I have a week to analyze some CMS options for our org. I should preface this by saying we've been trying to use MOSS 2007 (sharePoint) for a while as our CMS, and it has been decided that that will NOT be used at this point.

Given that, we're narrowing our options down to: 1) update our home grown CMS ourselves, 2) use an Open Source option, or 3) use a commercial option.

Internally, option 1 would be OK, but time consuming, and I hate to reinvent the wheel.

Option 3 would be fine, but there's no way to fully analyze that in a week, and we'd have to leave that for a longer RFP process.

So, option 2. I'm looking at DNN and Umbraco. I'd love to have the DNN community try and 'sell' me on DNN. What are some of the core features I should focus on? How is it better than SharePoint? Can anyone compare it with Umbraco?

Some specific questions:

 - we have 10 regional sites, with each region needing many department sites, with each site having one or more admins to maintain content. In general how would one set up DNN to handle that type of permissioning hierarchy.

 - skinning. We'd want some universal elements on ALL portals. CSS, header images, universal navigation bars. How viable is that in DNN? Can updates to the skin be easily propogated to all portals?

 - any SharePoint integration options? I LOVE document lists in SharePoint, are there any plugins/controls available that could leverage those in DNN?

 - Training? Any decent training packages out there for end users? (Commercial or otherwise?)

 - Comments in general? Please feel free to add anything you'd like. Pretend you are a salesman. Give me the spiel! ;o)

Check out this articel and my blog post comparing all the main CMS's around.

I had looked at some web CMS packages as well before landing on DNN.  My primary job function is training and support, but I also am the web server and DNS administrator for our organization (technically, I'm the backup person, but I do most of the "busy work" to free up the server admin for other time-consuming projects).  I'm also an amateur ASP Developer and had created my own ASP-based CMS system.

I'll give you the reasons why I was strongly in favor of DNN as the platform (which we are in the process of rolling out) in no particular order:

• Cost!  You can't beat the cost of DNN.  In addition, modules and skins are reasonably priced.
• Installation.  This was a breeze.  I could install a DNN instance in about 10 minutes (even from my very first installation).
• Required software (IIS, ASP.Net Framwork, SQL Server).  These were things we were already running.  It was important for me to choose an ASP or ASP.Net solution as opposed to PHP, ColdFusion, etc.
• Site Administration.  Mambo was installed for me to test.  It took our server admin several days to install and configure it for me.  Once he had it configured, I was completely at a loss as where to even begin.  DNN was very intuitive on adding pages and content to the pages.
• Flexibility.  The layouts aren't restrictive.  You can basically create whatever you want.
• Skinning.  Not only the ability to change the appearance but also to have a designer create a skin without risking them changing the code on the sites.
• Modules.  The ability to add 3rd party modules was great.
• Coding.  The fact that its based on standard ASP.Net methods means our programmer doesn't have to learn any new languages.
• Longevity.  The fact the DNN has survived as long as it has and is still being updated is great.
• Support.  The support forums are a great resource, as are sites like DNN Creative.  In addition, there are many published books on DNN available from a fine retailer near you.
• DNN Brand.  If we went with a lesser-known or custom solution, it would be more difficult to find other folks who had used the product or could design things for us.