[consulting] CMS comparison

[Boris Mann]

On 10-May-06, at 6:14 AM, John Sechrest wrote:

>  And as a result, the platform is be definition unstable.
>  And as a consultant trying to create a site that is supportable
>  by a client, it causes me trouble. Upgrades are as painful
>  or more painful than the initial install.

I'm still confused about these types of issues. There are techniques  
to make things relatively painless. Obviously, maintaining Drupal  
installations on multiple different client sites is difficult. SVN is  
your friend...in many ways, every independent consultant should be  
maintaining their own centralized "distro" of Drupal with patches  
etc. applied as they like.

If I were an independent consultant, I would have hosting that I  
would bundle, and turn down $5/month on Random J Web Host. Well,  
either that, or charge for my time to keep things up in many  
different environments.

>
>  The alternative presented by drupal is to do what Bryght is doing,
>  which is to basically to maintain an automation suite which
>  is like having your own distribution.

Well, there is mass hosting of install profiles, which is one thing.

And then there is the install profile itself, which is essentially  
what Bryght maintains. Backports and applied patches, essentially,  
with a set of modules that get maintained.

>  If the decided goal of drupal is to be a platform for invention,
>  then that is a different goal than having a stable platform that
>  organizations like city governments and businesses need for
>  the stable support of their tasks.

Well, the current version needs to work. At future points, when the  
requirements for a particular site/deployment change, then making a  
decision on whether or not to upgrade should be guided by the  
consultant.

>  Why would an organization like a city government, which is aiming
>  at consistancy and quality want to engage in using drupal if
>  the tool goal is to be a platform for invention?

Because you can get additional development and advancements for a  
much lower cost than proprietary systems, you're not locked into one  
consulting firm or company because it's all open.

--
Boris Mann
Vancouver 778-896-2747 San Francisco 415-367-3595
SKYPE borismann
http://www.bryght.com