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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cascade CMS

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/ACascade CMS (formerly Cascade Server) by Hannon Hill is a content management system, with built-in tools to help users eliminate stale content, increase digital outreach, and promote end-user adoption and accountability. Cascade CMS is designed for decentralized web teams in most major industries, including higher education, government, healthcare, and technology. Included is Clive, an engagement and real-time personalization tool for collecting information and using it to craft personalized…N/A

    Nconnect

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/ANconnect (formerly OnSemble Intranet) is an mployee intranet that keeps everyone connected, a digital workplace to make employees feel valued. It is designed to keep remote teams engaged, and acts as the culture champion for the organization.N/A
    Pricing
    Cascade CMSNconnect
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cascade CMSNconnect
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    Cascade CMSNconnect
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Cascade CMS and Nconnect
    Feature
    Cascade CMS
    8.0
    19 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Nconnect
    -
    Ratings
    Role-based user permissions8.019 Ratings00 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Cascade CMS and Nconnect
    Feature
    Cascade CMS
    7.1
    13 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Nconnect
    -
    Ratings
    API7.012 Ratings00 Ratings
    Internationalization / multi-language7.37 Ratings00 Ratings
    Web Content Creation
    Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Cascade CMS and Nconnect
    Feature
    Cascade CMS
    7.1
    19 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Nconnect
    -
    Ratings
    WYSIWYG editor6.119 Ratings00 Ratings
    Code quality / cleanliness6.018 Ratings00 Ratings
    Admin section8.019 Ratings00 Ratings
    Page templates9.017 Ratings00 Ratings
    Library of website themes5.52 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile optimization / responsive design7.015 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publishing workflow9.019 Ratings00 Ratings
    Form generator6.47 Ratings00 Ratings
    Web Content Management
    Comparison of Web Content Management features of Cascade CMS and Nconnect
    Feature
    Cascade CMS
    6.9
    18 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Nconnect
    -
    Ratings
    Content taxonomy8.013 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO support7.014 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bulk management9.014 Ratings00 Ratings
    Availability / breadth of extensions6.011 Ratings00 Ratings
    Community / comment management4.85 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cascade CMSNconnect
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    Umbraco CMS
    Score7 out of 10
    HCL Connections
    Score9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Square Online
    Score7.7 out of 10
    HCL Connections
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    RWS Tridion Sites
    Score9 out of 10
    HCL Connections
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cascade CMSNconnect
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.9
    (44 ratings)
    8.5
    (5 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.1
    (26 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (4 ratings)
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    6.7
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.1
    (5 ratings)
    8.9
    (3 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.1
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cascade CMSNconnect
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Hannon Hill
    Cascade Server is well suited with it's WYSIWYG editor being better than most editors that I have used in other systems. In context, editing makes adding content easy compared to the last CMS I used where you had to wing it and view the page outside of the CMS to see if it was correct. The ability mix HTML, CSS, and the Script of your choice anywhere and with ease.
    The scenarios were Cascade Server is less appropriate would be in the use of compilers or programs like Visual studio. You need to go out of Cascade Server and go to other environments to perform tasks and then copy the result to Cascade Server. You can write directly in Cascade Server, but it's easier to do in and editor that is specific to a function.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    OnSemble is solving a lot of problems that our organization had prior to its implementation:
    • We can track communication readership.
    • We can engage with our fellow teammates through chats and recognition.
    • We have a central location for all job-related links.
    • We are just now delving into adding departmental pages so folks can communicate within their teams.
    I'm not sure of a scenario where OnSemble wouldn't be appropriate - if you have a company that needs to centralize communication, documentation, and share ideas, it's an excellent choice.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Hannon Hill
    • Cascade CMS makes no assumptions about your content. Templates control how the content gets displayed.
    • Workflows are intuitive and allow for one or more people to review content before it is published.
    • The published site is static (no database connection) which allows for faster page loads and reduced risk of attack.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    • powerful, yet simple to use, document management for sharing
    • custom help desk form creation/submission with targeted audience
    • integration friendly with document types (e.g., xls, pdf, doc, etc.)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Hannon Hill
    • Cascade CMS is not an out-of-the-box pre-built system that you can install, turn on and expect to be serving sites and pages on day one. It's not a blogging system like WordPress, or a drag-and-drop system like SquareSpace (both of which I've used for their own purposes). You need to have someone tasked with management and system administration – and if you implement the on-premise self-hosted version, you ought to have several people. We have the university's IT shop handling infrastructure (server hardware, containers, clustering, operating systems, load-balancing, DNS, database servers, NAS/SAN drives), our Web & Design team managing Cascade CMS (system settings, sites, templates, permissions) and managers coordinating each respective academic unit (A&S, business, education, law, marine science).
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    • Permissions - granting permissions at different levels for users is tedious - would like to see permissions simplified.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Hannon Hill
    Changing systems would require too much effort. Our institution is using Cascade Server, WordPress and Drupal but we only serve 2200 students so we have 1 too many content management systems. Reflecting on current technical resources we would like to drop down to 2. This effort hasn't moved forward because of the extensive work required to migrate content and train users in a new system.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Hannon Hill
    Cascade CMS is completely usable on mobile devices, we can train our content editors in a single 2-hour session, and we support 1,000 users with a very small team.
    There is a level of complexity for the system administrators, site managers and web programmers who implement templates and content types. But the complexity is neither arbitrary nor inconsistent – and once learned provides a powerful environment within which we can develop robust sites that are beautiful and powerful, yet easy for our content editors to manage.
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    As a user: it's pretty intuitive and the only thing holding a user back from getting everything out of it is a lack of curiosity. As an admin: it's not super intuitive. The training and the setup process are crucial to be able to use and maintain the portal, and we still sometimes have questions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Hannon Hill
    Amazing customer service and VERY customizable.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Hannon Hill
    Does a great job.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Hannon Hill
    They have always regarded any question or problem we encountered as very important. We have never felt that they ignore or downplay any issue and not once has anything been left unresolved. They also hold an annual conference where users are invited to attend and share their experiences and wisdom with the entire Cascade community. And with the care and support the provide, we all feel a part of that community.
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    I have always been pleased with my experiences with OnSemble's Support team. First, they have a great library of articles to help me study and guide for many of my questions. But when I cannot quite comprehend, or I "run into the wall", I can be assured that I'll be contacted quickly with a pleasant voice to work through whatever my question/issue may be. Kudos to OnSemble Support!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Hannon Hill
    Training was helpful.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Hannon Hill
    Still needed that physical help
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Hannon Hill
    The key to any CMS implementation is PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. Proper planning with Cascade can increase your satisfaction exponentially once the site migration/creation is complete. When all is said and done, your implementation can make your site run like a Yugo or Maserati. Be smart and deliberate in your decisions. Drive the Maserati. It is already paid for.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Hannon Hill
    We selected Cascade server seven years ago, and the CMS environment at the time was clearly different than it is today. We decided to go with a vendor solution rather than a free solution because the long term cost in hosting a free solution is not, in fact, free; we've found Cascade to have been an excellent choice for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    The software is easy to use, customizable, and intuitive to its users
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Hannon Hill
    I used it only a few times.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Hannon Hill
    • Initially, ROI was positive - because we completely redesigned the website when we implemented Cascade.
    • Over time, the inability to keep up with the latest interactive tools has reduced visitors time on site.
    • Also over time, the difficulty of use has led to less buy-in by backend users, leading to outdated pages, little timely information, and lower visitors.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Ncontracts
    • Streamlined documentation - positive impact.
    • Convenient calendar and access to timeclock - positive impact.
    • Hub for staff to gather everything they may need to successfully assist our members - positive impact.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Nconnect Screenshots

    Screenshot of OnSemble connects your entire workplace to the central hub of truth, builds your culture, and inspires employee engagement.Screenshot of Every HR manager knows getting new employees started off on the right foot is mission critical. That's why OnSemble leverages role-based permission management system to control access to your software, files, and your critical digital infrastructure.Screenshot of In-house or hosted, we cover your full stack security and IT requirements. OnSemble is fast, flexible, and scales with your organization so that you have time to focus on more pressing work.Screenshot of OnSemble has everything a marketing team needs to put their culture front and center. Your portal is the first place employees see when they boot up their PC in the morning – make it reflect your organization's values, your branding, and your charm.Screenshot of OnSemble connects your entire workplace to the central hub of truth, builds your culture, and inspires employee engagement.