If you're migrating content from one web content management (WCM) platform to another you may have obstacles to overcome:

1. new tech to learn
2. the realisation that *content* is not the side show
3. content needs owners — that's people that are accountable for making sure content is accurate, useful and up-to-date
4. accurately budget for costs. including the hidden ones and gotchas
5. accurately plan content migration work effort and hence duration of content freeze
6. understand what's useful and what's not; content, applications
7. what are the *must have* applications that become important elements of the new WCM?

To anyone involved in this industry, this list is far from comprehensive. But here's a thing: we're awash with chatter about object-based content management. Page-based content management is dead! some shout. I say, be careful. There's a tendency to focus on DELIVERY and to forget about CONTENT which is the significant-other-half of content delivery. I realise the irony of what I'm saying. I can hear it now "object-based content is all about the content!" Hmmm. Perhaps. There's also a tendency to focus on the technology, thinking everything else will follow providing the technology decision is right.

I've been in this business long enough to know that theory and practice share less than a nodding acquaintance. You and I may understand all that's cool about object-based content. And in fact, if I were running a complex WCM project with a small team of authoring specialists, I'd likely want such a system, budgets permitting. There is a cost though: flexibility rarely exists without complexity. The cost then is that of *user adoption*. Keep it simple and you'll be able to roll-out to a broader audience of content contributors. This may or may not be important. However, please note; if you are thinking of moving from a page- to object-based system, you will probably have to start from scratch on the content front or resign yourself to using an object-based system in page mode. In other words, the way we think about writing, structuring and even auditing content is affected by the system.

Part of the problem is that content cannot be thought of in isolation to the system that delivers it. And yet, WCM projects sometimes look like this in terms of time and therefore effort spent:

1. choosing a WCM application 6-18 months: involves techy debate and turf wars
2. UX and template design 1-3 months: who owns the web experience?
3. content audit, content planning 2 weeks: seen by some as a boring, an almost superfluous activity
4. content migration: can't you just push a button?