Eprise, EGrail Eke Out A Living In Content ManagementEprise, EGrail Eke Out A Living In Content Management

In the struggling world of content management, vendors with robust software and strong partnerships--such as Interwoven, Vignette, and BroadVision--tend to hog the spotlight. But there's still a place for smaller content-management players like Eprise Corp. and eGrail Inc., which sell simpler packages. This week, both companies are launching new products to hold onto their market share.

Eprise, with Inktomi Corp., will start selling its Eprise Content Deployment Suite, a package that will deploy dynamic content created on a local server across multiple servers. The software targets global companies with transactional sites that use content from different business units. It's available immediately; prices start at $70,000 for a package that includes a license for the controller server and licenses for five content-deployment agents.

Meanwhile, eGrail is releasing the Enterprise Content Server 4.0, Web-based content-management software that the company says is deployable out the box and carries a 90-day satisfaction guarantee. Unlimited-user licenses start at $250,000. Licenses for up to 10 seats start at $25,000 per user.

Rob Perry, a Yankee Group analyst, says that smaller vendors stand a good chance of surviving in the shadow of bigger players that offer full content management frameworks, especially if they cater to the underserved middle market. "Big implementations are too much. They [small firms] want the short implementation and to start getting an ROI in weeks rather than months," says Perry. However, he adds that the vendors might have a difficult time reaching small companies that have fewer resources to devote toward new technology.