Efficient Workflow Management
By Brian Wilson
When I was at O'Reilly Network last year, I saw firsthand how workflow could be managed at Web sites that required constant collaboration and frequent updates. To facilitate the process, we used an extensive system of Perl scripts developed in-house. The system worked for us, but I've been curious about how commercial alternatives might compare. When version 2 of Cyberteams' WebSite Director came out in August, I decided to find out.
WebSite Director is an integrated system, managed via a Web browser, that lets a group of workers control the presentation of Web pages from initial content submission through publication. It runs on the most popular Unix platforms and on Windows NT, and it supports most widely used Web servers including Apache, Netscape, and IIS. (Cyberteams claims WebSite Director can be installed to interact with almost any Web server.) It uses mSQL, MySQL, or—on an NT system—any ODBC-compliant server for a database back end.
There are Lite and Pro versions available in addition to the standard edition of WebSite Director. The Pro version offers more edit options, more support for templates, multiple workflows, and interfaces to Microsoft products. The Lite version manages user accounts, file transfers, and document repositories but has no template or workflow systems. Pricing varies: The entry point for the standard edition is $9000 for 10 users. The Lite version costs $500 for 10 users. Full information on the features in each edition and on pricing are available at the CyberTeams Web site.
