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Inside the Brackets:
[INGENIUX CMS 4.0]

by Jeff Wood     Oct 2003

In each issue, this section focuses on a different content management-related product, providing an overview of information of interest specifically targeted to publishers.

The content management system from Ingeniux (pronounced in-JEEN-yex) isn't one that is usually at the forefront of publisher's minds in CMS discussions. This is due primarily to the fact that Ingeniux does not promote directly to the publishing industry, instead targeting the higher education, financial, and broadcast media markets in Europe and the west coast. However, small-to-midsize publishers considering web CMS systems such as Red Dot or Merant may want to include Ingeniux CMS in their investigation, particularly if the requirements include syndication functionality.

Ingeniux, headquartered in Seattle since 1998, released Version 4.0 of its web CMS last month. The latest version includes full metadata support and an updated taxonomy scheme, as well as extensive user interface upgrades to the previous version. In the past, Ingeniux has built tight integrations with Oracle 9i, and with this version, now offers a Mac OS X version through a partnership with Apple. And like its predecessors, the newest version takes a modular approach to content delivery and is based on file system storage. However, they recently announced a partnership with XML-repository specialist Ixiasoft and plan to include Ixiasoft's TextML Server for XML storage in their next release.

The editorial interface is based primarily around the concept of components. Content creators can navigate through a hierarchical tree view of the content and can build pages through the use of a structured WYSIWYG editor. They can create components for text or images, navigate to the appropriate file (either within the system or from any other accessible source), and drag-and-drop directly on to the page template. Multiple XML files can be included on a given page, giving the publisher the flexibility to create granular and repurposable content components that replicate node-level access functionality and can be easily assembled for output to the web. The editorial environment offers schema validation, includes full-text search ability and XPath-based querying for finding content, and ships with a separate search engine for the public web site.

The package includes a fully customizable workflow system, and ships with many preconfigured workflows out-of-the-box that can be modified to suit the editorial needs. The workflow allows for actions to be assigned at every transition, such as archiving and email alerts, and comes with an extensively documented API for customizations. Some version control is available via partnership with DocuComp, where current and last versions of documents can be compared. Earlier versions can be archived to the file system, but are not available within the system itself for comparison or rollback (theoretically, the future TextML Server integration should enhance this).

One feature that sets Ingeniux apart from its closest competitors is its native syndication capabilities. The syndication module allows editorial staff to easily create components for wire feed scraping or capturing syndicated information on any web site for which it has permission. It also allows multiple web sites to seamlessly share content, whether pushing or pulling, and to present that content in their own layout and display schemes. For example, a division of a larger corporation can create a component on its own web site, navigate to the parent site's CMS, grab content from their system, and insert it directly into the web page. The content will take on the look-and-feel of the new site. External web sites which are granted the appropriate permission can also retrieve content from an Ingeniux system. Version 4 includes support for the industry-standard RSS format.

Ingeniux CMS provides an additional feature worth mentioning, which is implemented frequently with their European-base customers: multi-channel deployment. Once the web pages are created, the application has the ability out-of-the-box to convert the HTML to over 250 other language-specific outputs to allow for delivery to cell phones, PDAs, and other devices from the same content source.

Product Highlights