Forrester analyses blogging platforms

By Graeme Burton

Analyst group Forrester Research has released a report examining nine of what it regards as the most popular ‘blogging’ platforms.

Drupal, iUpload, Roller, Movable Type and TypePad (both from Six Apart), Telligent, Traction, Userland Software and WordPress were all reviewed and categorised according to their strengths and weaknesses combined with an evaluation of the creators’ respective strategies. “There are many other platforms available, but these were chosen because of their market presence, unique approach and tenure in the industry,” says Forrester analyst Charlene Li.

In the leaders section of the ‘Forrester Wave’ were iUpload, Movable Type and WordPress, closely followed by Telligent, Drupal, Traction and TypePad.

“Blogging is quickly moving beyond simply managing posts into lightweight content management systems. Companies are also increasingly looking to blogs to provide the foundation for a community strategy, both for internal collaboration and external marketing purposes,” said Li.

The packages were evaluated according to 54 different criteria and 30 customers were interviewed for their opinions on the packages.

The report itself concludes: “[We] found that iUpload leads the market with its robust blogging capabilities and its strong strategic vision of a blog as a lightweight content management system, a collaboration and knowledge management tool, and even as a foundation to form communities of customers.”

However, users need to select blogging tools with care, considering their particular needs against the features and functions offered by the packages of different vendors and open source projects.