If you own or manage an enterprise-class company, consider using an enterprise CMS to manage your content and keep your customers satisfied. This is a type of content management system that’s designed specifically for larger companies and corporations. This software solution allows you and your content team to edit, create, and publish digital content without having knowledge of how to write code.
In modern business environments, it’s crucial that companies use CMS platforms that meet their needs and allow them to publish enough content to maintain high engagement with target audiences. For smaller businesses, a more limited CMS might be sufficient when there are only two or three content stakeholders and a single channel to work with.
The needs of a large corporation are more complex. In this scenario, there might be a large number of stakeholders in several cross-functional teams that are tasked with delivering digital content via omnichannel marketing efforts.
If your company needs to perform marketing for search engines, social media platforms, eCommerce sites, and brick and mortar stores, you may need a more robust CMS that you can seamlessly integrate into your existing processes. An enterprise-level CMS offers power, extensibility, and flexibility. This guide offers a detailed look at enterprise CMS platforms and how they can improve efficiency and collaboration throughout your workplace.
Understanding the Core Components
No matter which CMS you choose, your company will benefit from core components like:
- Content management features
- Document management capabilities
- Collaboration tools and workflows
- Integration with existing systems
The software you choose should be able to immediately meet your company’s content management needs. While small-scale CMS platforms are often website-focused, enterprise software takes a multi-channel approach to content management. For example, you’ll likely have the tools you need to manage multiple brands in a single system. You can also modify your content to differ slightly across multiple channels. The types of content management features you should be on the lookout for include the following:
- Collaboration
- SEO tools integration
- Detailed analytics
- Publishing tools
- Multi-platform capabilities
- Content templates
This CMS should also eliminate the need for paper documents and the filing systems that come with them. Every document you create can be digitized and secured in a repository. By maintaining organized electronic files, collaboration and sharing will also be easier.
The best CMS platforms allow users to customize workflows depending on how teams work. While one team might use the traditional workflow where someone writes an article, the editor approves it, and the document is published, another team might be tasked with having the document reviewed from a legal perspective. With the right CMS, each team can have a different workflow.
You should also be able to integrate these CMS platforms with your existing systems. If you already have certain content strategy operations in place, it’s important that the CMS of your choice can be integrated without any downtime.
Key Features and Functionality
From scalability to robust security measures, there are many features that you should gain access to with this type of CMS. When comparing a small business to a larger enterprise, the latter must manage higher volumes of traffic on its website. Let’s say that your corporation is about to launch a new and highly anticipated product. It’s likely that your site will experience a large spike in traffic immediately after the new product is launched.
Small-scale CMS platforms don’t have the tools and functionality needed to handle high volumes of traffic. In comparison, most enterprise platforms can scale automatically with cloud-based computing. Consider choosing a CMS that offers a service level agreement (SLA). This type of agreement ensures that your site will provide customers with an uninterrupted experience no matter the demand.
These CMS platforms also provide users with ample security and compliance features. If you were to use a small-scale CMS, you would likely receive fixed user roles for compliance, which could involve an editor role, author role, and approver role. Larger corporations include much more expansive content management teams with multiple members who may require the same permissions.
With a CMS that accommodates large corporations, you’ll receive granular control over the different user roles. You can even create custom roles if the standard ones aren’t specific enough. For example, you can create a custom role that solely permits a user to modify a single type of content.
Detailed control options mean that you can keep your CMS and website secure. If a security breach occurs, pinpointing its location can help you determine which user might have made an error that created the problem in the first place.
Along with customized workflows, this type of CMS should also provide adaptability via automation, flexible integration, and customization. You’ll be able to configure the platform to accommodate different security protocols and user permissions.
Since CMS platforms are designed to be used by content creators who don’t have coding experience, the platform of your choice should provide a user-friendly interface that accommodates developers and content creators alike.
Choosing the Right Enterprise CMS
Before you select an enterprise CMS for your company, assess your organizational needs and goals. There are many solutions available to you, which is why you must first determine what you need from a CMS. If you don’t have many developers on your team, ease of use might be more important than other features. The top CMS platforms are meant to be used by many individuals and roles in an organization.
If you promote collaboration in your company, choose a CMS solution that makes it easy for multiple users from different teams to share and collaborate with one another. Compatibility with existing IT infrastructure is also crucial. If you’re moving from a small-scale CMS to an enterprise one, you may have numerous third-party marketing tools that you want to continue using. In this situation, look for a CMS that offers seamless integration with the most popular third-party tools.
As mentioned previously, scalability is a highly important feature in enterprise-level CMS platforms. It’s difficult to predict when high volumes of traffic will reach your site. With a scalable CMS, you can safeguard against any situation and prevent downtime. As your website grows, your CMS will automatically scale with it.
When searching for the right CMS, consider the vendor’s reputation and the amount of support they provide. The best vendors will be available 24/7 to fix bugs, answer your questions, and provide technical support. You should be able to find vendor reviews with a simple Google search.
Implementing Enterprise CMS Successfully
To implement this type of CMS effectively, you need to plan the process before buying the software. First, focus on gaining stakeholder engagement and buy-in. Seek input from the content creators and developers who will be using this CMS in the future. Consider implementing a user feedback system to determine if there are any areas that need to be improved. If the stakeholders in your company find the system difficult to use, it might hurt the success of the platform’s integration.
It’s also a good idea to implement robust training and onboarding strategies. To effortlessly move from one platform to another, your personnel need to know how to use the main features and tools at their disposal. Even if you were using a small-scale CMS before now, an enterprise one shouldn’t be too different. Your CMS service provider may offer training programs that help your personnel become acclimated to the new tools and features that are available to them.
The integration of a CMS platform isn’t always successful. While you should be able to avoid this issue by doing enough research beforehand, there’s a chance that the CMS doesn’t integrate well with your existing IT infrastructure or that your content creation team can’t get a handle on how to use it.
Once you implement the CMS, make sure you monitor and evaluate the system to ensure its success. A poorly performing CMS can reduce customer satisfaction, damage your business operations, and increase employee workload. Use software to track key metrics that can help you determine if the new CMS is helping you reach your business goals. Along with performance, you must also track downtime and vendor response to any issues that occur.
Conclusion
When you integrate an enterprise CMS into your business operations, you’ll benefit from enhanced security, flexibility, customization, and collaboration. Your CMS can scale to meet your needs. You’ll be able to effortlessly publish content to eCommerce stores, mobile apps, websites, and all other channels your business incorporates into its operations. This type of CMS is essential for the digital transformation of your company. Once your organization begins to grow, consider adopting an enterprise CMS.
