Kentico Xperience vs. Needle vs. OpenText Web CMS

Kentico is a robust and flexible CMS platform that is great for managing multiple websites and multiple environments (dev, stage, and production for instance). It makes content management very easy and makes it easy to keep the environments synced with the same content. However, the Kentico CMS does require a bit more technical understanding to get it set up properly and requires a bit more effort and support than, say, free open-source options.

Incentivized

OpenText TeamSite is well-suited to large, enterprise-wide implementations where customization, content governance, and dynamic content distribution is needed or prioritized. It is probably not ideal for smaller sites with simple architecture and few resources to manage custom implementation.

Incentivized

• I love the intuitive top and left navigation within the content management platform. I can easily find what section, sub-section, and page I'm looking to edit
• For creating content, the WYSIWYG editor is so intuitive; it feels like you're working on an MS Word doc!
• The tab for adding metadata in simple fields takes away the headache of having to hunt and peck through code to add H1 tag, page description etc.
• The image library is easy to edit and manage

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• The drag and drop forms feature makes publishing simple and quick.
• Preview of customer data before sending publications helps us to deliver personalized experiences.

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• Kentico needs to invest in more enterprise class environment management utilities -- example: global CDN support via the CMS is sorely lacking. There are work-arounds, but it should be more elegant.
• The Kentico staging module could be improved to support the concept of bundled releases. Current staging module functionality is good, but could be improved.
• Kentico ecommerce support is a touch immature. While content management is superb, Kentico lags in this area when compared to many open source ecommerce engines.
• Kentico is lacking MVC support. 99% of the time this isn't an issue for the end-user or business user, but can be a hurdle for technology teams depending on the team's makeup.

Incentivized

• I have recommendation for improvements.
• It is easy to work with all the features.
• All necessary content management tools are included.

Incentivized

We are locked into Kentico for the long haul. It provides us with an easy and flexible solution for a very non technical company to create a site and have the features they want, especially with the inclusion of EMS into our license. Now we have a true platform to build and grow our solutions.

It seriously is one of the best interfaces I have ever used. I also love the fact that I can use UI personalization to secure any functionality by user or role that I don't want that role to have access to. The best part is the customization of the UI, I can add in any button, tab, or menu item I want through it, no code required.

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Overall, it's a solid package with the potential to offer much functionality with appropriate resources applied. There are a few issues with the authoring interface that OpenText should address before its a top shelf authoring experience.

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Their support staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and will work with you until your issue is fixed. This could take a few phone calls back and forth, but they are very diligent in helping you.

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Our technical resources engage with OpenText TeamSite so I don't have direct experience. However, critical issues that we need help with seem to get the attention they deserve without issue. However, training and user resources for business owner roles are a bit lacking and some annoying issues with the authoring interface should be addressed sooner.

Incentivized

The system provides many opportunities to integrate and enhance the platform and makes it easy to do so.

I've used Sitecore, Ektron, Joomla!, WordPress, and SharePoint (if you want to count that as a competitor for CMS). Kentico 8 blows them all out of the water. Nothing is more intuitive in the way that content is created, the way the site is setup, and how efficient rollouts can be with Content Staging.

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It offers more content editing features at a relatively low cost thus overall deployment is lower in cost. It has great customer support who are always there to support and answer to our needs thus making the process of deployment seamless at every stage and offering training for working with their product.

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The annual contract should be clearer in terms of the breakdown of user license types (system admin, admin, regular user, etc).

Incentivized

• Kentico has enabled faster speed to market for SMEs. They are empowered to enter content them selves while still having that content go through editorial review to ensure tone of voice and brand are maintained.
• Deploying Kentico has freed up web developer resources from manual content entry enabling them to build more useful solutions to support the business efforts
• Tapping into the Kentico event pipelne allows us to trigger external system events when product content is published.

• We integrated with google analytics, now we have the proper comprehension of our audience data reception and behaviors - we've greatly improved on personalized marketing.
• Quick publication of content across the main digital channels.
• We run our digital campaigns swiftly.
• We've maintained our brand consistency for three years.

Incentivized