A content management system (CMS) such as a document management system (DMS) is a computer application used to manage work flow needed to collaboratively create, edit, review, index, search, publish and archive various kinds of digital media and electronic text.

CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, versioning, and publishing industry-specific documentation such as news articles, operators' manuals, technical manuals, sales guides, and marketing brochures. The content managed may include computer files, image media, audio files, video files, electronic documents, and Web content. These concepts represent integrated and interdependent layers. There are various nomenclatures known in this area: Web Content Management, Digital Asset Management, Digital Records Management, Electronic Content Management and so on. The bottom line for these systems is managing content and publishing, with a workflow if required.

1.1 Enterprise CMS (ECMS)
1.2 Web CMS (WCMS)
1.3 Document management system (DMS)
1.4 Mobile CMS

1.5 Component CMS

1.6 Media content management system

1.1. Enterprise content management systems

An enterprise content management (ECM) system is concerned with content, documents, details and records related to the organizational processes of an enterprise. The purpose is to manage the organization's unstructured information content, with all its diversity of format and location.

1.2 Web content management systems

A 'web content management' (WCM) system is a CMS designed to simplify the publication of Web content to Web sites, in particular, allowing content creators to submit content without requiring technical knowledge of HTML or the uploading of files.

A web-content-management system (WCMS or Web CMS) is content management system (CMS) software, usually implemented as a Web application, for creating and managing HTML content. It is used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents and their associated images). A WCMS facilitates content creation, content control, editing, and many essential Web maintenance functions. Usually the software provides authoring (and other) tools designed to allow users with little or no knowledge of programming languages or markup languages to create and manage content with relative ease. Most systems use a database to store content, metadata, and/or artifacts that might be needed by the system. Content is frequently, but not universally, stored as XML, to facilitate reuse and enable flexible presentation options. A presentation layer displays the content to regular Web-site visitors based on a set of templates. The templates are sometimes XSLT files.

Most systems also use some form of server side caching which enables a boost of performance. This works best when the WCMS is not intended to be changed often but visits happen on a regular basis. Administration is typically done through browser-based interfaces, but some systems require the use of a fat client. Unlike Web-site builders like Microsoft FrontPage or Adobe Dreamweaver, a WCMS allows non-technical users to make changes to an existing website with little or no training. A WCMS typically requires an experienced coder to set up and add features, but is primarily a Web-site maintenance tool for non-technical administrators.

Capabilities- A WCMS is a software system used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents, images and other forms of media).A CMS facilitates document control, auditing, editing, and timeline management. A WCMS provides the following key features:

Automated templates- Create standard output templates (usually HTML and XML) that can be automatically applied to new and existing content, allowing the appearance of all content to be changed from one central place.

Easily editable content- Once content is separated from the visual presentation of a site, it usually becomes much easier and quicker to edit and manipulate. Most WCMS software includes WYSIWYG editing tools allowing non-technical individuals to create and edit content.

Scalable feature sets - Most WCMS software includes plug-ins or modules that can be easily installed to extend an existing site's functionality.

Web standards upgrades- Active WCMS software usually receives regular updates that include new feature sets and keep the system up to current web standards.

Workflow management- Workflow is the process of creating cycles of sequential and parallel tasks that must be accomplished in the CMS. For example, a content creator can submit a story, but it is not published until the copy editor cleans it up and the editor-in-chief approves it.

Delegation- Some CMS software allows for various user groups to have limited privileges over specific content on the website, spreading out the responsibility of content management.

1.3 Document management System

CMS software may provide a means of managing the life cycle of a document from initial creation time, through revisions, publication, archive, and document destruction.

Content virtualization- CMS software may provide a means of allowing each user to work within a virtual copy of the entire Web site, document set, and/or code base. This enables changes to multiple interdependent resources to be viewed and/or executed in-context prior to submission.

Types- There are three major types of WCMS: offline processing, online processing, and hybrid systems. These terms describe the deployment pattern for the WCMS in terms of when presentation templates are applied to render Web pages from structured content.

Offline processing - These systems pre-process all content, applying templates before publication to generate Web pages. Since pre-processing systems do not require a server to apply the templates at request time, they may also exist purely as design-time tools.

Online processing - These systems apply templates on-demand. HTML may be generated when a user visits the page, or pulled from a cache. Most open source WCMSs have the capability to support add-ons, which provide extended capabilities including forums, web-stores, photo-galleries, contact-management etc. These are often called modules, nodes, widgets, add-ons or extensions. Add-ons may be based on an open-source or paid licence model. Different WCMSs have significantly different feature-sets and target audiences.

Hybrid Systems- Some systems combine the offline and online approaches. Some systems write out executable code (e.g. JSP, ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, or Perl pages) rather than just static HTML,  so that the CMS itself does not need to be deployed on every Web server. Other hybrids, such as [[Blosxom] operate in either an online or offline mode.

1.4 Mobile CMS

Mobile CMS offers you the choice to deliver all content on the SharePoint portal server to your customers’, partners’ and employees’ mobiles.

It provides-

• Development of WAP sites
• Content Delivery for Mobiles(using SMS,MMS,WAP)
• Managed Services
• Assessment of your Mobile Portal Plan
• Study of your Infrastructure – Present Capability and Future Requirements
• Development of a Comprehensive Mobile Portal Plan
• Partnering you in Infrastructure Installation
• Design of a Content Plan
• Migration of Online Portal/Content Repository to Mobile Web Space
• Provision of Content from selected Content Providers
• Technical Support for the Content/Content Libraries of your/3rd party server(s)
• Technical Support including Hosting and Maintenance
• Constant Upgrades for New Devices
• Content, Delivered.
• Allows content editors to edit and manage content
• Allows content upload, approval, editing, and management of pricing details of content for download (like Ring Tones, Games, Wallpapers, Greetings, Screen Savers, MMS, Horoscope, Sports Video Clips, Movie Trailers and more)
• Renders device-specific content pages
• Generates full content/story pages
• Generates reports on portal activities
• Generates Logs/Call Detailed Records reports (CDRs, used for Billing Subscribers)
• Mobile Web, Managed.
• Branding Content
• Content Management
• Editorial Interface for Channel management
• Editorial Interface to Upload/Approve Content
• Partner Interface to upload paid content like Ring Tones, Games, Wallpapers, Greetings, Screen Savers, MMS, Horoscope, Sports Video Clips, Movie Trailers and more
• Device-specific, Partner Feed Management System Device-specific Delivery Mechanism
• Tracking of Usage and Downloads
• Subscription Management Generate logs/Call Detailed Records reports
• Flexible Subscription Management Model

1.5 Component CMS

Component Content Management Systems (CCMS) manage content at a granular level (component) rather than at the document level. Each component represents a single topic, concept or asset (e.g., image, table, product description). Components are assembled into multiple content assemblies (content types) and can be viewed as components or as traditional documents. Each component has its own lifecycle (owner, version, approval, use) and can be tracked individually or as part of an assembly. CCM is typically used for multi-channel customer-facing content (marketing, usage, learning, support). CCM can be a separate system or be a functionality of another content management system type (e.g., ECM or Web Content Management).

Benefits of managing contents at components level:

• Greater consistency and accuracy.
• Reduced maintenance costs.
• Reduced delivery costs.
• Reduced translation costs.

1.6 Media CMS

Media CMS offers different upload & display media channels each with its unique properties: -

• PICTURES: either jpg or gif (can be animated gifs) files.
• GAMES: flash games.
• VIDEOS: mpeg or wmv files OR embedded flash players of funny videos.
• AUDIO: mpeg or wmv files OR embedded flash players of users' bands/songs videos .