Open Source versus Proprietary CMS's

The terms Open Source and Proprietary, refer to the two very different approaches to the development, control and commercialization of computer software.

Itomic believe that both types of software have their places, and when it comes to Content Management Systems, it’s really up to the client if they have a strong preference for one of the other.

Discussed below are a few reasons why a Proprietary CMS may not be suitable for your website solution:

• Vendor Lock-in, meaning you can’t take the site and software to another provider.
• License costs, upfront costs that don’t necessary give you want you want.

• Hosting costs, a proprietary CMS can require the use of Proprietary hosting services like Microsoft 2003 running IIS and .NET.
• Lack of up-to-date support materials at your disposal.

On the other hand, a Proprietary CMS may provide the following benefits:

• Improved security – as the source code isn’t publicly available, it’s usually not susceptible to site defacements (itomic do have a solution for this aspect though see our drupal service contract page).
• Usability – if you struggle with using websites and computers, and need an easy to use solution for editing content, Drupal may not be for you.

Itomic build websites both using their Proprietary CMS: Nucleus, and the Open Source CMS: Drupal. If you are still unsure about which path to take, we can still help you.