ABSTRACT
Content management, which includes document management, Web content management, digital asset management, and records management, is increasingly important in the digital age. CMSWatch, a vendor of content management analysis, publishes the CMS Report, a tool for CMS specialists to sort through the many products for a specific corporate environment. As of April 2006, the report compared 32 vendors of content management software systems and cost $895 for a single-user standard edition. Technical communication practitioners who face the expense and complexity of implementing a content management system need to be aware that before investing in software database systems, it is important to analyze the information environment and the flow of knowledge throughout the organization. Otherwise new document databases can slow existing communication, create extra work, and impede existing methods of knowledge transfer. This is especially true in organizations that create new knowledge, since clear and rapid communication between employees is critical to their success. In some cases, an outside vendor database is not necessary and, in fact, may impede the development of new knowledge.
