|  |
Managing Content In A Flash
Software firm EGO7 this week announced the release of its content management system, intended to manage Web sites using Macromedia's Flash technology.
According to EGO7 chief executive officer David Weil, the company's CMSmx software is the first commercially available content management system designed specifically for Flash-based sites. "There have been small, one-off [systems] for managing text or images," Jones said. "But until now, there were no solutions that could provide the same level of support for Flash content that other CMS tools provide for HTML-based sites."
Like traditional content management tools, CMSmx is designed to separate a site's content from its functionality and design, allowing site builders to create an efficient process for updating online content. According to Jones, CMSmx allows an unlimited number of contributors to create and publish text, images and other content without requiring any knowledge of or access to the site's Flash-based design elements.
The product uses a Web-based virtual desktop based on standard windows-based desktops. Within the desktop, users have access to tools for authoring content, creating workflows, searching and categorizing content, and using version control tools. CMSmx also supports an unlimited number of custom Flash templates, which use pre-defined component sets to publish content.
According to Jones, CMSmx also provides a set of role-based management and administration tools, allowing publishers to control each user's access to content, their ability to publish content, and approval or notification procedures. In addition, he said, the tool allows users to implement and deploy Web services, including the ability integrate existing .Net framework components.
Jones said he believes there is a significant market for content management tools capable of managing Flash-based sites. "As Flash developers, we faced a continuous challenge handing off Flash-based sites to our customers," he said. "Many of them don't have the in-house capabilities to maintain these sites."
EGO7 is currently implementing CMSmx with several customers, including at least one major enterprise customer. The company is also preparing to deliver several additional features for CMSmx, including improved Web accessibility support and the ability to index Flash-based content for search engines.
According to Jones, the company plans initially to target mid-tier companies, especially design and marketing departments or interactive agencies that typically rely more heavily upon Flash-based Web sites. "We have a huge number of interactive agency developers who are interested in the product, as well as enterprises looking for solutions capable of managing Flash sites on a departmental level," he said.
CMSmx requires Microsoft Windows 2000 Web server, Microsoft .Net, SQL Server 2000 Standard Editing, and SQLXML 3.0. Pricing starts at $14,000 for a five user license, including installation, training and one month of technical support, with enterprise and volume pricing available. 07.05.2004, Matt McKenzie
Subscribe to the newsletter | | |
| | | |
