What does Sitecore v6.3 Really Mean?

So it used to be called the TwinPeaks release if you follow the Sitecore Roadmap but exactly what does it bring to the table? There are some blogs already out regarding the release. Alex Shyba showed how easy it is to cluster the CMS client (in fact he did 6 virtual servers in less than hour – follow him on Twitter to get more updates). Oh yes, that’s what v6.3 really allows you to do (plus some other stuff that you should read on the release notes). But as a business person, you might ask, so what?

Well, we know that enterprises (that’s the keyword) always need performance as one of the top requirements to be fast and efficient. The Sitecore delivery engine (i.e. content delivery – CD servers) had always been keen to being clustered and allows you to load-balance them to achieve a pretty good performance. And that’s important because Sitecore itself may use up to 30% of CPU utilization (that’s what I’ve heard a while back in v5). So making sure that the site visitors are experiencing beautiful user interactions while delivering them promptly can be a tough achievement if you don’t load-balance your delivery servers. Almost all implementations nowadays have this requirement and should now be something that you should be aware of.

Sitecore v6.3 brings a new level performance except it’s not on the delivery side of things but more on the authoring side. With v6.3, IT can now load-balance the CMS client allowing for better responsiveness. It introduces the Event Queue which Adam Conn of Sitecore blogged about (it even has a nice video). Essentially, it is like a recipe whereby if you want to replicate your mom’s cooking again and again, you follow the recipe. In a way, v6.3 CMS client servers look at the queue to see what else need to be done and thus become “in synch” with the other servers.

As a business person, should I care about this? I say yes because now there’s more freedom on how Sitecore is deployed geographically. For international companies, this makes maintaining Web site more effective. Also, this becomes an ammunition to having a more globalized management of Web sites. Sitecore had been an eye-candy for managing globalized content because of translations, languages, publishing capabilities; but, there’s always that feeling that it’s really hard to distribute authorship because of geographical distances. With v6.3, this fear or concern is minimized because performance (and reliability) becomes less of an issue.

I’m hoping that corporations will now feel comfortable bringing in your international sites into one platform, that is Sitecore. The only thing that I think that you need to be cautious is how those other systems going to integrate with your Web site and allow them to be “load-balanceable” as well. I’ll leave you with this but one hint is to consider Sitecore not just a CMS but also as a foundational technical platform for other capabilities.

*EDIT October 28, 2010. We have moved our blog to http://blog.roundedcube.com and you can now comment on this specific post at http://www.roundedcube.com/WhatsNew/Blog/what-does-sitecore-v63-really-mean

What a Release! Our powerful Issue Management tool is now available for commercial purchase

We’re all proud to announce that we’ve released our first commercially available product, RC On-Track Issue Management 2009. It is an upgrade to a tool that we’ve been using for years internally to streamline the QA phase of the web development of our clients’ projects. It came in very handy for enhancing communication between our team members and those involved in the project on the client side as we ironed out problems with the site. Over the years, we’ve seen the demand for the product grow with our own clients wanting to have their own instance for internal use.

But it wasn’t just about bug tracking, although On-Track did a bang up job of that, but it was about issue management, just like the name says. Meaning, all sorts of issues were managed, including not only technical glitches but questions, enhancements, suggestions, you name it, any sort of issue you can think about that might come up during a web development project, we could track it in On-Track. It also serves as a helpdesk ticket system too. This tool became essential to these projects, especially during testing, but also sometimes throughout the entire process. It’s important to note that, even though it’s typically used for software and/or web development – or IT support – it can easily be used for other industries as well. The bottom line is, any project anywhere that can possibly have issues, On-Track can be used to manage them more effectively!

Now RC On-Track Issue Management, still a vital tool for us internally, has matured into a powerful tool that can fit the needs of any company or organization to improve their quality assurance or support processes. We are very proud of the product that we’ve made and that it is now available for purchase. We are also looking forward to the future of On-Track as we are planning future releases to involve mobile application, widget add-ons, and maybe an SaaS (Software as a Service) model to complement the current install model.

The following is a run-down of new features included in this release:

• Unlimited number of projects


• Unlimited # of users


• Multiple security roles


• Customizable issue categories


• File attachments


• Notes and activity auditing


• Multiple layers of notifications


• Improved performance

Want more information? Just check out www.rcontrack.com. Oh and by the way, if you’re interested in purchasing RC On-Track, if you hurry, there still might be time to get in on the special introductory deal, 50% off the price for the first 50 customers! If money is an issue for you, then manage it by buying On-Track now!

*EDIT October 28, 2010. We have moved our blog to http://blog.roundedcube.com and you can now comment on this specific post at http://www.roundedcube.com//WhatsNew/Blog/what-a-release-our-powerful-issue-management-tool-is-now-available-for-commercial-purchase

Can't Make It to Mix'09

I really like Mix because it combines both design and technology. That's essentially our business. I remember the days when companies tried to figure out who should manage their Web site. Actually some companies still struggles with this. It's amazing the way companies classified the Corporate (customer-facing) site as a Marketing department responsibility while the Intranet is by the IT department. Aren't both essentially a Web site?

Nowadays, it is clearer that Websites are a different type of corporate asset. We know corporate sites are more marketing heavy and Intranets are functional/integration heavy. Well, for most part. Now you see e-commerce and social community sites...now aren't those both? And those are the way of the future...the so-called Web 2.0 (actually Web 3.0 is around the corner...what could that be?). And to have a successful Web 2.0 site, you'll need both design and technology.

Here comes Mix. This year, Mix is in Las Vegas and I can't go (already on vacation). Their audience is both designers and developers. Now, that's a conference for the Web professionals (which are basically both of them...just different specialty). Then, you need to mix in the project managers and executives that help coordinate and direct them, respectively. At Roundedcube, we've understood this for a while now. We house all these roles so our clients (and hopefully you) can experience a "synergized" team that tends to make projects go smoother and more effective.

So why do I even mention Mix 09? It's because I think it's a great venue to see this synergy between the creatives and technologists. There's no more grey line. Both sides affect each other and you'll see this in Mix. Technologies such as Silverlight drives more powerful and imaginative user-experiences that designers need to know in order to apply them. While the technical folks need to keep up with the designers' creativity which pushes the technology. So, it's a win-win combination when Mix-ing is encouraged.

so, if you can get to Mix 09, go there (did I mention it's in the lavish world of The Venetian in Las Vegas). If you're looking for a team that culminated and established from this ideology, then come visit Roundedcube's Web site to find out more about us. Then, hopefully you'll contact us for potential projects.

*EDIT October 28, 2010. We have moved our blog to http://blog.roundedcube.com and you can now comment on this specific post at httpp://www.roundedcube.com//WhatsNew/Blog/cant-make-it-to-mix-09