I have worked with Ektron for 5 years and DNN for 4.  They really are different beasts but with some cross-over.  In fact I may integrate them, but I am leaning towards leaving Ektron (unless certain things change).

Regarding Ektron

1. I personally don't like their templating model

2. I am not happy with their support

3. I am not convinced that they have a good QA process

4. I am not convinced that they value Usability Testing

5. I regularly run into bugs that sabotage my environment and take a long time to fix

6. Their code base appears to still rely heavily on legacy ASP

7. Their foundations do not seem strong to me. Instead of firming them up they appear to be chasing new features

8. They have a solid editor and good tools overall.  For some businesses they are exactly the right fit

9. I believe that Ektron at the highest levels has very good intentions and is run by caring people

Regarding DNN

1. The structure of the system allows me create modules that can do anything.  These modules can be moved around a page at whim. 

2. Everything is database driven

3. Standards are being pursued

4. New and wisely selected innovations regularly find their way into DNN

5. Lacks a strong CMS solution (approval chains, versioining, etc.) I am hoping to find 3rd party modules to solve this or build my own.

6. The system is not proprietary, it's open source, so when I want to enhance something - everything is open before me

Summary: Ektron is a great solution for users without a lot of technical expertese.  DNN is a framework in which I have tons of freedom and foundations on which I can build.

MMerrick, I left you a voicemail this afternoon. I'll try to get in touch with you on Friday if you're available.

Chris

How about your replacement?  :)

Ektron is a CMS, DNN is really just a portal framework.  I've looked for a year for a decent CMS that's affordable (Ektron isn't for us, we're a city government) and DNN would be a wonderful framework for one.  Unfortunately, it doesn't have CMS features we need.

About the only two realistic canned options availabe are the two already posted.  They are sort of parts of the CMS world, but not complete.  Pretty much anything on the scale of Ektron would be a custom module.  And even the base structure of DNN doesn't completely meet the needs of a full CMS solution.  Accounts/Permissions/Authorization/Membership/etc. isn't truly ideal for a CMS, though with some work and possibly a role provider within the CMS it could be done.

I have a feeling we'll end up with ADX Studio, it's more extensible than Ektron and less expensive to buy and maintain.  We may wrap it in a DNN framework, or scrap plans for using DNN at all.

Jeff