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Compass Guide to WCM, Q3 2010

Evaluation of Day Software

AUGUST 30, 2010

By: Tony White


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ars Logica Position 3

Notes & Resources 3

Vendor Overview 4

Vendor History & Key Recent Developments 5

Profile of the Ideal Customer 6

Key Product Strengths 7

Key Product Limitations 8

Vendor / Product Report Cards 9

Report Card Evaluation Criteria - Business Users 11

Report Card Evaluation Criteria - Technologists 12


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ARS LOGICA POSITION

NOTES & RESOURCES

Founded in 1993, Day has long been a technological visionary in the WCM

market. Since the mid-90s the vendor has experienced extreme loyalty fromIT departments under pressure to produce and maintain technically flexible

Java enterprise architectures. From the outset, Day instinctively understood

the need for Systems-Oriented Architectures (SOA), of which it was a pioneer.

But lack of attention to business users requirements until 2008 caused Day

considerable trouble. After introducing elegant new user interfaces, Day has

begun to compete successfully against its market-leading peers.

Compass Guide Vendor Questionnaire

Some company and product information

contained in this report was collected via

Ars Logicas 172-item Vendor Questionnaire.

Vendor responses were always

independently verified through customer

interviews, implementation monitoring, Ars

Logicas comprehensive knowledge base,and hands-on product testing.

Hands-On Product Testing

Ars Logica conducted hands-on product

testing in January 2010 at Days U.S.

headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.

Subsequent product updates supplement

these results.

Customer Interviews

Ars Logica interviewed users of every

product covered in the Compass Guide,

including Day Software.

Implementation Monitoring

Since the 1990s, Ars Logica founder Tony

White has kept close tabs on ongoing WCMimplementations. Some of this knowledge is

represented in the Compass Guide reports.

No Vendor Influence

Ars Logica retains complete editorial control

over the Compass Guides and receives no

funding in their production.

Day CQ 5.3

Product Evaluation

By: Tony White

Date:August 30, 2010


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4 Copyright 2010 Ars Logica. All Rights Reserved.

Compass Guide to Web Content Management

Day Software CQ 5.3 Product Evaluation

Day Software Vendor Overview

Company Profile

Day Software is CMS vendor with headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and Boston, Massachusetts,

whose products have been at the technical forefront of Java development since the early 1990s. The

companys commitment to the Java Community Process is evident in its heavy involvement in the estab-

lishment of industry standards such as JSR 283 and 286. Days particular strength in enterprise applica-

tion integration has been of particular importance to IT departments over the years, and its November

2008 launch of dramatically improved user interfaces has proven successful among non-technical busi-

ness users. Day has not always demonstrated consistent commitment to the U.S. market, but we believe

that recent sales success has drawn that era to a close.

Year Founded: 1993

Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland;

Boston, Massachusetts

Employees (or FTE equivalents): 150+

Geographies: Global

Revenue: 36.3 million CHF / $31.5 million

Product Types Offered: WCM

Commercial or Open Source: Commercial

Strategic Implementation Partners: Acquity

Group, Critical Mass, Logica, MRM

Global, Sapient, Crown Partners

Top Competitors: Interwoven (Autonomy),

FatWire, SDL Tridion

Key Vertical Industries: Manufacturing,

Media & Entertainment, Transportation,

Financial Services

Product Profile

Product Name: CQ5

Version: 5.3

Next version release date: Q1 2011

Market segment: Enterprise

Average Sales Price (License Only): $250,000

Technology Platform: Java, OSGi

Key Strengths: Leader in development of

Java standards, flexible architecture,

online marketing capabilities

Key Limitations: Wavering commitment to

North American market (historically),

recent success overextending key

personnel and causing delays

Highest-Value Use Case: Global deployment of

large Web presence with a focus on

user interactivity, brand management,

or retail


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5Copyright 2010 Ars Logica. All Rights Reserved.



Vendor History & Product Evolution

Founded in Basel, Switzerland in 1993, Day Software is now the senior-most pure-play WCM vendorin the market. [This statement does not account for Adobe Systems recent agreement to acquire Day

Software.] A dubious distinction, depending on ones goals (to make the best technical product, to be

acquired, to achieve sustained organic growth, et al.), but from a technical point of view, the companys

early architectural vision and sustained dedication to Java development make the distinction both mean-

ingful and rare. An old story by now, the best technology is not always applied to the markets most

pressing business problems. This was true in Days case to an unusual degree. In 2006, the company

finally decided to invest in a complete metamorphosis of its user interfaces, and in November 2008, the

result suddenly made the CQ platform relevant and interesting to business users.

From November 2008, it took Day just over 12 months to market the platform effectively. The company

had been so thoroughly steeped in its IT-only view of the world, that even with what were in early 2009

among the best interfaces for non-technical users on the market, its marketing and sales teams could still

not transition to selling to business buyers, who by then were controlling the purse strings for most IT

purchases. At least 12 wasted months for sure, but it seems as though Day has now recalibrated.

Since Q1 2010, Ars Logica has witnessed a change from a near absence a year earlier in enterprise-level

competitive sales situations to presence in something approaching 30 percent of the deals where the

product would be a potential fit. The reasons are two-fold: (1) the new user interfaces, and (2) more

seasoned marketing and sales management with an understanding of how the North American marketworks.

Key Recent Developments

[As this report was in final editorial review, Adobe Systems announced its plans to acquire Day Software.]

From an analysts point of view, the most significant change at Day Software is the dramatic increase in

how often the vendor appears on CMS buyers shortlists. Technically, the product has been excellent for

more than a decade, and in late 2008, its usability for non-technical users went from lackluster to good.

From Q1 2009 to Q1 2010, the only reason Day did not compete more effectively against other market

leaders was the inertia behind the markets perception of CQ as too complicated for business users. To

be sure, reversing this trend has not been an easy task for Day. Changing that much negative momen-

tum never is. But Ars Logica is happy to see that closer alignment between CQ 5.3s technical prowess

and the quality of its user interfaces is finally being rewarded by enterprise WCM buyers. We expect Day

to continue to gain market share for the rest of 2010 and into 2011.


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Profiling the Ideal Buyer

Until the beginning of 2009, the ideal buyer of CQ was an IT department under pressure from businessunits to supply a highly scalable WCM platform while simultaneously integrating it with myriad other

enterprise applications. While these IT departments are still primary targets for Day Software, business

units have begun to welcome the new look-and-feel and the smooth integration between the WCM and

DAM modules of the product. Consequently, non-technical decision makers are accounting for an increas-

ingly large percentage of the vendors sales, and most of these are medium-sized to large companies

with enteprise-wide implementation requirements and a firm commitment to Java as a development

language.

Medium-sized to Large Companies with Enterprise-Wide WCM Integration PlansBecause of its price and technical sophistication, CQ 5.3 is best suited primarily to medium-sized and

large companies looking to implement and integrate a WCM platform with a wide range of enterprise

applications.

Companies with Complex WCM Requirements and Abundant Java Development Resources

The technical flexibility of the product make it ideal for companies with especially complex or unique

integration requirements. Such integration necessitates abundant Java development skills, but

Comminiqus APIs and SDK provide a development platform that is among the best on the market.

IT Departments Seeking Extreme Architectural Flexibility and Best Overall Technical Ratings

The foundation upon which CQ 5.3 is built has in its lineage a Content Bus whose application inte-

gration capabilities alone caused companies to buy the platform. These capabilities have gotten even

better over time, and now represent the ne plus ultraof architectural flexibility.

Day Will Not Be a Good Fit, If...

Obviously, enterprises with loyalties to .NET and PHP (and to a more limited extent, open source) would

probably do better to consider other options. CQ 5.3s extreme integration capabilities do not make the

product an impossibility for such companies, but a substantial pool of Java developers will be required

under any circumstances.

The cost of the product will also prevent some customers from considering CQ 5.3. Although not a bad

value, a median sales price of $250,000 and implementation costs of another $250,000 bring the price of

a typical CQ 5.3 deployment to approximately half a million dollars.


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Key Product Strengths

Due largely to the technical flexibility of the product, CQ has long been a favorite CMS platform among ITdepartments. Going back more than 10 years, Day itself has taken an application development approach

that prizes flexibility above all else. In this regard, Day has been a pioneer in Services-Oriented Architec-

ture or SOA, which, in brief organizes discrete features and functions within applications into services

that can be combined, integrated, and reused throughout the enterprise. Day began building Commu-

niqu (now CQ) largely in accordance with these principles in the early-to-mid 1990s, about ten years

before they gained widespread acceptance in the marketplace. Day did not get proper acknowledgement

for its technical vision, for two reasons. First, it was ahead of the market. And second, it did not develop

provide business users sufficient ease-of-use until late 2008. Only in 2010 did CQ5 really start selling to

CMS selection committees headed by business units, but it has since done so very strongly.

Since its founding in 1993, Day has been more involved than any other CMS vendor in the Java Com-

munity Process. It has been a major contributor to several Java standards such as JSR 283 and 286.

Although there are other vendors whose platforms are purely Java-based, Ars Logica can think of only

one other (Magnolia Software) whose commitment to Java development in general is as strong as Days.

Consequently, Days customers have for a long time benefitted from one of the largest, most diverse,

vendor-specific Java development networks in existence.

Source of Information: Product testing (January 2010), customer interviews, Vendor Questionnaire

Below are several key product strengths and limitations that potential buyers should keep in mind

when assembling vendor shortlists.

KEY STRENGTHS KEY LIMITATIONS

Superb technical flexibilityRelatively poor performance in competitivesales situations until recently

Highest overall rating on the Report Card forTechnologists (see Page 10)

Historical lack of commitment to U.S. market

Well-integrated WCM and DAM modules

Micro-management of the company some-

times hampers relationships with customers,partners, and analysts

Industry leader in development of Java standards

Source: Ars Logica, Inc.

FIGURE 1 Day CQ 5.3, Key Product Strengths and Limitations


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Key Product LimitationsUntil the beginning of 2010, Days reputation as a product too complex for business users significantly

impeded its ability to compete in large enterprise deals -- not least because purchase-decision authority

within enterprises has shifted from IT departments to business units. Given Days lack of attention to the

usability requirements of non-technical users until the end of 2008, it comes as no surprise that this repu-

tation would limit the vendors sales performance until just recently. Only now is Day reaping the ben-

efits of the overhaul of CQ 5.3s front end, and Ars Logicas research suggests that Q2 2010 witnessed

dramatically improved sales performance due to heightened market awareness of the products improved

usability.

Secondly, some still worry about Day Softwares long-term commitment to the North American market.

Ars Logica believes that this should now be of no further concern. Prior to 2008, however, there was

significant cause for concern, as in 2000, Day established its U.S. presence in Newport, California, and in

short order fell on very hard times. But with recent investments in its sales and marketing organizations

-- along with the revamping of the product -- Day has begun to do quite well in the U.S. Ars Logica now

sees Day frequently competing against other market leaders.

Finally, Ars Logica believes that micro-management at Day from the highest levels of the company has

hampered relationships with customers, partners, and analysts. Although such corporate cultural issues

always prove difficult subjects, Ars Logica has seen numerous examples of promises made and brokenby managers and executives hamstrung by after-the-fact managerial oversight. We believe that this has

largely been due to a lack of understanding by Swiss management of North American sales and market-

ing realities. Ars Logica hopes that this unfortunate era for Day Software is over. In light of recent and

dramatic improvements, we are cautiously optimistic that it is. We will give an update on this topic in the

next release of the Compass Guide.

Aside from strictly architectural and Java-related details, Day has done the most seamless job we have

seen of integrating WCM with DAM. When companies purchase both modules, it isnt really necessary

for their business users to know that they are switching back and forth between the two. This is unusual

-- and usually good -- for an integrated WCM-DAM product.

Lastly, we think it is worth pointing out that Days overall score on the Report Card for Technologists is

higher than any other vendor in the Enterprise, Commercial category (see the Product and Company

profile sections on Page 4). This results from excellent performance in the flexibility category and very

strong showings in the scalability, development tools, and ease of administration categories.


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Vendor/Product Report Cards

The features, functions, and technical underpinnings of WCM products vary wildly, as do the customerrequirements they are intended to satisfy. For this reason, the only reliable way to assure the best prod-

uct fit for a particular client is to spend anywhere from several weeks to several months assessing the

clients specific needs and analyzing product capabilities line by line. Still, Ars Logica is frequently asked

to rate products in categories such as those in Figures 2 and 3. In using these ratings, please take care

not to compare products in different market segments (see the Product Profile section of Page 4). For

example, a Scalability score of 9 for an Enterprise product does not equate to the same score for an

Entry Level product.

Figure 2 shows Ars Logicas rating of Day CQ 5.3 in four categories of critical importance to busi-

ness users. Refer to Page 11 for an explanation of the evaluation criteria.


FIGURE 2 Day Software Report Card for the Business User

0

2

4

6

8

10

Market Presence,

Product Viability

Multi-site,

Multi-channel,

Multi-lingual

Marketing &

Sales ToolsUsability

7.5 7.7 7.57.0


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Figure 3 shows Ars Logicas rating of Day CQ 5.3 in four categories of critical importance to tech-

nologists. Refer to Page 12 for an explanation of the evaluation criteria.


FIGURE 3 Day Software Report Card for Technologists

0

2

4

6

8

10

Ease of

Administration

Development

ToolsFlexibilityScalability

7.9

8.9

8.17.1


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Report Card Evaluation Criteria

In the process of analyzing WCM solutions, Ars Logica has established a set of evaluation criteria, which

at the highest level can be separated into four categories for non-technical business users and four cat-

egories for technologists. Scores in these categories represent averages of a large number of detailed

criteria, and are meant to be used as a means of quickly comparing products within the same market

segment -- not as a substitute for painstaking requirements and product matching.

Criteria for Business Users

Usability

Usability refers to the relative ease of learning and using a WCM application. For non-technical busi-ness users, factors contributing to high scores in this category include intuitive and consistent user

interfaces, streamlined task completion (i.e. minimal number of steps to complete a task), integration

with the desktop, contextual editing capabilities, and documented high user adoption rates among a

vendors customers.

Marketing & Sales Tools

Increasingly, enterprises are relying on marketing and sales tools within WCM applications to improve

sales conversion rates, increase average transaction amounts, draw customers back to their Web

sites, analyze online behavioral patterns, and so on. This category rates the presence and quality of

such tools.

Multi-Site, Multi-Channel, Multi-Lingual Capabilities

This category assesses a products ability to support multiple sites; deliver content to multiple chan-

nels on multiple devices; and create, store, present, disseminate, and/or translate content into mul-

tiple languages. Scores in this category represent an average of a products capabilities in all three of

these broad functional areas.

Market Presence, Product Viability

The Market Presence, Product Viability category rates both a vendors overall market presence rela-tive to competitors and its dedication to the continued development of its WCM products. If these

two factors are not aligned with each other, an explanation of why will be included.


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Advisory Services

Software and Technology Selection

Tel: +1 617.943.5611

Fax: +1 617.226.4575

75 Arlington Street

Suite 500

Boston, MA 02116

www.arslogica.com

ContactSERVICES

Ars Logica is a vendor-neutral analyst firm helping companies

evaluate their WCM requirements and select appropriate WCM

software. To address clients content management-related

questions and problems that arise throughout the year, Ars

Logica offers unlimited direct analyst access through its Analyst

Anytime advisory services. These annual, subscription-basedservices provide guidance by phone or email within 24 hours

on a wide range of issues. The number of inquiries submitted

throughout the year is not limited.

In our Software and Technology Selection engagements, Ars Logica maps

clients functional, technological, and strategic requirements to potential WCM

solutions and identifies the software vendors whose products best satisfy theserequirements. We maintain a continuously updated comprehensive matrix of the

feature-functionality of most WCM vendors products and solutions. We also

receive frequent briefings from these vendors and have in-depth conversations

and consulting engagements with their customers, ensuring that we always

understand the actual state of vendors offerings as well as their forward-looking

strategic directions.

Custom Engagements

Ars Logicas expertise in WCM and related technologies such as digital asset management, records

management, marketing campaign management, search, and portals, gives us the open-ended ability

to help clients on a wide range of projects, including: building the internal business cases, assessing

technology requirements, analyzing software products and vendors, selecting and assembling software

solutions, crafting Web strategies, and running corporate educational seminars. We also assist vendors

in developing strategic roadmaps, and we and present our view of the WCM market at industry

conferences and end-user events.

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