After several months of very hard work, and delays caused by events we never could have foreseen, Virginia Tech today finalized a contract with Percussion Software to purchase its Rhythmyx Web CMS solution. The CMS selection committee chose Percussion Rhythmyx for, among other things, its superior user interface, de-coupled delivery infrastructure (separating style and content), scalability, and aggressive product development cycle.
You can read more about Rhythmyx Web CMS at http://www.percussion.com/products/content-management/rhythmyx/literature/.
The RFP for our enterprise Web CMS was posted in December. Vendor responses were reviewed by the selection committee in January and February, and two finalists were chosen for more in-depth analysis. The selection committee included staff from IT, University Relations, the College of Science, AHNR-IT, and the New Media Center. The finalists visited campus in March for detailed product demonstrations and discussion. After favorable reviews by references at Nottingham Trent University, Bowling Green State University, and Broward Community College, the committee chose Percussion Rhythmyx.
Though a development timeline is still being finalized, initial plans are for the system to be installed within the next 4-6 weeks. The main VT.edu website and a few other subdomains will be the first migrated to the Rhythmyx CMS during a pilot phase in late summer and early fall. After initial testing, a larger-scale rollout for other campus users is intended at a date to be determined, but hopefully by the end of October.
Much more communication about Rhythmyx is forthcoming, so please check this blog often for news.