Multiple Platforms—Are They Such A Good Idea?

The Berndt Group Helps Clients Avoid Pitfalls of Unnecessary, Multiplying Web Platforms

January 30, 2010

BALTIMORE, MD—These days, many organizations are contending with significant challenges to their web strategies, caused by a relative explosion of conflicting shared content platforms and escalating user expectations. The classic scenario—with marketing pushing for time to market and wanting to use any widget they can get their hands on, and I.T. looking on in relative horror as they try to imagine supporting this fandango of technologies—has been taken to a new scenario. It’s understandable, and to some extent unavoidable, but what are the real costs of technology fragmentation?

First, let’s back up a bit. When it comes to all the activities that you do on the web, there is no such thing as a "one size fits all" platform that will meet every need (or even less, foresee every need). Inherently, there are inevitable situations where an organization will have to go outside its few core platforms. The question is, how is the decision to do so made, what factors are taken into account, and what thought is given to how the multiple-platform web site will be sustained in the future?

The Berndt Group regularly helps organizations with these kinds of issues, often starting with identifying and formalizing strategy and requirements, and then selecting and procuring a technology platform that covers 80%+ of the organization's foreseeable needs. Then, we assist in finding the missing pieces that will best integrate and help to develop an approach to sustaining them.

Some of the main considerations that we work through with our clients include the following:

Avoiding Siloed Content. In many cases, organizations end up with content in different systems: a document management system, a CMS, blogging software, a social networking platform, an eCommerce site, etc. In some cases, this is unavoidable (or even desirable—you probably don't need your entire document management system in your web CMS), but often it is a mistake, and leads to frustration down the road: not being able to automatically relate content, danger of publishing broken links, and content appearing in inconsistent templates, just to name a few common problems. There are many technology platforms and implementation choices that can reduce these problems considerably.
Consolidating Technologies. Have you somehow ended up with a CMS written in classic ASP, a blog in PHP, a bunch of legacy Cold Fusion, and two or three other scary acronyms that you don't fully understand, but that you know mean trouble? Organizations sometimes can reap major benefits from standardizing on one or two web technologies: management of a small number of skills sets—often with fewer engineers, higher chances of issues getting fixed and much greater potential for interconnecting systems. However, there are times where vast I.T. decisions are made on this basis and for no good reason: witness the I.T. shop that standardizes on "Java" only to discover that each of their systems is built in a radically different flavor and framework, with relatively low compatibility. And there are other times, such as a temporary or transitional application, where the better decision is to go with free or inexpensive software in a non-standard language, assuming it will be quickly replaced. It’s all in the context of what the application is, what it will do, and where it will go.
Unify User Experience. Throughout all these content and technology strategies, what matters most is what the user sees. Multiple systems are one of the worst offenders for fragmenting and confusing user experience. On the light end, you have confusing URLs, pages opening in (often blocked) pop-up windows, and the need for multiple logins. More serious problems include counter-intuitive navigation, problems maintaining state, and irregular, constantly changing design. If you are going to span multiple platforms, it takes considerable discipline (and effort!) to smooth over the gaps between different platforms and create the appearance of a unified site.

So, as you can see, there is a lot to think about—frankly more than we have space for here. As always "the devil is in the details" and the details are exactly what The Berndt Group excels at helping major organizations sort through. It may be a matter of picking a CMS that does what you need, so you don't need all of these "add-ons," or it may be a more significant discussion of I.T. strategy with an organization that wants to tighten up its approach to web development. Whether large or small, at a variety of levels, The Berndt Group helps our clients avoid the pitfalls of unnecessary and multiplying web platforms!

About The Berndt Group

The Berndt Group has been a leading Web design, development and brand communications firm since 1991. The firm provides an integrated set of creative services, including strategic consulting, brand and application development, software implementation, web site design, and internet marketing. Based in Baltimore, MD, the firm services a diverse international and regional base of over fifty active clients, including: The National Aquarium, Johns Hopkins Institutions, SafeNet, Inc., Raytheon, U.S. Immigration, The Federal Aviation Administration, The U.S. Forest Service, The Abell Foundation, and many others. For more information, visit www.berndtgroup.net.

Media Contact

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Michelle Géczy
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phone: 410.889.5854 x 12
email: michelle.geczy@berndtgroup.net