DotNetNuke (also referred to as DNN) is a web-based Content Management System (CMS). Its primary purpose is to reduce the cost of building and maintaining websites that experience frequent significant changes in content. DotNetNuke empowers a subject matter expert to directly edit websites in a user friendly manner. This enables the enterprise to quickly and inexpensively make changes keeping in synch with market demands.
DotNetNuke is the leading Content Management platform for Microsoft ASP.NET. This powerful CMS and application development framework allows your organization to easily create and maintain fully customized, highly engaging web applications. Built on top of Microsoft ASP.NET, DotNetNuke allows your organization to leverage its existing Microsoft technology investments to reduce costs.
EXTENSIBILITY
Extensibility is a design concept where the implementation takes into consideration future growth. DotNetNuke has been designed from the ground up to be fully extensible. It features an open API. Developers like Keene Systems can develop extensions to customize the appearance and functionality of the application. More than 10,000 low cost extensions provide you with nearly limitless possibilities to create the perfect website. With DotNetNuke, Keene Systems can easily create custom code using the API to develop custom applications that interface with your existing legacy systems. Cloud file storage support and compatibility with Windows Azure enables further options.
SCALABILITY
DotNetNuke websites can be large or small and can grow as much as needed over time without requiring a migration to a new content management system. The DotNetNuke platform can support an unlimited number of pages. DotNetNuke has built-in web farm and cloud support so as your traffic grows, you can seamlessly migrate to a distributed server infrastructure.
EASE OF USE
DotNetNuke is designed to enable non-technical staff to add and maintain web pages without support from the IT department. Adding pages, changing layouts, and adding new features to a page are all easily accomplished with minimal training. Users will have much more flexibility to keep the content fresh.
CONTROL OF YOUR CONTENT
If your websites have multiple content contributors, controlling the flow of updates will become critical. The content approval engine allows you to create custom workflows that can be assigned to pages. When changes are made, each person in the approval process will be notified in turn so they can review and approve, edit or reject each change. New content will not appear on websites until it has been approved by every person specified in the workflow rules. The granular user permissions also allow you to define who can access and edit each page or each element on any given page.
DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
If your organization needs to share documents either internally or externally, the document management feature provides a simple, powerful alternative for storing, managing and viewing documents online. The intuitive user interface presents documents in a standard Windows style folder tree structure. User definable document editing and a document change approval workflow engine allows you to maintain control over documents stored online. Video and media files are supported.
KEENE SYSTEMS DOTNETNUKE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
Since you are starting with a preexisting web portal platform, the strategy of application development is different than standard development. At every juncture of the project you should be asking the question “Do I really need to write custom code for this?” Your strategy should be the following:
1. Does the functionality you seek already exist in DotNetNuke or in DotNetNuke Forge? For example, let’s say you want a customizable FAQ page. If so, then just turn on the FAQ feature. Or download it from the extension forge.
2. Does the functionality you seek already exist in a 3rd party module from store.DotNetNuke.com? For example, let’s say you want a fully featured e-commerce system (like Smith Shopping Cart). Just purchase the module, install it, and then configure it, all without programming. This strategy will save you many thousands of dollars and result in a much better website.
3. If the functionality you seek is so unique that it doesn’t exist elsewhere then proceed with a traditional ASP.NET development process within the context of DotNetNuke. Keene Systems can build DotNetNuke extension to achieve any functionality you would like.
Recent DotNetNuke projects at Keene Systems
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center – Manchester, NH -
www.DHMC.org
We developed a custom DotNetNuke system to manage information on patients in their Bariatric program, their weights, meeting dates, treatments and complications. We created numerous DotNetNuke modules and used AJAX auto-complete controls to lookup patient data. A conversion program was also developed to extract data out of their legacy system.
P.Wolfe Consultants - Manhattan, New York -
www.PWolfe.com
P.Wolfe Consultants is a full service architectural firm in Manhattan specializing in permitting and compliance on large scale construction and renovation projects. Keene Systems developed an online permitting system that allowed their clients to fill in most of the information needed for NYCs strict permitting process. The site was based on DotNetNuke and integrated with Acrobat to fill in the city's building permit template.
National Geographic School Publishing – Carmel, California
In early 2007, after the Merger of National Geographic School Publishing and Hampton Brown School Publishing they needed a new website and hired Keene Systems to deliver a solution. The site we developed
www.NGSP.com, is based on ASP.NET, SQL Server & DotNetNuke. It manages more than 16,000 education products for grades pre-school through 12 and required dozens of custom DotNetNuke modules. There is extensive integration with their back end accounting system and support of their sales force.
R.O.D.S. Trucking - Plant City, Florida -
www.RodsTrucking.com
We developed a DotNetNuke based system to manage trucks, materials, drivers, deliveries, clients and projects. This required 15+ DotNetNuke modules.
Rocket Ready - Arlington, Virginia -
www.RocketReady.com
We developed a DotNetNuke site to manage restaurant menus called
DineDaily. It consisted of 26 different DNN modules all written in C#.
Interested in leveraging DotNetNuke in your organization? Keene Systems can assist with all of your DotNetNuke software development needs.