GX WebManager platform strategy

In GX WebManager 9, the platform and the components have been separated. Modifying the platform implies checking if the other functionalities of the platform are still intact. Making changes to a component implies only checking if that specific component still behaves as expected. As a result, the engine of GX WebManager will always as be stable as the last release and will have a non-changing interface with the components. Only individual components (called WCBs, WebManager Component Bundles) can be modified and therefore be corrupted.

A Foundation for Controlled customizations

A vigorous technological turn was needed to give developers the opportunity to easily build solutions or new products on top of this GX platform. Nevertheless, GX really wanted to achieve this for the following reasons:

• With a platform, there is a much clearer distinction between customization and the standard product. By introducing the use of explicit APIs, with which functionalities can be added to the basic platform, the procedure for developers is much clearer. Among other things, this leads to a much more flexible and predictable method of executing updates and migrations than before.
  
• Implementation partners met, with the previous APIs that are in general directed towards customization of the design, the borders of these APIs. They could customize a lot, but adding real functionalities in a consistent way was technically still compex.
  
• Partners who want to create an own product with GX WebManager as an OEM product underneath, can also do this with the platform strategy.
• With this platform not only partners, but also GX itself, can easily realize new solutions or products like IP-TV platforms, Printing-On-Demand applications, and ASP services.

Solution Frameworks

Solution Frameworks are frameworks for total solutions, based on the GX platform. Implementation directed organizations can, with the help of these solution frameworks, quickly and efficiently build solutions for clients.

Three explicit Solution Frameworks have been chosen: Web Content Management, Multi Channel Publishing, and Customer Experience Management. Together, these solution frameworks form the architecture for solutions aimed at the interaction between a company, their clients and relations, and especially companies that have a lot of interactions with thousand or more relations.

Web Content Management

Content Management is a very broad concept with a lot of possibilities for interpretation. A much more sharper defined area is Web Content Management: Content Management solutions that are completely the keynote of a website. All functionalities in this type of solution framework must help a team to control and extend a website as efficient as possible. The team often consists of an application manager, developers, editors, and the editorial board. Functionalities that typically belong to Web Content Management solutions and products are:

• Creating and editing texts on web pages
• Layout management
• Personalization
• Database integration
• Registration procedures
• Authorization and authentication systems
• Microsoft Office connection
• Web statistics
• Thesauruses and other ways of categorizing content

Multi Channel Publishing

Besides the pure Content Management for the web, a lot of customers show a clear trend in not only using the Content Management platform for the web, but also using it for much more channels like mobile telephony , TV, and printing (especially PDF). Each channel has its own specific qualities and applications, but because a lot of content and layout (company style) has to be shared between the different channels, a Content Management solution will frequently be used for this. Often, an organization already has a Web Content Management System together with the procedures that have been established around that. Then Multi Channel Publishing is a logical next step to do more with this content, functionalities, and layout. Functionalities that typically belong to Multi Channel Publishing solutions and products are:

Functionalities that typically belong to MCP solutions are:

• Sharing content over more than one channel (e.g. using content on a website for mobile
  solutions)
• Generating PDFs, (applications like the dynamic creation of visiting-cards, the creation
  of a printable personalized offer based on personalization, marketing campaigns that
  have to share a company styles, etc.)
• Creating a TV channel on a website and thus integrating streaming audio and video in
• web solutions
• Personalization
• Newsletters
• Statistics

Customer Experience Management
Another trend which is clearly visible is that organizations start to see the website as a first point of contact (‘FPOC’) with their customers. This means that the whole perception of how a customer sees the organization not only has to be controlled in physical shops, but also through the website. Especially in the field of web self-service a lot can be gained: not only a customer can find answers to his questions by himself and thus being more content, it does cost the organization less money. Self-service on the web substitutes the first line support for the customer, leaving only the second line support cases for the helpdesk. Traditionally, decisions about this kind of investments were made by the call-center manager or the customer service manager. But because the website, traditionally managed by the marketing manager, has to contain self-service, they will more and more decide together about this. For Customer Experience Management applications a lot of money is available. It provides demonstrable savings (the ROI is easily calculable) and it increases customer satisfiability. GX wants to react on this by offering a solution framework that directly satisfies this demand.

Functionalities that typically belong to Customer Experience Management solutions and products are:

• FAQ s
• Personalization
• Registration procedures
• Database integrity
• Statistics
• Chats
• E-mail handling systems
• Search engines