Study with Vanson Bourne Finds Clear Benefits To Using Multiple CMSs Among Enterprise Decision-Makers

AUSTIN, Texas — Dec. 7, 2017 – A new, international study jointly commissioned by WP Engine and Manifesto and conducted by Vanson Bourne explores which content management system (CMS) technologies are used most commonly by enterprises and discovers what benefits these organizations derive from using multiple CMSs. “WordPress Success Among Enterprise CMSs” study surveyed over 300 enterprise-level IT and marketing decision makers in the U.S. and U.K. The majority (61 percent) of the respondents worked for organizations with at least 3,000 employees and on average came from organizations whose global revenue totaled $3.2 billion. The survey found WordPress is on par with Adobe Experience Manager as the most frequently used CMS in either a primary or secondary fashion. Further, WordPress was the leading secondary CMS.

A near unanimity (93 percent) of respondents believe that there are multiple benefits to having a secondary CMS. Those benefits include faster time to market, ease of use, agility and the ability to experiment and customize quickly. Among WordPress users, as either their primary or secondary CMS, the benefits of using WordPress ranged from scalability, a robust ecosystem, quicker time to market and better analytics and security to the increasing availability of skilled WordPress developers. Not surprisingly, WordPress was the most popular secondary CMS due to the fact that it is open source software and consequently is better able to integrate and work well with other content management systems like Adobe and Sitecore.

“Enterprise companies are seeing the intrinsic benefits of using multiple CMSs to help run their business,” said Mary Ellen Dugan, Chief Marketing Officer at WP Engine. “The decision to go with more than one CMS is most often made at the executive level, proving the strategic value that multiple CMS deliver to an enterprise. The results showed that WordPress is already a top platform with clear benefits from both an integration and agility standpoint. In the future, the study shows WordPress expanding its market share to provide exceptional digital experiences with greater agility, with greater ease of use and faster time to market.”

The following are key findings from the study. Click on the following links to learn more about the results, register for the webinar and download a copy of the white paper and infographic.

• The rise of multiple CMSs: 53 percent of respondents said their organization uses two or more CMSs. Of those who are using more than one CMS, the decision maker is most often (46 percent) an executive in the company, proving it is a strategic decision for the enterprise.
• Most popular CMSs: Adobe and WordPress: Adobe Experience Manager is the most commonly used CMS (60 percent), with WordPress a close second (57 percent). The next most popular CMS was Sitecore CMS coming in a distant third (22 percent).
• WordPress popularity by vertical: WordPress is the most likely used CMS across several verticals including both retail (73 percent) and business services/consulting (63 percent) organizations.
• Primary and secondary CMSs: Adobe (44 percent) and WordPress (36 percent) led the list of primary CMSs. WordPress was the leading (20 percent) secondary CMS.
• WordPress as a secondary CMS: Where WordPress is being used as a secondary CMS it brings clear benefits to the enterprise consisting of better publishing capability (54 percent), agility (53 percent), experimentation (53 percent) and customization/personalization (51 percent).
• Dual CMS usage expected to rise: Respondents plan to use additional CMSs (41 percent); and for organizations not already using a CMS, more enterprises indicated they will select WordPress than any other system (22 percent).
• Which departments are selecting WordPress CMS: Marketing (71 percent) led the list of departments choosing to use WordPress as their CMS, followed by IT (61 percent) and Sales (44 percent).
• How is WordPress as a CMS being used: WordPress is most likely to be used for an organization’s corporate website (64 percent), brand or product website (59 percent) and eCommerce (46 percent).

“Our respondents identified clear benefits to using multiple CMSs and the value it brings to their organization,” said Chloe Byrne, Research Consultant with Vanson Bourne. “WordPress was easily one of the top CMSs in our survey. Looking ahead, of those respondents with only one CMS currently, more than a third (37 percent) plan to expand within a year, and the data suggests WordPress is expected to be their top choice.”

Survey Methodology

The custom survey was designed collaboratively by WP Engine, Manifesto and Vanson Bourne. The study was administered in October 2017 to 300 enterprise-level IT and marketing decision makers in the U.S. and U.K. at companies with at least 1,000 employees and an average global revenue of $3.2 billion.

About WP Engine

WP Engine is the world’s leading WordPress digital experience platform that gives companies of all sizes the agility, performance, intelligence, and integrations they need to drive their business forward faster. WP Engine’s combination of tech innovation and an award-winning team of WordPress experts are trusted by over 70,000 companies across 130 countries to provide counsel and support, helping brands create world-class digital experiences. Founded in 2010, WP Engine is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and has offices in San Francisco, California; San Antonio, Texas; London, England; Limerick, Ireland, and Brisbane, Australia.