Dear stack overflow community,
I've been given the task of overhauling a couple of websites for a large corporation I'm working for, as well as developing an internal intranet site for content management and document storage within the organization.
My "problem" is this: They want me to use a framework/set of languages/technologies that I can prove to them are "stable, enterprise-ready technologies with a proven track record."
The spec's "big picture" really isn't too complicated: Implement an enterprise-class CMS for management of each division's web pages that deal mostly with product information and documentation (i.e. a simpler version of www.linksys.com).
As an open-source programmer, I'd like to use Python with TurboGears and build it from scratch, but I can't really find a way to prove to the president that TurboGears has a huge enterprise track record. Zope seems to have a lot of enterprise usage, but it looks a bit bloated to me. Django could be an option, but doesn't seem as flexible as TurboGears.
I'd rather not use PHP, but Drupal has a very nice resume with the "right" names under it (AOL, Sony, MTV); plus it could save me building many of the CMS components from scratch.
Rails might be another option, but I'm not too familiar with it (and as a Python/PHP programmer, Ruby's syntax drives me crazy).
What would the S.O. community suggest for a project like this? I'm sure many of you have faced the same dilemma. What ended up working/not working for you? As I said before, my first choice would be Python, second would be PHP, third would be Rails.
Thank you,
Seth
I agree with Will's, braveterry's and Divamatrix's comments. Fully.
There are tons of questions/issues/risks/considerations to take in order to succesfully launch a CMS solution for a medium/big enterprise. I will not repeat what Will and braveterry had said, instead of it I will offer a different point of view:
CMS for a medium-big company is not about Software. It is about proccesses and policies.
Which framework/tool to use must be dependent on exact requirements (kind of content, sources for content, who will be responsible to capture and create content, what are their abilities, who will be approving content updates, which departments will have a voice on what goes into the home page?, under which policies will be selected the content for the home page?, what will be the puropose for the home page? (marketing? sales? technical? branding?).
If the answers to these questions (there are lot more) are not clear to you or even if you do not get why are SO important. Then I think you need to contract a seasoned consulting firm.
PS: This gives me the idea to publish some sort of paper about this topic but that would take some days as I currently do not have the time to prepare it.
Framework/CMS suggestions for enterprise website & intranet (I've got to convince the president its solid!)