Why IT should run a CMS selection project

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a popular list of reasons why IT should not run your CMS selection project. There are of course two sides to any discussion.

The IT department will also often have to spend unnecessary time arguing why a particular system proposed by a business unit will not fit into the existing IT landscape.

As many of you pointed out, there are several valid arguments why IT should be involved in the process. So here I a give you the other list:

Reasons why the IT department should select your next CMS:

• IT understands technology.  We are in fact talking about a content management system, and IT evaluates different systems all the time. The CMS marketplace and the systems themselves are very complex, and it is necessary to have someone technically skilled who can challenge the vendor. You don’t want to be surprised when it comes to matters such as security, scalability and performance.
• The business buys new systems too often. Without the proper skills, different business departments can go in separate directions, buying new technology for every single project they embark on. If IT leads, you could avoid investing in technology similar to what you already have available.
• IT is going to use the system. Many web projects are complex, requiring integration with other IT systems. If IT plans to do development in the system, they are users of the system just like the editors are. Also, bear in mind that IT will have to do the maintenance after implementation.
• Everybody else is too busy. The web team themselves are probably caught up in the day-to-day reality of producing content for the website. Creating a great web presence also requires strategy, governance, training and much more. It is better to allocate time to focus on the important issues, rather than technology features.
• IT has the budget. This will often be the case. You might end up with a great system and dedicated developers. You might also end up with something less suited, because that was what IT had bought already. SharePoint, for example, has often been chosen for the wrong reasons.

That being said,  a project team with resources from both the IT and business side would be ideally fit to run a CMS selection project as many of you pointed out in your comments on the post on why IT should run the selection project.

Who was on your last CMS selection team? Was IT involved?

Learn more about CMS selection

Continue the conversation in our CMS Expert Groups in Europe or North America.

Join the web content management track at our Aarhus conference in November, which is hosted by J. Boye expert Peter Sejersen.

Read our free report on Best Practices for Selecting a CMS.