With the SummitCMSTM Web Platform, you too will be Taking your Content to New Heights. The SummitCMS Web Platform is an open-source, portable, full-featured Web Content Management System (CMS). It offers an integrated application development framework and provides the tools necessary for delivering static and dynamic web content, intranet, and portal services.
The initial framework was developed in 2001 and has been steadily enhanced by the user community including significant contributions by the University of North Carolina. UNC had conducted a comprehensive analysis of CMS products and discovered no cost-effective solutions capable of meeting its Web content needs. The decision was made to leverage work already completed on the framework to develop a stable, feature-rich solution. The first version of the system was deployed into production in 2002. It has been proven to be a reliable, robust product in the years that followed.
In 2006, the decision was made to transfer all rights and interest in the CMS to the First Summit Group, LLC ("FSG"). The goals were to develop a scalable support model, provide leadership on a product roadmap, and to coordinate efforts among all community members (including those outside of UNC). Since that time, there have been numerous functional enhancements to make the CMS even more appealing to a broader audience.
UNC was the first to commercially license the SummitCMS Web Platform under FSG’s open-source license for Higher-Education. While the CMS is feature-rich and offers the same benefits as other commercial, enterprise-class alternatives, the decision was made to focus distribution to academic institutions. Altogether, over 300 educational organizations and programs have now licensed the framework.
In January, 2008, the licensing terms were revised; the goal was to broaden the user community by offering the software under two licenses: the SummitCMS Community License and the SummitCMS Commercial License.
· Both licensing options provide access to the source code as well as commercial support options.
· The primary difference is that the SummitCMS Community License is available to most non-commercial organizations at no cost; in return for this grant, it requires users to submit code and documentation enhancements to FSG for possible inclusion into the codebase for use by others in the user community. These enhancements may not be directly distributed to others without authorization by FSG. This permits FSG, as the steward, to certify compatibility of the code and compliance with guidelines.
· A secondary requirement for the SummitCMS Community License includes maintaining a prominent link back to the SummitCMS.org Web site.
· The Commercial License is available for a licensing fee; in exchange, it does not obligate licensees to provide a link from their sites or to share their improvements with the user community, however, it does still prohibit them from redistributing the code without authorization.
Features include an easy-to-use browser-based Content Management System with WYSIWYG editing, simple installation wizard, a workflow/approval system, page locking, content versioning with rollback capabilities, customizable templates and themes, collaboration support, stylesheet-based presentation layer, and individual/group/role-based access control with a low total cost of ownership.
While no programming knowledge is required to productively use the CMS, those with programming skills may customize and enhance the SummitCMS Web Platform. By using the application development framework, it is possible to easily extend the functionality of the CMS by adding new modules and integrating with existing third-party applications. The web application framework upon which the system is built leverages PHP, offers an easy API for integrating or extending functionality, and handles security/presentation/navigation functions of the site.