Is the CMS Market slowing down?
By now, just about every company who needs a CMS must have one already, right? Well, you’d think so. The CMS industry as we know it has been around for more than ten years, so it’s safe to say that every enterprise-sized organization has purchased licenses for a CMS product (or, more accurately, multiple CMS products). But what about all the mid-size and smaller businesses?
What’s happening in the CMS market is overall very positive. There continues to be strong competition among CMS vendors. And, while there are a handful of obvious leaders in the enterprise market (names like Interwoven, Stellent, Documentum, and Vignette), the field of players for the mid-size and small business markets is still wide open.
This competitive environment is good news for businesses considering a CMS. Why?
As you can see in this chart by Forrester Research, the CMS market doesn’t seem to have stagnated at all. In fact, the rate of growth has increased over the past 4 years. Analysts do note, however, that the enterprise market has flattened, indicating that much of today’s growth is coming from the small- and mid-size business segments. Since 2000, mid-size companies have been adopting a lot of the same types of software applications as the mega-size companies, including ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), SCM (Supply Chain Management), and CRM (Customer Relationship Management). These systems are now recognized as essential IT infrastructure for companies who want to grow and be competitive. Content management systems have not quite reached the status of essential infrastructure (although, arguably, they should). But, after getting their other IT ducks in a row, mid-size and even some small businesses, are seeing a CMS as the next logical step. And, they’re adding a CMS for the same reasons they implemented the systems mentioned above—growing their business and staying competitive. As recognized by the big players, those that deliver the right content, in the right format, to the right customers, at the right time do gain a competitive edge.
What’s happening in the CMS market is overall very positive. There continues to be strong competition among CMS vendors. And, while there are a handful of obvious leaders in the enterprise market (names like Interwoven, Stellent, Documentum, and Vignette), the field of players for the mid-size and small business markets is still wide open.
This competitive environment is good news for businesses considering a CMS. Why?
- Costs are coming down—especially when you consider hosted CMS products, also known as Application Service Provider (ASP) or software-as-a-service (SaaS).
- Quality is going up—in terms of range of features, ease of implementation, and usability.
- Trial is easier—with more and more CMS vendors providing downloadable trial versions or providing try-before-you-buy software and services.
As you can see in this chart by Forrester Research, the CMS market doesn’t seem to have stagnated at all. In fact, the rate of growth has increased over the past 4 years. Analysts do note, however, that the enterprise market has flattened, indicating that much of today’s growth is coming from the small- and mid-size business segments. Since 2000, mid-size companies have been adopting a lot of the same types of software applications as the mega-size companies, including ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), SCM (Supply Chain Management), and CRM (Customer Relationship Management). These systems are now recognized as essential IT infrastructure for companies who want to grow and be competitive. Content management systems have not quite reached the status of essential infrastructure (although, arguably, they should). But, after getting their other IT ducks in a row, mid-size and even some small businesses, are seeing a CMS as the next logical step. And, they’re adding a CMS for the same reasons they implemented the systems mentioned above—growing their business and staying competitive. As recognized by the big players, those that deliver the right content, in the right format, to the right customers, at the right time do gain a competitive edge.
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