CMS Experts and Vendors May Be Floundering
May 6, 2009
I had a very unsettling conversation with a young man who recently set up his own content management consulting firm. I met him when I arrived to register for the Boye 09 conference in Philadelphia. I won’t reveal his name or his consulting firm. I do want to highlight three comments he made when we spoke yesterday afternoon and offer a comment about the implications for CMS. When I read “There Was Much Noise about the Closure of Tripod, Sites.Google, Geocities”, I realized the changing of the guard was as much about the failure of CMS as about new ways to tame the bull of electronic information, particularly in an organization.
My three questions:
First, the individual said that he had worked for an integration company that had been hit with the financial downturn. The integrator had little choice. Reduce staff or shut its doors forever. The company provided a range of technical and management services to publishing companies wanting to better manage their content. With the rumors of cut backs at some of the US based information consulting companies along with the reduction in force at Capgemini in India I wrote about here, this news was not surprising. It did indicate that technology advisors are not indispensible. Everyone, it seems, is dispensable, sort of like Kleenex. I am not a people person, but even I could sense that the individual with whom I was speaking was shocked at the change in his employer’s fortunes.
The question that raced through my mind this morning was, “Why should people who work for small service firms be surprised when the top brass has to reduce costs quickly?” I find it difficult to escape the economic news. Perhaps those in service companies in technology fields perceive themselves as insulated from the difficulties the auto industry faces, for instance?
Second, the individual told me that he decided to become a consultant and explore new opportunities. I think this is an excellent strategy. My concern this morning arose from my realization that this young person did not have the benefit of doing hard time at one of the blue chip consulting companies. Second and third tier consulting companies use bright people, but if those people don’t learn the basics of building a client base, marketing expertise, and pricing to win jobs while making a profit, the risk of failure goes up. Even those used to the safety of the Bain or Boston Consulting safety net can and do fail when setting off on their own without a logo that people recognize on their business card.
My mind asked this question, “Why type of training or educational experiences are needed to get a bright young person into a consulting business with adequate knowledge to deal with the rigors of this profession?” I attended a Booz, Allen “charm school”, but I was fortunate. I think this young man needs that type of experience.
Third, a young person entering consulting has to have skills that cause people to part with their money. As I thought about this person’s description of his background, I thought it sounded good. After all, most organizations have big content problems.
This morning, however, I realized that the young man was using Harvard MBA speak to explain his expertise. The notion of “best practices”, “project management,” and “strategy” are ones that are quite difficult to deliver in a successful, profitable way to skeptical clients.
Now what’s this have to do with content management?
I think that as information gains more prominence as a strategic asset, CMS systems and consultants are getting into increasingly hot water. A software package that organizes organizational writing is useful, but it is not a system that creates information that is a strategic asset.
Judging from the comments in this sessions, many CMS experts and attendees are trying to keep their heads above water. CMS costs are rising. Information is increasingly difficult to manage. The top guns in an organization want information to pay dividends. CMS is on the firing line with no bullet proof vest or much in the way of ammunition to defend themselves against irate users and cost watching financial officers. Open source solutions like Drupal may be one path to explore, but I think the boundaries between information value and CMS may swamp this sector and some of the leading players.
In short, CMS like enterprise search seems to be a troubled software sector.
Stephen Arnold, May 6, 2009
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