Item: Optimizely Content Management System
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is a core component of our strategic platform that supports our web presence and self-service portals (B2B and B2C). Along with the DxP it allows us to either build or integrate solutions for our 3 lines of business on a core, modern platform.

Pros and Cons

Scalable
extendable

Depending on how it's been structured it's hard to search for content within an application's node
Remains a challenge to control search indexing
Perhaps not directly related to CMS but the Optimizely Data Platform seems overly complex. We need more expert support to even understand it's use.

Return on Investment

OCMS is at the core of a platform that has enabled us to consolidate and retire multiple apps, platforms, and codebases.
We're able to drive a more consistent user experience across solutions
For some of our smaller lines of business the cost to template development is higher when compared to simpler solutions

Usability

As with any enterprise CMS there's a learning curve, and your mileage will vary. We deployed it intially as a lift-and-shift of our info site and as such did not leverage many of the cpabilities we were attracted to. Therefore, our editors are capable users of the system but still rely on older/manual processes especially for audience segmantation. We are in discovery for a remake of that asset so we are excited at being able to drice to more efficient processes. Our fresh development that uses the CMS and DXP as components driving React single-page apps has given us greater flexibility to modify and manage application content, but the admins still find it challenging to map content to specific page instances. They do not have WYSIWYG capabilities for that.

Time to Value

Within a year. Getting it running was two-phased. We staretd with a new site for a commerce-based line of business. That helpd the IT teams become conversant with the platform. Following that we migrated our main site from Mura to ODP (then Episerver). By then the platform was known, and the time spent was more about refining templates and content shifts. Ultimately when we went live nobody noticed, except for rendering speed. That's a win.

Alternatives Considered

Sitecore Experience Platform and Acquia Digital Experience Platform

Ultimately it had little to do with features, as all 3 were capable systems. We preferred the tech stack and 3rd party integrator choices for OCMS.

Key Insights

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

Did implementation of Optimizely Content Management System go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Optimizely Content Management System again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

It's been excellent for our information publishing

It has been able to be deeply integrated in delivering content to React applications

An older version was used for commerce, and it works, but a dedicated platform would have been a better choice

We rely on external support for template development which tends to be costly compared to simpler CMS platforms

Optimizely (Episerver)

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Optimizely Content Management System