SER Blog  Innovation & Technology

2019 report: Which content services are right for you?

Maureen Cueppers

While maybe not as highly anticipated as, say, the next Star Wars film, the day on which the annual Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms report comes out is definitely a reason for business and IT leaders to get excited. Here's a sneak peek at what the 2019 report covers.

In the ever-changing “galaxy” of content services platform vendors, the Magic Quadrant report doesn’t offer lightsabers or clever droids – but it does offer prospective buyers a practical guide to finding the best software to meet current and future content services needs. Lucky for these prospective buyers, the 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms* report just came out.

In contrast to the aura of secrecy surrounding the end of the Star Wars Skywalker saga, we think the Gartner report is a straightforward and easy-to-read analysis of 18 vendors of the CSP market. Every vendor has a different approach and product, and the Gartner report has made it its mission to break down the strengths and cautions and assess each vendor based on completeness of vision and ability to execute. The 18 vendors are positioned in the Magic Quadrant (see graphic) as either Niche Players, Visionaries, Challengers or Leaders.
(This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document.)

Top three buyers' needs

Before diving into the assessment of the 18 market vendors, the Gartner report first provides an overview of market trends and developments. It identifies three content services platform needs that are prevalent in many organizations right now, no matter the industry. Here’s a brief summary from our perspective:

The problem of information silos and data sprawl – How can companies, especially amidst a rise in SaaS solutions, not only bring together dispersed data, but also make use of it?
Driving digital business transformation – How can content and processes be joined to enhance operational and collaborative experiences across the entire organization and with customers, suppliers and partners?
Modernizing work – Which new ways of interacting with content are necessary to modernize the work experience?

Do any of these challenges sound familiar to you?

At the heart of the (CSP) galaxy

Buyers nowadays are ready to move on from monolithic, rigid and outdated ECM systems. They seek agility and flexiblity to handle dynamic business requirements and to ensure successful growth. At the heart of all digital business platforms, the report mentions five characteristics that every content services platform must possess. We summarize them as cloud scalability, information security, quick value, a user focus and, finally, intelligence. The report assesses how the 18 CSP vendors combine these characteristics to provide solutions to companies in their digital transformation.

Complimentary access to...

...No, sadly we can’t give you a sneak peek of the next Star Wars film, but we are able give you complimentary access to the full Gartner Magic Quadrant for CSP report here.

Once you’ve read the report, don’t stop there. We suggest checking out how content services look in action:

• How Sunrise, Switzerland’s largest telco provider, enhanced its customer service and boosted profitability with content services
• How the German national railway has opened a path for automated processes and customer-centric applications with its cloud-based platform
• How a unified and future-ready ECM platform with content services can meet diverse content management needs, cut down on IT complexity and costs, provide deep integration with ERP systems, scale with your growth, and handle content securely and compliantly.

Is it time to start exploring how content services can help your business? Contact us to discover the possibilities.

*Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms, Michael Woodbridge | Marko Sillanpaa | Lane Severson, 30 October 2019.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Maureen Cueppers

Hello there! My name is Maureen Cueppers and I’m the[nbsp]Head of Content [&] Communications at[nbsp]SER. Analyzing, breaking down and clearly explaining the trends [&] possibilities of intelligent[nbsp]content automation[nbsp]for our readers – this is always at the heart of my writing. A native of Oregon (USA), I’m a craft beer enthusiast and have 43 nicknames (the last time I counted).

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