Oct 6, 2015
Sitecore and EPiServer are two of the major players in the CMS market. Especially those customers that prefer Microsoft technologies tend to evaluate both of these platforms. Sitecore has already proven itself as a very global player, while EPiServer is catching up especially after acquiring Ektron this year. Continue reading “Philosophical differences: Sitecore vs. EPiServer”
Sep 29, 2015
The e-commerce systems used in Finland can be divided into three categories: 1) the systems employed by small e-stores; 2) content management systems with built-in e-commerce features; and 3) the systems used in large, highly integrated e-stores. Continue reading “E-Commerce systems in Finland 2015”
Sept 21, 2015
There aren’t many startups around that are focusing on web content management—at least not with unique approaches. Most of the startups are just “yet another CMS”, like Craft CMS. They can be useful, they can even be good business. But most of them are not really unique, and therefore are not interesting in a wider perspective. From my point of view, for a startup to be interesting requires that they are working on something that hasn’t been done before. Continue reading “My favorite startups in web content management”
Jun 28, 2015
Partner selection is one of North Patrol’s core services. We help our customers in making partner and technology selections when they are creating or renewing their digital services. We can proudly say that we have extensive knowledge of different partners and technologies in the Nordic and North European area. We don’t sell any products, technologies or implementation projects, nor do we make any partnership deals with the implementers, so our customers can truly rely on our independence and that we always try to find the best possible solutions for them. Continue reading “Our partner selection process opened up”
Jun 6, 2015
Managing content in multiple languages is usually very difficult, and the more languages you have, the more difficult it usually gets. That said, there are two clearly different ‘schools of thought’ in managing multiple languages. From my experience, there are the ‘US style’ and the ‘European style’. The difference is not always very clear, and many big corporations actually apply both styles – sometimes at the same time.
Typically, most clients tend to fall in either of these categories. As consultants this is something we at times have to be hard to the client. Clients have to choose which style is closer to their requirements – at least on a regional level.
So what are we talking about?
Continue reading “Multilanguage management: US style vs. European style”
Jun 2, 2015
A client wanted me to evaluate Weebly, a self-service website builder. She planned on using Weebly for a separate branch of their organization.
I confess, I was very skeptical. After all, this was a big company that usually spends hundreds of thousands of euros on their web renewal projects.
Continue reading “Low-cost website builders have become surprisingly good”
May 18, 2015
The whole world is talking about how the power in digital channels has switched over from organizations to consumers. It’s The Age of the Customer as they call it. Humble and patient “Hopefully they’ll provide me what I need if I only search long enough” attitude has been turned upside-down. Now consumers are demanding “Give me everything I want! Right now!” and “only for me and exactly to my specific need”. People want better digital experiences and more relevancy. Suddenly everybody’s time is money.
Continue reading “To personalize or not to personalize?”
Apr 7, 2015
Customer experience. Personalization. Marketing automation. Omnichannel.
These are the current buzzwords in the digital world. Everybody talks about them and there seems to be a huge common interest, especially when the words digital and marketing are in the same sentence. The benefits should be obvious, but reality shows that almost nobody makes full use of these possibilities. At least not yet. Continue reading “Digital marketing: The gap between hype and real life”
Feb 3, 2015
No, not a myth. Although for many people CMS usability doesn’t exist. The reason, though, is not that CMS vendors aren’t trying. They are working hard.
But the whole concept of CMS user experience is in its early stages.
First of all, the CMS world is divided into two camps. One side is making rich WYSIWYG interfaces while the other is working on structured content management. Yes, many are saying that they do both, but in reality most of them do structured content management. They have just invested a lot to a “decoration layer” on top of a structured content model.
The big paradox is that both camps are right.
Continue reading “Good usability in CMS? A myth?”
On Buyer's Guide Blog North Patrol's consultants share their latests tips on planning and buying web projects.
North Patrol is an independent consulting company without ties to system vendors. We support our customers in project planning, defining requirements and selecting the best technologies and partners.
