4 lessons for CMS selection, governance and implementation.

Introduction

Over the past weeks, I shared a series of 4 out of 8 stories from my 20+ year career in the digital world. Each story contains a lesson you can use when you’re planning to replace your legacy CMS.

Lesson #1 - Not every shiny new feature delivers value

In 2001, I joined Tridion, at the time the “cool new product” in content management. We quickly signed contracts with the largest Dutch enterprises and government organizations. Over time, the company added products (such as email marketing and web forms) to become a full DXP. The reality, however, was that none of these extra add-ons truly delivered value to customers.

• Focus on a software vendor’s core capabilities.
• No single platform is the best at everything.
• Promised integrations rarely live up to the hype.
• When focus slips, innovation on the core slows down.

Lesson #2 - Don’t underestimate content management

A CMS is never simple if you’re not a digital native. Teams often fail not because they lack capability, but because they’re not trained as frequent CMS users. For global brands, centralizing operations with a trained, multilingual team helps maintain quality, tone of voice, and brand integrity while working closely with local markets.

Lesson #3 - The best software can still deliver the worst results

After my time at Emirates, I co-founded the digital agency Indivirtual Dubai. Many potential clients had platform implementations that were nearly unmaintainable. The reason? They were built by partners without the right skills or experience.

• Software is only as good as the people who implement and maintain it.
• Choose implementation partners who have done this before and demand certification.
• Have a plan to upskill your own team and onboard them into the codebase.

Lesson #4 - The three most expensive words in platform projects? “Can’t we just…”

At first it seems harmless. But customization after customization turns a clean, standard setup into a tangled custom build with broken upgrades and slowed development. Suddenly, the platform meant to accelerate you becomes unmaintainable.

• Keep your platform as close to standard as possible.
• Use out-of-the-box functionality for 80% of your needs.
• Only customize when it creates real business value.
• Always weigh tomorrow’s maintenance costs against today’s preferences.

Conclusion

Successfully selecting and implementing a CMS depends not only on the technology, but above all on focus, governance, and the right people.

Need help determining whether your challenge lies in the software, the implementation, or the adoption?

Get in touch for a sparring session to discover what you can change tomorrow.