Cascade Features
Cascade CMS is a web-based content management system from Hannon Hill (a private company based in Atlanta) used by hundreds of higher-education institutions.
Web Communications selected Cascade in 2009, after analyzing stakeholder requirements and comparing eight products, in order to replace Serena Collage. Since then feedback has been positive and adoption has increased substantially.
Features
For content editors
https://www.hannonhill.com/products/cascade-cms/features.html#tab_tab2
- Powerful, customizable forms defined per page type or object
- Content ownership, review dates, locking, drafts, workflow, audits and version history for easily tracking changes
- Stale content and broken link reports, spelling and accessibility checks
- TinyMCE WYSIWYG editor with Tidy HTML and paste from Word to keep HTML clean
- Native image editor for basic cropping and resizing
For developers
https://www.hannonhill.com/products/cascade-cms/features.html#tab_tab3
- Integrate with external systems through web services, connectors, and feeds
- Templating with XSLT and Apache Velocity
- Decoupled from public-facing web servers for better security and performance; can publish server-side scripts in any language
- Fine-grained permissions system
- Under active, backward compatible development with an Idea Exchange for submitting and voting on feature requests
Northwestern Installation
- Branded templates available for re-use: http://www.northwestern.edu/templates/
- Approximately 600 sites and 2000 users, with a helpful development community
- Used by Web Comm, NUIT, McCormick, SES, Weinberg, Feinberg, Medill, SESP, Qatar, SPS, Student Affairs, the Law School, The Graduate School, and the Library
- Hosted in Northwestern IT Chicago and Evanston data centers
- WebSSO integration
- Supported and paid for by Global Marketing
- Cascade 8 scheduled for deployment this summer
Additional Resources
Cascade 8 Knowledge Base: https://www.hannonhill.com/cascadecms/8/kb/
Web Communications maintains the Northwestern homepage and brand templates. Our applications include Events (PlanIt Purple), Campus Maps, Office Directory, Northwestern Mobile, and the Google Search Appliance. Additionally, we provide support for the central web server (nuinfo) and Siteimprove.