Baynote Doesn't Make The WCM System, They Make The WCM System Smarter
After writing about Vignette's Web Experience Platform, I thought it only fair to give some pub to one of the BASFs in the web content space, Baynote Inc.
And don't be ashamed if Baynote isn't a household name, it only recently emerged (2006) as a technology provider to some of the big brands building large websites. Baynote makes a living helping brands and web marketers use its infrastructure for what it calls "intent-driven product and content recommendations."
Talk to any vendor in the content management sector and you'll find all of them scampering to deliver a better web experience. The underpinnings of improving that experience are things like behavioral targeting, contextual search, and interaction patterns.
Baynote's expertise is apparently paying off as evidenced by a recent OEM partnership with Vignette Corp., the Austin-based provider of web content and delivery solutions. According to both companies, Vignette is using Baynote to power Vignette Recommendations, a new product that can help organizations deliver highly tailored online experiences.
According to Vignette's CEO Mike Aviles, Baynote's approach was unique enough to satisfy the needs of some of Vignette's most demanding customers.
“Savvy Web users are demanding dynamic online content that can recognize and adapt to their intention at any given time," said Aviles. The added capability of Baystone, says Aviles, will ensure its Vignette Recommendations product delivers online experiences that are more likely to keep users coming back, while also building brand loyalty.
Baynote is quick to point out that it looks at more than just click-through rates. Its technology measures more than 20 different user actions, something it says is more indicative of a visitor's true intent. Clients have access to such metrics as conversions, search context, page actions, and navigation patterns that represent the elusive "collective wisdom of the crowd."
AIIM's director of Market Intelligence, Dan Keldsen, commented on the applicability of Baynote's approach, describing the blurred lines of user-generated and internal content.
“Findability and Relevancy of content is key to users already swimming in scattered and increasingly user-contributed information," said Keldsen. He argues that in the end, things like implicit recommendations are key to tapping the collective wisdom of site visitors, something that can benefit both consumers and suppliers.
Kelsden makes a good point. As web content is increasingly mashed up internally and externally, the Achilles heel of inadequate search and personalization is even more magnified.
It's good to see a company hell bent on helping customers deliver the right content to the right person at the right time.
Nice article! and cannot agree more with the main points; The decision-making process, especially for procurement departments will be very much dollar driven in the next 12 months as the economy flattens globally. Content management systems, web mangagement systems and component content management systems all will have to provide tangible ROI by enabling componies to clearly see that they will be able to basically produce more work, quicker and at lower cost.
Posted by: The Content Doctor | 03/19/2008 at 02:34 PM
Nice article! and cannot agree more with the main points; The decision-making process, especially for procurement departments will be very much dollar driven in the next 12 months as the economy flattens globally. Content management systems, web mangagement systems and component content management systems all will have to provide tangible ROI by enabling componies to clearly see that they will be able to basically produce more work, quicker and at lower cost.
Posted by: The Content Doctor | 03/19/2008 at 02:34 PM
Nice article! and cannot agree more with the main points; The decision-making process, especially for procurement departments will be very much dollar driven in the next 12 months as the economy flattens globally. Content management systems, web mangagement systems and component content management systems all will have to provide tangible ROI by enabling componies to clearly see that they will be able to basically produce more work, quicker and at lower cost.
Posted by: The Content Doctor | 03/19/2008 at 02:33 PM
Thanks for the comment and book recco Dan.
-george
Posted by: George Dearing | 03/09/2008 at 06:19 AM
Hello George, This was a very nice write-up. I liked how you brought up the fact about how competitive it is out there with everyone trying to promise more.
Posted by: NewSunSEO | 03/06/2008 at 02:18 PM
George - thanks for the mention. Emergence most definitely isn't restricted to the world of Enterprise 2.0, and while the explicit actions taken in the "social world" (tagging, ranking, rating, voting, commenting) get a lot of play, watching the implicit actions wields quite a lot of power too. And THAT can apply just about anywhere.
BTW - for those of you thinking that Emergence (in any shape or form) is hogwash, I'd recommend reading Steven Johnson's book, Emergence, for one heck of a deep dive into the topic. FANTASTIC book. Mix in a little network and graph theory, and you'll realize there is a ton of real science behind this whacky social web business. :)
Cheers,
Dan
Posted by: Dan Keldsen | 02/29/2008 at 08:48 PM