Bringing Web Content Management on Premise

If your job title has “chief” in it, or if you aspire to such a position, then more likely than not you are a control freak. Well, maybe freak is a little too extreme. Still, you like to be in control of your business. For a CEO, CMO, or CTO, control means having everything on premise—from human resources, training, and IT to your business Web content management (WCM) system.

Moreover, if you are an IT manager or a digital marketer who is assigned to do the grunt work, you too would have concerns about a WCM system. In this case, you might be apprehensive about whether your department is properly staffed with skilled employees who understand what a WCM system is supposed to do and whether or not the staff has the knowledge to make fixes and upgrades when necessary.

As much as you like the element of control that an on-premise WCM provides, your company may not be suited for such an infrastructure. Like just about everything in life, one size does not fit all.

Before committing, it is best to analyze your business and determine whether an on-premise WCM is advantageous to your situation.

5 Advantages to an On-Premise WCM

Of course, centralized control and the creation of an on-premise infrastructure and support group for a WCM sounds like an ideal situation for any company. Here are five advantages to such a scenario:

  1. Controlling the security, location, and management of your data. Because everything is in-house, there is less chance that an outside business can get hold of your precious data.
  2. Building your own infrastructure so you limit your dependence on outside resources. This results in better management of costs, time, resources, and time to market.
  3. Having an IT staff on premise that can make fixes and upgrades when necessary, ensuring that projects are not delayed waiting for outsourced assistance.
  4. Taking full advantage of the skills and knowledge of your IT department, ensuring that the investment in IT is optimized.
  5. Controlling the provider’s time, activity, and quality, ensuring better management of personnel.

5 Disadvantages to an On-Premise WCM

However, building an on-premise WCM can be costly if your business does not already have the necessary pieces. Major disadvantages concern cost, training, hiring personnel, and the size of your business over time.

These are some of the disadvantages to having an on-premise WCM:

  1. The inability to scale to your needs. If your business experiences seasonal changes, there will be times when you are working your WCM to full capacity and other times when you are using it under capacity.
  2. The cost of creating a department to train an IT staff.
  3. The cost of hiring employees, allocating office space, and acquiring hardware and software.
  4. The time required to work on WCM issues prevents employees from completing other tasks and could affect time to market.
  5. The possibility of an on-premise power failure that could result in lost data and downtime.

If you decide that an on-premise WCM is best for your business, there are a few key things you need to keep in mind to guarantee success. For example, the vendor you choose to help you create your on-premise system should have a strong consulting service to guide your staff along the way. It is not enough for it to have software solutions. It should be able to also answer any questions you have concerning management, support, and training.