Powerful, Free Content Management
A Look at Dot Net Nuke (DNN)
What is DNN?
Initially developed in 2002, DNN is a full-featured open source content management system that allows customers to administer all aspects of their internet, intranet or extranet website, including page creation, content, layout and security. Developed and supported by a community of over 125,000 registered users, DNN is built on the Microsoft ASP.NET technology and utilizes various database platforms for content storage – including Microsoft SQL Server.
In the not-so-distant past, an enterprise-wide content management system was an expensive endeavor. For example, an intranet CMS could easily cost over $100,000 in addition to a “per registered user” fee - a cost that only large organizations could justify and afford. DNN has changed all that.
Open Source
DNN is an open source application. What does this mean? First (and perhaps most important), DNN is free. There are no licensing fees or per registered user fees associated with it. Simply download it and it’s yours. In addition, the code to the application is open and available to all. Need to make a modification to fit your particular organization? You have full access to the source code to custom fit DNN to your needs. In addition, the DNN community is continually building new features and functionality as organizations adopt the DNN system.
It’s all about the Content
The number of content modules at your command within DNN is numerous…and growing by the day. Here’s just a few:
- Text
- Images
- Documents
- Links
- Events
- News
- Banner ads
- Threaded discussion forums
- Email forms
- Broadcast email
- Site registration
- RSS news feeds, and more
In addition, an entire industry has been created around the development and sales of DNN modules. Need an ecommerce module to sell products online? Purchase one for as little as $200.00. Need an event registration module, or a module to allow for association members to pay their dues? It’s out there. i2 Integration is a part of this growing industry, developing numerous custom DNN modules for healthcare, associations and business-to-business organizations.
Powerful Features
Here’s a good example of how DNN can be powerful in an unusual way: As CEO of i2Integration, I check the real-time DNN traffic logs of our website (www.i2integration.com) every day. In fact, sometimes I do this several times a day if traffic is high. A while back, I noticed someone was lurking around our DNN website, giving us a thorough once-over. From the DNN report, I was able to watch this in real-time. I performed a look-up on the user’s IP address and was able to discover that that the person looking at our site was a large, local association. I immediately went to their website and started doing research. Ten minutes later, I got a call from the association asking about our services. I was completely prepared and had valuable knowledge about their background, services and target members!
How Free is Free?
The software itself is free. Companies such as ours charge only for the time it takes to install DNN and make any client-requested modifications, including graphic design and functionality. Every organization runs differently after all. Perhaps you need DNN to seamlessly integrate with your internal network security, or link with an existing in-house database. Or, simply use it as-is. It grows as you grow.
i2 Integration has been implementing DNN websites for the past 2 years. To find out more, or to see a demo, contact i2Integration at 517.371.3931 or on the web at www.i2integration.com.
DNN can also be found on the web at www.dotnetnuke.com.