As the name suggests a content management system is very simply a system that manages content. It is precisely the simplicity of the meaning that has given rise to a lot of confusion in the industry with regards to the actual functions associated with a CMS. In this article we take a look at what a content management system actually is and break it up and understand why there is a sudden surge for it.
Content
What is the content that is being talked about? Any kind of digital information is what it is. It could be in any form like graphics, images, sound, videos, text etc. basically anything that is in an electronic format and can be managed similarly.
Content Management
If content is what we have described it to be above, then content management is very simply the management of this very content. This would incorporate aspects like storage, rules, processes, workflows etc.
Content Management System
Having broken it into the various steps above you should have a pretty clear idea of what a content management system is by now. It is a system of tools that is put together to facilitate the effective and efficient use of the content that it is managing.
Why is there a surge of content management systems in the market?
Unfortunately the work content is a very general word and it is because of this that every single type of electronic content gives rise to the need for a specialized tool to manage it. In lay man terms, a tool that manages assets is an asset management tool and since it is managing content, it can be termed as a content management tool. A tool that manages documents is termed as a document management tool, which also comes under the category of a content management tool. Therefore every form of electronic media has become a form of content that needs to be managed by a tool that is created specially for it.