CMS Review: RedDot Solutions

I've spent the last two months looking over Content Management Systems in an attempt to find a solution to a content creation, sharing, and distribution issue. Most of the next posts are my notes, for me, concerning each solution.

Since there is the occassional 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 ugly.

I had a chance to see a demo and peer inside the heart of RedDot Solutions Content Management Solution. DISCLAIMER: I did not get a chance to work hands-on with RedDot solutions. The information here is based upon a couple of demos seen, and a Q&A session with demos to show features.

Nice solution. RedDot offers a very easy to use CMS. Whether you're the Content Manager, an Author, Editor, or just a Knowledge worker interested in accessing Content, the range of features and functionality is very diverse; and given all the features, it was very easy to use. 

My Test Plan for the CMSs had 91 specific tests that were ranked for ease-of-implementation, speed-of-implementation, and overall ease-of-use. There were only 12 tests that RedDot solutions completely failed on, and some of the tests were very specific.

One nice feature is the ability to move existing documents into the system, including Word files, Excel files and the already converted PDFs. Images size according to needs (which is unusual for most mid-range Content Management Systems).

Again, it's an outstanding solution. A couple of their customers include AMD, Mazda, and several universities.

Now sit down. RedDot's CMS starts with a basic system at around $50,000 (stripped to the bones). I would say - based on discussions - that the typical "price of entry" was probably closer to a buck-and-a-quarter ($125,000).  Not fact, but a guess...many probably pay more.

Given the budget, why not, it's a very good solution, one of the best I looked at. The flexibility of creating content, and the security/permissions to access it is very granular.

RedDot is also now a subsidiary of Hummingbird (HUMC). This means a range of benefits, from great financial backing to now a broader range of product offerings.

I give it a 'qwerty' - left top row all the way.

Comments

[Luc]

Didn't you need any dynamic content? No user interaction? redDot only produces static content.

[Brian Will]

I'm curious how easy you found it to create RedDot content classes (templates) from scratch and write RQL statements to manage dynamic content? Or is your review a purely non-technical review, i.e. click the red dot, type the words, click OK.

[Tom]

Thanks for your additions/thoughts Brian, Luc.

Given our users for the Content Management project, we did not do a technical review.

While we did not select RedDot, I found it to be an excellent system and very easy to use. It had many features that I did not find in other CMSs, but in the end it was too much for our needs.

It has now been 2 years later, and I image that the software has advanced significantly in that time. Keep up the good work.

[Anon]

AS a web developer creating websites in OpenCMS for 4 years and now reddot for the past 6 Months for certain projects, i've learnt that it's quicker just to build a giant .net webite using a db or xml for the navigation, menu and breadcrumbs.

Reddot is a nightmare! We've had to hack it to bits to create secured areas and other specific things. I work for a VERY large organiation and i'd much rather people just emailed or phoned me their changes and i could update a .net website in a jiffy :-)

[Tom Godfrey]

Anon -

Thank you for your post, and your experience is interesting. I'm not a developer, but rather a project manager-type, and my experience would dictate the use of Open Source to truly define your requirements, then build your own. And I would also agree from what I seen and heard that the best route is .net.

[Reddot User]

Im a reddot user and I feel like Im in my own personal hell. There is very little support and the system is unnecessarily complex. The navigation has caused me a nightmare and I just cant get any help...so frustrated

[Tom Godfrey]

RedDot User -

Sorry to hear about your experience. I'm not a RedDot employee and have never been one, so I cannot help you directly...but...

My guess is that your company spent a pretty penny to get RedDot implemented, so tossing it out is probably out of the question. There are a couple of potential remedies....I would suggestion the following options.

a. as a RedDot user, demand that your company's RedDot administrator be competent and that they get you trained and supported.
b. you're probably not alone in your experience, but there are probably others there in your organization that are doing OK or even great with your CMS...get an internal users group going, or just seek out some help from one or more of them. I'd like to think that someone can/will help.
c. failing that, contact RedDot directly and get support...get a support supervisor if necessary and tell them about about your experience. A company like RedDot does not want unhappy customers out posting at various blogs that they are frustrated and unsatisfied. If the product is unnecessarily complicated, they can't change that overnight, but there may be some support, configuration, or training avenues that may reduce your pain.
d. This last suggestion will cost and may not even be feasible , but it will probably be less than purchasing another CMS...but you can get a RedDot consultant in there for training, support, configuration assistance to help smooth its use.

Hope this is of some assistance.

[anon]

Having used RedDot CMS for over a year, I have to echo the thoughts of 'RedDot User' and 'Anon': RedDot CMS is a very big, complex product that lacks a large community backing it. This is one of the drawbacks of a lot of proprietary software.

I'm slowly cataloguing the problems I've faced (see my URL), not because I have some personal vendetta against RedDot or its employees, but because I want to encourage positive developments, and provide a balance for the opinion that's out there for those evaluating various CMS options.

I'm undecided as to whether ANY CMS is preferable to a custom-built solution.

[Yerfdog]

If you come back to the site - please re-post the link to the URL, as the link to your name did not work and I did not see another link in your post

Providing the site gives any research that you have found related to Red Dot, and in an effort to make all information available to users - it would be a great to have that link here.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Factoryfully]

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[Garry Sutherland]

I am a developer who currently is forced to use RedDot. It is, without doubt, the biggest pile of rubbish I have ever encountered. So much so that I am now goint to quit my job because the management will not take my advice and dump it, even though all of the users I have surveyed within the organisation hate it too.

[Garry Sutherland]

By the way. Why is this blog entitled Knowledge Management? For all the world as if Content Mangement is synonymous with Knowledge Management. It isn't.