WebCenter Sites 11g: It's Kind of a Big Deal

By: Jon Chartrand - Solution Architect

Oracle unveiled the first step in their vision for the recently-acquired FatWire suite of software with the announcement of the 11g release of WebCenter Sites. We've all known for some time now that the intention was to have WebCenter Sites play a pillar role in the WebCenter Suite and Oracle's just-released update shows their obvious dedication to the product. Oracle clearly has no intention of sitting on their laurels with this one and in just a short time has managed to overhaul and improve a surprisingly deep level of functionality within the product. We at TEAM are truly excited about this first release and what it very likely means for the product in the coming months.

Oracle's coverage of this release has had a heavy focus on two major aspects of the 11g update - the revamped WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editor environment and the extension of social integration functions for the platform's UGC (user generated content) capabilities. We see both of these points as excellent indicators of the kind of experience that Oracle is working to provide to both you and your visitors. That is, WebCenter Sites isn't just about surfacing content, as its web content management predecessor Site Studio was, it's about providing a comprehensive framework for your web deployments. Best of all, the exciting updates we see with this 11g release are just the tip of the iceberg of what Sites has to offer.

As a long-time Site Studio devotee, I've spent years providing TEAM's clients with cutting edge solutions to their web content management needs. I've watched the product evolve amidst the greater ecosystem of the Internet and I've felt the pain of friction between those two tracks. WebCenter Sites represents a maturation of the web content management vision and an enormous pillar in the evolution of what our clients can expect to accomplish with the WebCenter Suite. We couldn't agree more with the shift from calling the space "web content management" to "web experience management" and when you experience the power, depth, and flexibility that WebCenter Sites brings to the table we're certain you'll be as excited as we are.

Details, you ask? Well, we don't want to dive too deeply in this post, but rest assured we'll be publishing a series of posts on several powerful aspects of WebCenter Sites and what each one means both as an evolution of the space and for your deployments. We are truly excited to not only bring this evolution to our clients but to help educate the larger community on what this evolution means for everyone. We hope you'll join us!