Blog & Company News

Nov 22, 2012

IT and Mktg. Execs Prefer Open Source WCM

New study found that marketing and IT executives prefer open source Web Content Management (WCM) solutions. WCM solutions were given the highest satisfaction rate among respondents. According to the study, respondents noted its “dynamic, multichannel digital experience,” as the grabbing appeal. The study conducted by research firm Forrester on behalf of Acquia, the for-profit company that supports Drupal, surveyed 160 organizations with 1,000 to more than 20,000 employees. In addition, Forrester interviewed seven respondents based in the United States to “evaluate the adoption of open source web content management platforms among enterprises that have not traditionally leveraged open source,” as stated in the Acquia release. According to the release, findings revealed a 37 percent “highest satisfaction rate” for open source versus “home grown” at 22 percent and proprietary solutions at 8 percent. Additionally, 31 percent of enterprises surveyed said they plan on switching WCM platforms this year and 58 percent said their company has “considered or is considering open source WCM.” Although the study recommends that companies should consider open source when switching WCM solutions, it’s important to keep in mind it was commissioned by a for-profit company that supports Drupal for open source WCM solutions. Nevertheless, the report noted Drupal as one of the top five WCM solutions used by respondents’ organizations. Of those who already use open source WCM solutions, the study revealed 72 percent said it “gave them greater flexibility,” and 68 percent said it was “easy to customize.” In fact, one survey respondent, as stated in the release, said that while functionality enhancements took nine to ten months with a proprietary WCM solution, open source gave them the ability to enhance functionality in a matter of days. “As organizations retrench to become more dynamic and customer-centric, it’s abundantly clear that proprietary WCM solutions are not meeting the changing needs and expectations of business decision makers, who don’t want to be locked into a rigid platform for the sake of convenience,” said Tom Erickson, chief executive officer of Acquia. For instance, when respondents were asked what other applications they would like to have bundled with their WCM solution, 35 percent said they prefer the “best-of-breed” approach versus the all-in-one package deal offered by proprietary WCM solutions. “The Forrester study revealed that marketers – who are responsible for creating compelling content, community and commerce experiences across multiple channels – are now the ones more aggressively pushing for flexible and open WCM solutions like Drupal,” added Erickson. The study concluded, however, that companies which were focused more on “key business drivers and objectives” had more success with open source, as opposed to companies who use open source specifically to cut costs.