Content management consultants will tell you that the hardest part of any CMS project typically is organizational change management. Many of the benefits espoused by Web CMS vendors -- greater automation, enhanced content re-use -- imply people changing their work and systems. A Columbia Business School Professor, Eric Abrahamson, has a new take on change management. Abrahamson recommends that companies rethink tendencies towards "repetitive" change, arguing that the costs of perpetual turmoil frequently outweigh the benefits. Change is good and necesssary, he argues, but companies ought to first try to creatively recombine existing human and system resources to achieve better ends. This reminds us to remind you that there are many ways to improve the way you manage content short of implementing a new CMS. In the long run, you will almost surely need some sort of web content management solution -- and for some firms the urgency may be crushing enough to demand immediate action -- but maybe the best way for your organization to get there is by taking small steps and re-examining the people and tools already at your disposal...
Read about Abrahamson's book in CIO Magazine