Stepsoft (
www.stepsoft.com.au), of Australia, is a
unique IT services company specializing in adaptable client-focused database
applications and services, web site development and content management as well
as a range of supporting services.
Established in November 1998, Stepsoft is growing rapidly into one of
Australia's most competent software development and IT service companies. The
company's clients include high profile people-centric organizations such the
Institution of Engineers Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander
Commission and the Australian Grain Industry.
It was the Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust) that approached
Stepsoft with a challenge that would end up helping both companies run the
IEAust Web site more efficiently and easily.
The Institution of Engineers Australia is the largest and most diverse
engineering association in Australia, with approximately 60,000 members. Like
most professional associations, it provides a wide range of benefits, facilities
and services to help its members achieve their personal and professional goals.
As a member-funded organization, the IEAust needs to deliver these benefits and
services efficiently, providing maximum benefit for the lowest cost.
In April 2000, concerned with the poor navigability and slow serving of
pages of its existing Internet Web site, the IEAust contracted Stepsoft to
undertake a full site re-design and examine its current content management
implementation.
The scale and diversity of the Institution dictated that there were up to
50, geographically dispersed, content authors needing to maintain various parts
of the IEAust site. The existing content management system (CMS) had been custom
built for the Institution and designed to maintain web pages in a
server-resident database. Many of the Institution's content authors had
complained about its complexity and the delay between page submission and
migration to the "live" web site as pages in the CMS system had to be approved
and migrated by the site Web Administrator, hence creating a single bottleneck
in the authoring process.
In order to encourage content authors to keep their content current,
Stepsoft felt that the new CMS had to first and foremost, be easy and timely to
use. Stepsoft also identified the following criteria for a suitable replacement
CMS:
· That it provided secure, individual edit access to web site content
for multiple content authors (approximately 50 in 2000)
· That it did not assume HTML experience, but could be used by a
variety of content authors with a range of skill sets
· That it allowed for the definition of page "templates", which
provided for a uniform "look and feel" across the site/sub-sites by restricting
content authors to make changes to content only, not page design
· That it could be run on a Windows NT or UNIX-based server and
accessed by Windows, Macintosh and UNIX-based client-side workstations
· That it did not require the purchase or installation of specialized
client-side software on content author systems (this was decided due to cost and
logistical maintenance issues; IEAust content authors are physically located in
a range of geographically diverse locations across Australia)
· That it provided authors with the ability to publish changes in a
timely manner. Publishing authorization should be able to be managed either by
the author him/herself or by someone else within their Division/Area who has
been granted publishing rights by the CMS.
Stepsoft boasts a team of highly skilled programmers and web developers,
and initially considered modifying the existing CMS, or building a new
customized CMS for the IEAust. This consideration was quickly ruled out due to
the tight budgetary constraints of the Institution. Stepsoft subsequently
conducted a survey and analysis of a wide range of commercial CMS
products.
Upon completion of this analysis, Stepsoft
recommended the purchase of
Idetix's Revize Content Authoring System, which was
subsequently approved and a license purchased. Revize was the only product that
the company found that could be bought "off the shelf" to satisfy the essential
web publishing requirements of the IEAust organization. Other solutions, whilst
initially priced within budget, would have required substantial and costly
software development to achieve the required functionality.
Stepsoft installed the Revize Content Authoring System on a Windows
NT-based 350MHZ Pentium server hosting
www.ieaust.org.au via Microsoft
IIS. The module (.cfg) and template (.html) definition files were
first created in a development environment and entered into the company's
version control system on the development server so that it could track revision
changes. Once development and testing had been completed, the new
modules were moved into the production environment.
Stepsoft found the implementation of Revize very straightforward and the
installation process smooth. Defining new modules and templates is a simple task
for someone with HTML and basic IT/programming skills. Content authors are
easily taught to access the modules they have been granted publishing rights to
and to add/delete/edit records within the modules to effect immediate changes to
their content on the live web site. The IEAust content authors have found the
Revize Control Panel interface very intuitive and easy to use and are very
quickly finding themselves empowered to maintain their own site content.
The Institution of Engineers, Australia has been using Revize since May
2000 and is extremely pleased with the functionality and ease of use of the
Revize product. It has enabled them to maintain a web site that is consistent in
its 'look and feel' and comprises content that is most importantly kept relevant
and timely by authorized content "owners". The fact that Revize can be run from
any browser-equipped, Internet connected computer has simplified access to the
software and minimizes the time spent getting new IEAust authors "up and
running".
Stepsoft intends to purchase another Revize license and host a series of
additional clients interested in a "low to middle end" CMS solution. Revize has
enabled the company to attain credibility in the content management arena, by
finding a workable solution within tight budgetary constraints for a high
profile organization/site.
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