Item: Optimizely Content Management System
Rating: 7
Author: Christopher Sawyer

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use the CMS to edit wording on various websites as well as the graphics, articles, graphs, and other pieces of webpage material that need to be swapped out often. Not having to update code as often is a first but big step in the right direction to being more efficient.

Pros and Cons

Easy updates of wording
Management of content such as articles and pictures
Building of blocks as templates

Training materials
Sorting and organization of lists
Updated interface

Return on Investment

Single CMS
Reduced time for content changes
Happier content creators

Usability

I think a business user will have a fairly easy time using the platform and it is mostly straightforward from their perspective. A developer may have more difficulty due to the more advanced nature of the work, but also because it is not as intuitive in this regard. I am a developer so have a bias here.

Time to Value

It took us quite a while to transfer over to the new platform and way of performing tasks. It is not a simple process to move over but worth it in the end. We also redesigned one of the websites at the same time as the upgrade of the CMS.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft SharePoint

Much better than using SharePoint but then again SharePoint is not really a CMS so is not a very good comparison. I have not used other CMS products and have limited exposure other than an in-house built one. That comes with it's own set of problems such as increased overhead.

Key Insights

Do you think Optimizely Content Management System delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Optimizely Content Management System's feature set?

Yes

Did Optimizely Content Management System live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Optimizely Content Management System go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Optimizely Content Management System again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Veracode, Visual Studio IDE, Microsoft Teams

Likelihood to Recommend

It works well for what it was built for as a content management system. You can easily replace parts of your website at the surface level ex. new pictures on page 3. Its more advanced features however have a learning curve that can make them difficult to implement. An updated interface would be nice as well.

Good CMS tool

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Optimizely Content Cloud