Overcast MAX #6: Max Orchestrate

What is Orchestration and why do you need a cloud-based CMS (content management system)? 

I could throw around terms like “RESTful API” and “transcode queue” and “headless” but I’d run the risk of stumbling into a rabbit hole of terminologies that often mean different things to different people. So, in the spirit of trying to keep things as straightforward as possible — which is one of our guiding principles here at Overcast — let me do my best to explain it in layman’s terms.

Let’s try this again. 

The first thing we need to do is get comfortable with 3-letter acronyms. The digital world is full of them. One of the most popular is CMS or Content Management System. It’s a bit of a catch-all for all sorts of software use to manage the creation and modification of digital content. Ask a developer what a CMS is and they will tell you it is a simple software solution like WordPress. Ask a CMO of a large FMCG company like Diageo or Nestlé and they will say it is sophisticated solution for managing content as data over an API.   

Bit of a difference — and the CMO version is a bit ethereal. Nonetheless, the term CMS has come to mean more than simply WordPress — CMSs are now the building blocks of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Web Content Management (WCM).

So on one level, a CMS can be WordPress (for managing your web content). On another level, Dropbox is also a CMS — like a filing cabinet that you use to store your content and share with others before putting it in your WordPress CMS.  

Are you still following? We’ll try to use fewer acronyms from here on in.

Now what happens when your filing cabinet starts to fill up? You either delete content (or you could archive it) or get another filing cabinet. Problem is that eventually you end up with a slew of filing cabinets and it all gets a bit unwieldy.

Step in ECM.

ECM typically supports multiple users, groups, security and the ability to manage workflows in larger organisations. 

So think about a large organisation (but by no means huge) like the London Metropolitan Police Force. With 44,000 staff and more than 250,000 cases per year — imagine trying to manage that content in Dropbox or Box or Google Docs!

Or think about a typically-sized local broadcaster with 200 employees. In a typical day, they will produce hundreds if not thousands of pieces of content (news, ads, bumpers, promos, tweets, posts, etc.) all of which need to go through a number of phases: production, a review and approvals, distribution, review, modification, and archive. Imagine trying to do that with Dropbox!

Which all goes to say: managing digital content, while maybe not glamorous, is essential to the well-being of an organization.

Cloud-based CMS is the future

Now let’s get back to how orchestration and a cloud-based CMS is the future of digital content management.

A cloud-based CMS is a “CMS built with Intelligent Cloud Architecture”. Mmmmm. CMS is like WordPress for websites. Intelligent (smart; got that) … Cloud (doesn’t live on my hard drive) … Architecture (my childhood Lego learnings are coming back to me). Whew! Got there in the end.

Now to get a grip on why I need one…

Max Orchestrate

The more technology we need, the more complicated our tech stacks become. But you don’t have to settle for a ‘one size fits all’ solution. 

Max Orchestrate is ideal for advanced organisations that have complex tech stacks but need to simplify workflows. 

By optimising your workflows, you’ll make them more efficient and thus get content to market quicker.

Let’s go back to our 2 examples. The London MET deals with cases and evidence while the broadcaster typically deals with projects and assets. Broadcasters use a number of software solutions that are tailored to their industry for tasks like editing and channel creation. The Police have forensic and case management solutions. The fact that they have very different needs means that it is unlikely that a vanilla pack solution for managing content is going to work for both of them — instead they need a solution that acts as a cloud-based CMS and integrates with their existing tech stack.

Benefits of Max Orchestrate

Workflow Optimisation

The great news is that whether you need a whole new system or just a problem solved, you can use Max Orchestrate to manage workflow problems of any size.

Micro-services for best-of-breed

Overcast wants to ensure you have the best-in-breed: with micro-services you can swap in and out what you need. Easy! Overcast provides 9 native solutions — and it has an API to integrate other solutions that you are already using or that you need in the future.

Micro-services also facilitate you to identify expensive parts of the puzzle and replace them with more efficient tech.

Future-proofed technology

In addition to advancing your tech by adding new services, it’s strategic to decommission legacy technology. Monolithic architecture is dead and you don’t want it to drag you down. By swapping in and out what you need, you’re orchestrating the best applications to future-proof your technology.

Sound good?

Get in touch

If you have any questions about Max Orchestrate or any of the Overcast Max solutions, please get in touch with Philippe on info@overcasthq.com or through our contact page. He’d be delighted to have a chat with you.