WCM User Community Thriving at Hannon Hill

Customer Interaction Keeps WCM Professionals in the Know

 
ATLANTA – JULY 30, 2007– The proliferation of forums, blogs, and other forms of user-generated content on the internet has fueled communities of consumers who turn first to peer reviews for purchasing decisions. In the business world, Web Content Management (WCM) solution provider Hannon Hill is taking a driving role in creating and fostering its online user community, where customers converge to troubleshoot issues, share best practices and ultimately drive the product roadmap based on their real-world experiences and needs. 

“After an extremely successful User’s Conference in 2006, we witnessed the value of bringing our clients together to collaborate,” says David Cummings, CEO and Founder of Hannon Hill. “Enabling them to interact and share experiences has resulted in increased customer satisfaction and new, innovative product features.”

One of the first major steps Hannon Hill took to provide an online community for its customers was to create an official User’s Forum for its web content management software, Cascade Server.  Although a support ticket system – where clients could report problems, comment on issues, and vote on feature requests – had been available long before, the forum provides a less formal way to interact with other users.

“The forum is moderated by us and our support team steps in to answer questions. But the great thing about it is that users are also answering questions and sharing their experiences, expanding the amount of information that’s freely available, and helping all our clients discover new ways our product can be used to solve their web content management challenges,” says Cummings.

A sign that the Cascade Sever user community is thriving is the fact that many users are now setting up their own ways to network and help each other.  One example is in the higher education sector, where individuals from different universities have come together to create a listserv specifically for Cascade Server users in higher education.  The High Ed Cascade Server listserv is private, but anyone in a university setting who uses Cascade Server or is currently evaluating the CMS is welcome to join, according to one of the founders, Terri Vaughn of Clemson University. 

“We realized that many of us, despite having understaffed web departments and tight budgets, all needed to do the same things with Cascade Server,” Vaughn explains, “The list has proven very helpful to many of us, especially here at Clemson University. Sharing projects, reviewing code, suggesting design enhancements and providing technical support are just a few of the benefits to members of the list. One of our web team members saved several hours of work when a High Ed Cascade Server listserv member reviewed some XML and spotted an issue right away that had been overlooked.”  According to Eric Palmer of the University of Richmond, use of the list is growing with 78 members strong representing over 34 organizations.

Despite all the possibilities that the internet offers for user-interaction, face-to-face contact is still irreplaceable.  Hannon Hill is preparing for its second annual Cascade Server User’s Conference, to be held in Atlanta, Georgia from September 24-25, 2007.

“Feedback from last year’s conference was very positive; most people indicated that the chance to meet face to face – to make those connections – was one of the most valuable parts of the conference,” says Cummings.  “This year, we’re expecting an even bigger turn out; in addition to the informal networking, clients will have the opportunity to lead sessions and spotlight the web content management work they’ve accomplished with Cascade Server.”

Related Content:

-       Hannon Hill Community Resources

-       Cascade Server Forum

-       Cascade Server User’s Conference

-       High Ed Cascade Server Listserv

About the Company

Hannon Hill creates web marketing solutions that give people and organizations the freedom to manage their Internet, Intranet, Extranet and Portal content with ease. Our primary software solution, Cascade Server, is ideal for organizations in industries such education, healthcare, technology, government, and publishing. Designed for any network environment, Cascade Server is as easy as e-mail and gives IT departments much needed deployment flexibility, a zero-footprint client and fast implementation. Since 2001, Hannon Hill solutions have been utilized and trusted by organizations including Duke University, Carnegie Mellon University, MCG Health Systems, PGP Corporation, Reed College and SCOREGolf magazine. For more information about Hannon Hill and all of our products, please visit www.HannonHill.com or contact us directly at 800-407-3540.

Press Release Contact:
Morgan Griffith
Hannon Hill Corporation
info@hannonhill.com
(678) 904-6900

Related Content:
Community