custom designed to make it easier for us to achieve these outcomes so implementing the solution on open source is unlikely to yield any significant cost saving.
Open Source has hundreds of modules written by developers all over the world. Can’t we just use those modules?
This is partly answered above, but it is worth noting that many of those modules don’t stand up to commercial quality standards and have limited application. While this creates a perception that there are lots of options, typically there are only a limited number in each category that would actually be worth using.
Web Command is a modular system too so we retain most of the advantages of keeping development costs down by plugging in and reusing existing functionality. Our module philosophy is slightly different however, as it is aligned with our “strategy first” focus. Web Command modules are designed to be customised so they can be integrated with your site exactly as we design them to.
Web Command also benefits directly from being integrated with other modules and components from other 3rd parties that provide functionality in areas not covered by Web Command directly.
Open Source being “open” means I’m not locked into one supplier
The problem with any proprietary system is that ongoing development and support is dependent on the ongoing support of the system’s creator.
Open Source on the other hand has the benefit of having a broad community of users and developers rather than being tied to one organisation. This in itself has pros and cons.
In theory it sounds great, but the question of whether or not open source makes it possible for a company to move their website from one developer to another is something that is yet to be seen in practice. We know from the regular inquiries from organisations who are in this predicament and contact DDG for help that this is a difficult process.
Most medium to large sized websites will incorporate a significant amount of custom code and technical design considerations. To change web agencies without changing the website would require you to find one who was prepared to inherit the legacy and potentially bad implementation decisions of another developer. Finding another agency to take this on would be a difficult process.
In choosing a web partner, select one who has been around for a long time and has a proven track record of supporting their customers. The ongoing success of your website will be dependent on the level of support you receive from them irrespective of whether they use open source or proprietary CMS in the base of the solution.
What functional advantages are there in Web Command over open source alternatives?
As already mentioned, Web Command in most cases does not add significant cost to a project when compared to using open source, but more importantly we believe Web Command offers compelling advantages that you won’t find in the open source alternatives especially when the content requirements move beyond simple content requirements. Web Command only exists because the alternatives have short comings particularly in the user interface that makes content management more difficult than it should be, especially when you have complex rules on how content is served across multiple context sensitive sites.
With strong customisation, enterprise functionality and the ability to drive multiple sites while sharing content, the platform provides DDG with a strong competitive advantage. If the open source alternatives eventually fill these gaps, then we’ll likely see open source becoming a larger part of our solution offering too.
If you need more information or would like to discuss further we’d love to have the opportunity to demonstrate the Web Command advantage to you. We can be contacted here.