0-6133424-720-8748155.html">Atomz Publish, reflects an understanding that many customers just want to get a CMS rolling fast--with role-based security and workflow and XML-based separation of content and presentation. Anyone with a working knowledge of HTML can use it to set up a system that non-technical folk can update easily. And--partly because Publish is built on open-source technology--the price is right: Customers typically pay between $15,000 and $75,000 per year, depending on the number of users and the number of pages.
Atomz doesn't include hosting your site in that fee, because the Publish system posts flat pages to your server. This has several advantages: You don't have to worry about your ASP scaling sufficiently to meet increasing traffic, since it's up to you to add hardware. And a static site will be available on your server even if the ASP goes down. The drawback with Atomz's scheme is that without setting up a separate staging server, there's no practical way to integrate and test Active Server Pages or Java Server Pages. You have to test those pages live, which is a risky move.
Typically, Atomz customers take existing HTML pages and convert them to templates by inserting special tags around the areas in which changing content will be plugged in dynamically. Simple WYSIWYG layout tools aid in design. The tagging process automatically creates content entry forms that non-technical users employ to post content to the site. Publish provides a full range of options for administrators as they set up and assign tasks for site editors (see screen).
Updating content is simplicity itself. Each site editor has his or her own task list, a jumping-off point for using forms to create or edit content. Designers and administrators can navigate what amounts to a mock version of the site, with little icons flagging dynamic areas of the page. Administrators can also easily create picklists for end users to add metadata keyword to content. In addition, content can be flagged for "crossposting," so the same text or image appears in multiple templates. And Publish supports infinite versioning, where you can save and roll back to any number of previous versions of pages.
Recently, Atomz rolled out a major upgrade to Publish's workflow features. The software can now extend its access rights management to user groups, tasks can be reassigned, and you can add comments to tasks and trace them through various stages of a project. Best of all, the new version adds e-mail notification along with support for parallel approval processes, an invaluable feature when multiple departments are involved.
Atomz brags that many of its customers simply open an account and launch a site in a matter of weeks without calling tech support once. Clearly, HTML jockeys can use Publish to whip up a template-driven site quickly and easily. You won't find site traffic reports, personalization features, or anything sophisticated on the content-delivery side, since the site is hosted on your server. But Atomz Publish is a fine, quick-to-market solution for those already adept at publishing flat pages and whose needs for sites with dynamic interaction are minimal.
