Information Technology

Tuesday CMS Expo Panel: Getting Ahead in the Cloud

At the 2013 CMS Expo Learning & Business Conference I have the privilege of moderating a panel focused on the Cloud. That's actually a broad topic, but I think it's a topic that is increasingly becoming well understood by the CMS community. Last year, I moderated a similar panel and, in my opinion, we spent way too much time trying to define the Cloud.

CEO Corner: CMS Build or Buy–Where's the Respect?

I've been pitching one of Canada’s largest and most interesting brands for about 5 years now. It’s one of those dream customers that every CEO has. They are the perfect fit for our unique mix of capabilities and I was fully convinced that with a little patience, we would be given the chance to prove it to them. My systematic, persistent relationship building and follow-ups finally paid off early this year when a they emailed me an RFP for a new CMS.

I became giddy as I read through it as it basically described the features of Agility in minute detail.

CEO Corner: Choosing a CXM Solution - Best of Breed or All-in-One Suite?

Editor's Note: Petr Palas, founder and CEO of Kentico software, lets his voice be heard to in this week's CEO Corner. In this article, he provides rebuttal to an earlier CEO Corner written by Agility's Michael Assad. Where Assad favors a "best of breed" approach and questions the validity of CXM, Palas believe the future is in fully integrated CXM solutions. Which CEO is right? We'll let you decide...

CEO Corner: Cloud CMS vs. Installed CMS

If I learned anything from my open source vs. proprietary CMS post, comparing CMS’s based on the method used to code them is no longer that relevant. Following the great discussion that was triggered convinced me that comparing along this dimension no longer contributes much to the CMS selection process.

The other thing I learned was that being cheeky, while good for attention, probably isn’t the most forthcoming way to educate the readers of this great publication. So this time around, I promise to be more thorough and objective!  Hopefully we’ll get some insights from the community again as well!

The Best Drupal and Joomla Comparison of 2013

Sitting on my desktop the past few weeks has been an eBook from the Aluent Group, Drupal and Joomla!: A Comparison of Project Processes and Costs. I probably would have not read this eBook if it wasn't for an acquaintance of mine, Justin Kerr, letting me know that he was a co-author of the book. I'm lucky to have read the book because I think Justin Kerr as well as co-authors Robert Nowak and Jet Pixel have hit a home run in their review and comparison of Drupal and Joomla.

Quoting IT: Data encryption is not enough

"Disk encryption, which encrypts every bit of data on a hard drive, is a good additional level of defense. However, unless biometric or smart-card authentication is used on the device, it is simply one more password for a hacker or thief to crack."

 - Greg Crowe, "After theft, NASA orders laptops encrypted, but is that enough?", GCN.com, November 16, 2012

The Why and What of Web Privacy and Accessibility Guidelines

In the recent times when we developed web properties, it has become standard for us to adhere to "Privacy and Accessibility" guidelines. In some cases, the customers have their own set of privacy and accessibility guidelines, and in other cases the customers expect the implementation agencies to follow the latest standard. In either case the core of these guidelines are laid out of by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Let us explore the accessibility guidelines a little more, and ask, why and how it is relevant?

Why Accessibility?

It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with diverse abilities

Quoting IT: CMS Selections Involve Marketing and IT

"A well-executed CMS selection process takes into account the needs and desires of both marketing and IT, creating a content management environment that has been optimized for those who are responsible for publishing content as well as those who are responsible for providing technical support."

 -John Fairley, Walker Sands Communications, "Don’t Let IT Hijack the CMS", CIO Update, October 3, 2012.