Cascade CMS vs. Microsoft SharePoint

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cascade CMS
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Cascade 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
SharePoint
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft's SharePoint is an Intranet solution that enables users to share and manage content, knowledge, and applications to empower teamwork, quickly find information, and collaborate across the organization.
$5
Per User Per Month
Pricing
Cascade CMSMicrosoft SharePoint
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Plan 1
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Plan 2
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Office 365 E3
$20.00
Per User Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cascade CMSSharePoint
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cascade CMSMicrosoft SharePoint
Considered Both Products
Cascade CMS
Chose Cascade CMS
Hannon Hill was chosen because of the architecture with the Cascade engine being separated from the published pages providing stability and security. The company is also focused on primarily higher education, the user group and feature set. The releases are always …
Chose Cascade CMS
We selected Cascade Server because it manages users more easily. It also requires less coding skills than MS SharePoint does. Drupal on the other hand is freeware so your user support for Drupal is what you would get for not paying for something. Cascade Server dumbs it down …
SharePoint

No answer on this topic

Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
Cascade CMSMicrosoft SharePoint
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
8.0
19 Ratings
0% below category average
Microsoft SharePoint
-
Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.019 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
7.1
13 Ratings
8% below category average
Microsoft SharePoint
-
Ratings
API7.012 Ratings00 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language7.37 Ratings00 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
7.1
19 Ratings
7% below category average
Microsoft SharePoint
-
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 Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
6.9
18 Ratings
6% below category average
Microsoft SharePoint
-
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
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Cascade CMSMicrosoft SharePoint
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User Ratings
Cascade CMSMicrosoft SharePoint
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(44 ratings)
6.5
(192 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(26 ratings)
9.8
(21 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(4 ratings)
8.2
(17 ratings)
Availability
6.7
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(5 ratings)
8.6
(11 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Online Training
5.0
(1 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(4 ratings)
6.0
(4 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 CMSMicrosoft SharePoint
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.
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Microsoft
Very user friendly. If you're already using M365 products it offers great integration! If you're using Azure AD it offers SSO for IAM and integrates nicely with Azure AD Groups which can then be used for Access management. As our IT / Azure Administrator, I particularly like the "sharing link" options where you can send a link with an expiration date and not have to remember to remove the link / access after a project / business case scenario is over.
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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.
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Microsoft
  • Making collaboration easier via a better connection between accounts. You can share anything from a file to events with just a couple of clicks.
  • All services are connected and switching between services is a breeze[.]
  • Solutions to the majority of everyday business problems.
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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).
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Microsoft
  • There are far too many good features to choose from, and advanced features are noticeably absent.
  • There is room for improvement in terms of integration with non-Microsoft products, as well as developer Story.
  • It is challenging to provide easier access via file explorer while also granting outside users and guests access.
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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.
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Microsoft
It's integral to our business. It's already included with most of the Office 365 licensing we buy, so the cost is effectively zero. It stores our files, it is the foundation for custom applications, and Microsoft only continues to enhance its functionality and its connections to other Microsoft tools. SharePoint just keeps getting better and better.
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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.
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Microsoft
No usability issues reported. Individual teams also have allocated areas which replace legacy shared drives on local LANs. Access to Sharepoint resources is fully integrated with corporate Active Directory with additional two-factor authentication required for administrative users. Users have access to Microsoft Services Hub which allows you to create, manage, and track support requests while staying current on Microsoft technologies with access to select self-paced learning paths
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Reliability and Availability
Hannon Hill
Amazing customer service and VERY customizable.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Hannon Hill
Does a great job.
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Microsoft
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.
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Microsoft
Support for SharePoint is quite good. Microsoft provides good support. Microsoft offers
  • Quick turnaround time for issues
  • A range of support services
  • Access to a network of resources
  • Escalation of issues
  • Ongoing development and commitment to produce enhancement
The majority of support is required for initial installation. Once complete and the system is operating we have had very few support issues.
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In-Person Training
Hannon Hill
Training was helpful.
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Microsoft
The face to face training I received was on SharePoint Administration. It was rushed as there was a lot of information to cover and the application of the labs weren't that great either. I like to be able to relate what I am learning to what I am currently doing.
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Online Training
Hannon Hill
Still needed that physical help
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Microsoft
I like to learn at my own pace and online training allows for that. Additionally, you can skip through pieces of content that you already know or are already comfortable with. Microsoft actually offers great videos on their website for basic fundamental SharePoint Training. I have used these training videos in some of my own training sessions with end users.
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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.
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Microsoft
Planning to the last detail would be advised. SharePoint is a very large application that takes a lot of finesse to get operational
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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.
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Microsoft
The reasons for selecting MS SharePoint are: SharePoint provides ease of use and web design assistance and support SharePoint helps you schedule your content for publishing. enables users to share documents with external parties and offers a better internal structure of the content and better indexing and searching capabilities.
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Scalability
Hannon Hill
I used it only a few times.
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Microsoft
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.
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Microsoft
  • Increased collaboration - MS Sharepoint has increased knowledge share and collaboration between departments. This saves time and energy because of its efficient and effective communication
  • Increased document security - MS Sharepoint has increased our document security so we're safer knowing that our documents are security and access controlled appropriately. We are less prone to get in trouble by our customers due to the security provided by MS Sharepoint
  • Negative Impact Compared to other software - Not sure if the MS Sharepoint's main functionalities could've been met with other tools we currently have
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ScreenShots