Ahhh my favorite two questions... What is CM? and What should a CMS do? Seeing that you don't yet have access to my ramblings in the cms-list archive, I'll throw in my 2 cents again. And I promise I'll keep my response short(er) this time.
;-) If you're out there evaluating/comparing products, then product classifications can provide at least a starting point. But I wouldn't recommend that you get hung up with definitions. You'll quickly find that there are several generally accepted definitions for CM and CMS - the answer depending on the perspective and personal experience of the respondent. Fact is, a few years ago, so-coined CMSs held very specific roles in the enterprise. Some evolved from roots in DM and SCM, while others evolved from areas such as website management and publishing. As these systems evolved they engulfed hundreds of new features, assimilated dozens of complementary products, and became so closely integrated with other software applications that it's often difficult, if not impossible, to tell where CM ends and other products/processes begin. To further complicate your lives, we've created several new product categories such as KM, WCMS, ECMS, LMS, and LCMS - all variations of a common theme: the aggregation, management, and dissemination of so-called "content". I'll leave the word "content" to your imagination. Despite what others might tell you, content is whatever you believe it to be, whatever makes sense to your organization. Think about the content you wish to manage, and how you need to manage it. Now, find a product, or develop one, that meets your needs. When you're done, and it's installed, and you're up and running, and "managing" your "content"...feel free to call it whatever you like. I grown fond of calling mine a Stuff Management System because it manages all sorts of stuff. Joe -- http://cms-list.org/ more signal, less noise.
