For development-time systems, the important issues have less to do with hardware and operating systems, and emphasize the functionality and variety of software tools and application packages that support and enhance the Web production process. The problem of managing content and components on a Web site is hardly new. These straightforward approaches have obvious constraints that turn into acute pressure points as the site becomes larger and more complex. Different organizations experience the pain with varying intensity. It's most acute for large public sites that have a high update frequency, and more diffuse for intranet operations that spread the load over many different departments in the organization.
Different sites have different profiles for content and production, of course.
All of these sites arrive at their unique blend of content, commerce, and community. Lastly, they can stretch their budgets and try to build a custom solution in-house. This is expensive, risky, and, in many cases, a waste of money. Often, the tardy development project gets scrapped in favor of a commercial solution. This market space is dynamic and has experienced a lot of change over the years, with big players like Microsoft and IBM still gearing up to deliver comprehensive solutions, while many small entrants have already come and gone.