Content Management

• Manage content from any web browser (even mobile phone browsers)
• Limited use of graphics in default interface for strong focus on the information and fast downloads
• Undo and transaction rollback capability.

Editing

• In-browser rich (WYSIWYG) editor for editing any kind of textual content.
• Edit content in any application (such as Dreamweaver or Word) without having to move content from server to desktop.
• Can upload and translate many common Office file types: Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OpenOffice files, RTF.
• Live editing - you update the site from the site itself - no specialised tools needed

Workflow

• Built in workflow for editorial approval before publication.
• Workflow is completely flexible and configurable through the web.
• Different content types can use same or different workflow processes.
• Content can be edited or moved during workflow process. People can create a document in "My Folder" and have it appear in the correct location on publication.

Content Types

• Comes with content types for common cases: news items, events, links, documentations, and more.
• Easy to create new content types without any programming skills
• Dozens of content types available as add-ons
• Flexible metadata; comes with Dublin Core metadata as standard
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Searching

• Built-in fast, flexible search engine
• General search or specific searches (only on title, category, author, etc.)
• New search indexes can easily be added
• Searching always shows latest information; no lag before published content appears in search results.

Membership

• Built-in flexible membership system
• User authentication can use built-in database, LDAP, SMB, ActiveDirectory, relational databases, and many other systems.
• Authentication is pluggable, so new authentication methods can easily be added.
• User can be members of groups and groups can nest.
• Single sign-on - prevents users from having to log on to each area separately. Security is controlled centrally.

Security

• Rich security model to provide flexibility and simplicity for common cases.
• Scripts run in a sandbox, allowing site designers to create untrusted scripts.
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Presentation of Content

• Powerful template system - based on tested, proven designs
• Topics and Topic Map technologies enable efficient aggregation of content - management of content using a hierarchical topic system
• Facilitates collaboration in editing and publishing

Accessibility & Compatibility

• Plone meets or exceeds US Section 508 and WAI-AAA standards for accessibility.
• Plone's interface has been widely tested in browsers on multiple platforms, allowing rollout in hetergeneous environments and confidence in public launches.

Data Storage

• Data is stored in built-in object database
• Data can be stored in or accessed from relational databases, including Oracle, SQLServer, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Interbase, and ODBC-compliant databases.
• Users add content, managers manage. Letting users edit and add content lets them feel ownership towards the intranet, and encourages content production. This in turn leads more people to use the intranet actively.
• Easy to keep content updated, which again assures the value of the intranet

Licensing Costs

• Open Source
• Add-on products do not have to be released under Open Source license.

Technical Advantages

• RSS exports of data for aggregation and distribution of information
• Built-in webserver (will also integrate seamlessly with both Apache and IIS web servers), FTP server, WebDAV, XML-RPC server
• Can be statically deployed for security and high performance
• Supports portlet technologies
• Modular object-oriented design based on the well-tested application platform Zope and the Python scripting language
• Object database with full transaction support
• Plug-in interfaces to Oracle, MS SQL Server, PostgresSQL, mySQL, Interbase, Berkeley DB - and generic ODBC
• Powerful templating language that facilitates round-trip design between designers and developers
• Supports distributed servers for added scalability under demanding conditions
• Can be used as-is, or as a base for future web publishing platforms
• Complete separation of layout, content and site logic - you can have several interfaces to the same information

Business Relevance

• Professional support services available in Europe and USA
• Rapid development and deployment - "Mostly done in an hour, completely done in 10 days"
• Large active community supporting development
• International focus - multilingual support and localization for the user interface - ideal for multinational companies (currently supported languages: English, Arabic, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Hungarian, Czech, Italian, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian). However, Plone also supports a fuller list of languages that can be used on the public pages on the CMS.
  
• Users own the content, a central unit controls the design - facilitates consistency and powerful communication
• Users of Plone include Google, eBay, NASA, Lufthansa, Government of Hawaii, Novell, and the CIA