I've spent the last two months looking over Content Management Systems in an attempt to find a great Knowledge Management solution for the creation, sharing, and distribution of content.
Since there is the occasional visitor to this site, specific tests, specific outcomes, and my final selection will not be revealed. However, for each of the many CMSs I looked at, this will document the good, the outstanding, the bad, and the occasional ugly.
This Review focuses on Ektron CMS400. Ektron was honored by KMWorld Magazine in 2005 by being named one of the 100 Companies that Matter in KM as well as a 2005 KM Trend Setter.
With Ektron CMS400, I saw a demo, and then I had a chance to download and install a sandbox to play with.
As with all the CMSs I looked at, my 91 tests was the starting point.
Unfortunately with my Ektron tests, far too many features that I needed did not function. One disappointment was that the WYSIWYG Editor that I required was a separate plug-in that had to be added after I initially started the tests. Given Ektron was appreciated so well by KMWorld, I gave them the benefit of a second chance, and still I ran into issues that were insurmountable for my need.
To Ektron's credit, their solution begins at around $12,000 and includes a Document Management System. The combination of DMS and CMS is valuable. I suspect that these are the reasons that they matter in KM...a good price for a product that combines two important concepts (DMS/CMS). Just ensure your demands are not too intense.
I would also state that it is a benefit that Ektron stands behind their product and will allow a company to download a full working version to demo and test. To me, that is always test number 1. I was not able to do that with RedDot Solutions. The technical and sales staff were also very helpful; it just did not work with my needs.
On the Tom Godfrey rating scale, definitely 'asdf'...middle of the field.
well, most of the CMS don't have a pre-installed WYSIWYG editor, however you can add a plugin later on and that works fine. Thanks
Posted by: Online Website Editor | March 26, 2009 at 03:26 AM
Ummm... most do have a pre-installed WYSIWYG editor. That is most definitely standard.
Posted by: Bee | April 01, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Ektron is terrible, I have been trying to convince our IT department to ditch the software as soon as possible.
Posted by: mark | April 02, 2009 at 05:50 PM
Just like dot Net nuke, only $20,000 more!
Posted by: Rajhit | April 07, 2009 at 09:11 AM
Ektron CMS400 works pretty well, I recommend it too.
Posted by: Viagra Online | September 21, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Do you know the new version Ektron CMS800 ?
Posted by: Midlife Crisis | October 16, 2009 at 04:17 PM
nice! i'm gonna make my own journal
Posted by: First Forced Orgasm | October 17, 2009 at 06:49 PM
Very useful information and the sites help a lot, thanks!
Posted by: Buy Zenegra | November 17, 2009 at 03:12 PM
yeah.. good style! f
Posted by: Voyeur Japanese | November 24, 2009 at 06:27 AM
The Ektron system is based on .net 1.0 technology, the API is incomplete, patchy documentation, controls do not expose enough properties, full of bugs, please avoid!
Posted by: Nice Yellow Egg | December 01, 2009 at 05:06 PM
My own experience with Ektron has been a nightmare. It's extremely buggy, and I'm finding that very few people know the software well enough to get it running smoothly. Those who can want to charge thousands of dollars over Ektron's already outrageous price. It's a software money pit. I wish I knew a year ago what I know now. If there's anyone out there seriously considering Ektron, I would seriously reconsider, unless you have money to burn.
Posted by: Dissatisfied | February 24, 2010 at 07:20 PM
I am seriously considering Ektron for a CMS system because I need to integrate some website elements with Microsoft Dynamics AX and Ektron claim to have an integration module for this.
Do you have any suggestions for alternative CMS systems?
Posted by: Paul | May 04, 2010 at 11:29 AM
Ektron is one of the worst products I have had the displeasure of working with. In addition to licensing CMS 400.NET the company I consult for hired Ektron to implement their site. The implementation was EXTREMELY sloppy and amateurish. Although the CMS includes the jQuery library, form validation was attempted through inline Javascript that reported errors one at a time in popup alerts. Other parts of the core product were also coded around by Ektron's own implementation team, presumably because they were inadequate or buggy, but perhaps they knew as little about their own product as they did about jQuery. The site was riddled with bugs and support was virtually non-existent. Content managers were afraid to submit content unless a developer was on hand for fear of something breaking.
The only positive thing I can say about it is that it provides job security for me. However, being an ethical person who wants to provide a quality product and an excellent end user experience I take little joy in this small fact.
Use this product at your own risk!!
Posted by: Dissatisfied User | August 19, 2010 at 03:13 PM
A company that offers an "instant" demo, then requires you to register and wait for a sales call, immediately raises my suspicions.
When you can't find the price, either, it's pretty clear you're looking at overpriced junk. I'm thankful for the reviews that validated my expectations.
Posted by: George Berman | August 21, 2010 at 03:01 PM
Poor performance, poor support, and questionable business practices. We regret doing business with Ektron. We've spent 6 digits on licensing, professional services, hardware, etc. We've stuck with them for the past 3 years, following their recommendations but have not had performance issues resolved. They stuck a knife in our backs when we notified them of our intention to find an alternative solution. We've found their support does not take ownership of problems and prefer to quickly close cases. Their final answer to performance problems is always to buy more licenses and add more hardware. The requirements from their initial sales job to when we called it quits quadrupled. Beware of doing business with this company.
Posted by: Bleeding Ektron-User | December 17, 2010 at 02:16 PM
Installed a demo in November and it isn't worth the price. We decided to go joomla since it did what we needed and their plugin actually worked.
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