Cisco has jumped into the content management race with its EOS platform. Build specifically for media rich sites, EOS claims to be highly modular, flexible with skins and practically code free for the content publisher.
The focus is geared around content delivery and user experience. The platform is merely a vehicle. Cisco is leveraging its strength in bandwidth infrastructure and taking a bold step into the world of CMS to enable underlying demand. Delivering media and rich content will eventually drive bandwidth hunger. By providing a single platform and an SaaS model for customising, publishing, monetising and reusing content, Cisco EOS is promising to raise the game in rich content delivery.
As a start check out a Brand Manager experience with Cisco EOS in this video. The modular nature comes across neatly in the channel grid layout of the UI. This help keep the look clean and content in its place. Site parts are logically separated into Site Pages, Global Nav and Footer and Modules for User Interaction. User profiles appear to have good level of customisation differentiating between administrators and developers - roles which may have intense interaction but at different stages in the page life cycle.
Cisco EOS has also done a thorough job of identity management. The philosophy of associating web identity with behavioural tracking inbuilt into a profile enables people to meet like minded individuals through interacting with content. It is your personal ILike Bulter, connecting people with similar interests. However, this makes it even more critical to keep identities safe as well as hack proof and there is literature to show depth in thinking. For this and more user experiences, check out their website.
Cisco is probably also best positioned to address a core aspect of the media delivery debate that has until now been completely overlooked - the cost of content delivery. The battle between BT and BBC has been well publicised with the latter’s accusations that BT is stifling the iPlayer by constricting broadband into homes at peak usage times. But in fairness to BT, the pipes will need to look very different if everyone simultaneously jumps on to the broadbandwagon.©
With more people going onto broadband delivered media, someone will have to monetise the quality of delivery. Could Cisco have a possible play? BT and Cisco already have close working relationships in the commercial sector - don’t be surprised by more alliances.
So what are the shortcomings? For one, the platform wont be affordable by all. The cost is likely to push this to be viable for the biggest of the media houses and content owners. When costs are under pressure, the likely give is on the aesthetics. This will potentially create less sexy websites, but with unmatched functionality which will keep them popularly sustained. Pure speculation, but time will tell. For now, EOS seems to be rapidly leaving behind the paralysed Sharepoint-Silversomething camp and the cacophonic Drupal-Joomla-WP opensource community.
And just as I was writing this article, the government has announced their 50p tax on landlines to pay for broadband connectivity to rural depths of the nation. More video to the digitally starved, more freedom! More demand for easy content delivery and user engagement. Well timed Cisco!
Thanks for thoughtful commentary re: Cisco Eos.
As a Saas, Eos actually should be more affordable to media companies than the alternative of building and maintaining a custom-built platform — even if they’re licensing the major bits, but stuck with integrating and managing that system.
One nuance is that Eos was built specifically for media companies that want to deploy large PORTFOLIOS of community sites built around their content. A core focus of Eos’ integrated approach is to enable media companies to realize economies of scale in building and growing large number of branded, interactive sites. With that focus, the features currently in Eos may not be as interesting to smaller companies that only want to deploy a handful of sites.
Cheers.
Scott,
Thanks for pointing out the focus of EOS. Appreciate that the cost equation for media companies will make the investment viable. I found that some of the principles used in EOS of content oriented interaction, identity logic and modular design could be applied on a wider scale. As businesses become more accepting of the cloud - is there a play for the something similar focused around specialist content on a smaller scale?