Irina Guseva: Random Thoughts on CMS, WCM, ECM and Other Acronyms

EPiServer, on its ongoing quest in “the new era of the Engaged Web,” has news for marketers, who are looking to deliver dynamic, personalized, optimized and measurable web experiences.

EPiServer Marketing Arena is a new product designed to do just that, and then some.

The new release consists of several integrated modules and services to help marketers create, manage, monitor and optimize web campaigns, while (ah, the cherry on top) generating traffic and leads.

Tracking the success (or lack thereof) of those campaigns is available in real-time. Lead generation data can be captured and fed to a CRM system.

Marketing Arena is also integrated with EPiServer CMS to provide a centralized content repository for creating, tracking and monitoring web content, campaigns and landing pages.

More on CMSWire.com

Swedish Web CMS vendor EPiServer is increasing its European reach beyond the Scandinavian homebase. Recently, EPiServer signed 11 new implementation/reseller partnerships in the United Kingdom.

As you know, the MS .NET devout EPiServer works through resellers/partners only. And now, through more of them, including UK’s Byte Art, Charteris, Cimex Media, Corporate Document Services, IMGROUP, Kieon, Nucleus, Obergine, Ogilvy Action, The On Connection and STEEL. The majority of them are interactive/digital agencies specializing in website building and web content management.

Neal Perry, Country Manager of EPiServer UK & Ireland said: “Our partners include some of the largest and most well known agencies in Europe. They all know that we provide them with a straightforward way to create websites, which engage the visitor and are easy to manage.”

Good move, eh? For EPiServer’s growth, it is crucial to sign the right implementation partners, as much of the overall success in the CMS market depends on them. You might’ve noticed that it is not always easy to find skilled EPiServer integrators, especially outside of Sweden.

EPiServer says there are more than 2,500 customers worldwide using EPiServer CMS. A bit hard to believe, but the vendor also notes, “Two new commercial sites built using EPiServer CMS go live every 24 hours.”

The current count of EPiServer’s partner network is around 300 companies in 25 countries, including U.S., where EPiServer has recently opened its North American HQ office.

After what seemed like much deliberation and preparation, EPiServer has finally announced its official U.S. presence.

There is a good chance that competitive temperature is going to rise in the North American web content management market. As put by CMS Watch, we are in the third wave of European CMS vendors hitting North America. The two prior waves were reasonably successful. This one holds promise as well.

More on CMSWire: It’s Official, EPiServer Opens U.S. Office

More often than not web content management vendors are trying to offer ways to manage social media, user-generated content and web 2.0 technologies in the context of their CMS’s.

EPiServer’s Relate+ is built on top of their CMS 5 web content management system and provides a common framework for incorporating social media features, community building and e-mail marketing into websites.

The product was released just in time before the upcoming grand opening of the U.S. office.

Full story on CMSWire: EPiServer on Managing Social Media With Relate+ and U.S. Plans

My friends at EPiServer have a great event planned in March. For the first time in history, EPiServer is opening up its conference to the international audience and will conduct seminars in English as well as in Swedish. As far as I am concerned, I wish I could make it to Stockholm in March.

The makers of EPiServer CMS 5 have announced EPiServer Day 2009 — a conference that gathers together Sweden’s Web experts, international analysts, EPiServer customers and all those interested in Web Content Management and EPiServer CMS.

The highlight of this event is a deep dive into what the vendor calls “the Engaged Web” and experiences surrounding content management and social media.

Full article on CMSWire: EPiServer Day 2009: Get a Taste of the Engaged Web

My Swedish CMS friends at EPiServer decided to grab a Web agency called Dropit. While other CMS vendors (@Day Software that sold off a UK subsidiary) are shedding their agency-like parts of the engine, EPiServer is on the acquisition spree.

EPiServer says that this investment will allow the company to continue to offer the “most sophisticated content management system (CMS) available today” — based on fast, simple and effective functionality. In a nutshell, Dropit makes EPiServer CMS extensions like Extension (aka X3).

Additionally, the vendor reported that during the last 12 months, license sales grew more than 40%. Now, EPiServer is undertaking a series of acquisitions and new office expansions “to broaden and strengthen its proposition.”

Speaking of new offices… The “EPi-way” into the U.S. market is well under way. I hear that the company is still in the recruitment phase and is looking at a bunch of sales folks’ resumes (hint, hint).

Full article on CMSWire: EPiServer Continues With Expansion Mode, Acquires Dropit

[updated Jan-21-09]: After this news went out, EPiServer sent clarification on the acquisition. The product section and the actual products from Dropit were acquired, but not any consulting resources and not the entire Dropit organization, which will remain intact and maintain their focus of developing Web sites for their customers.