Besides my role with NetSquared globally, I also organize a monthly NetSquared event locally, in Cambridge, UK. The July Net2Camb event was led by Will Hall, a PHP web developer and open source enthusiast. He discussed the options, benefits, and risks associated with using open source content management systems for SMEs, charities and NGOs.

Will has kindly written a wrap-up of the event to share with you, and included his presentation slides for your reference:

Open Source CMS

Open source content management systems are being utilised by a growing number of organisations, not only to manage their presence on the Internet, but also to assist in the running of their business processes and give workers flexible working arrangement. How can small to medium businesses, charities and non governmental organisations use OSCMS to drive efficiency and grow their business within the specific restraints over these businesses, with all resources; budget, time and knowledge being at a premium.

Content management systems in their simplest form can be a simple paper based system. Content, defined as all of your "stuff", text, audio, video, and the way that it is managed is of imperative concern to all businesses. The particular use of open source software, as compared to bespoke of commercial software award businesses a specific way to use their restricted resources to a maximum, building software that can be used successfully by the business.

Choosing Open Source

Choosing an open source project can be a difficult proposition, especially with so many software projects competing for attention. Yet, by researching and analysing the community around the project, the documentation and code and how you can leverage the open source community for support and assistance, it is possible to choose the best open source project for your business be it Drupal, Wordpress, Joomla or another popular OSCMS.

Planning ahead

By analysing the requirements and the business and business processes and comparing it with the strengths of OSCMS it is possible to choose a system that will not only drive efficiency and growth in your business for not only now, but the future.

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Choosing Open Source? Not sure? Will's Net2Camb presentation can help! 
The presentation gives a detailed outline of strengths, weaknesses, and other criteria to consider when choosing your content management system.