A new decoupled EidosMedia content management framework opens opportunities for modular publishing and the integration of other sources and systems.

The Méthode developer says its new Cobalt framework allows content to be optimised for multiple destinations, and can be constantly updated to keep pace with changing technology and user habits.



Chief marketing officer Massimo Barsotti says that while many recent developments - including mobile publishing, online video and social media management - have been integrated into the Méthode platform, new standards such as REST offered an opportunity to take a modular approach to editorial and delivery functions.

"We saw an opportunity to build a new framework which would fill a gap which has opened up in the digital publishing landscape," he says. "The gap is between an established platform like Méthode that covers many content management functions in a single application space, and a new approach in which several separate modules - some of them maybe open-source - are interfaced to provide a range of editorial and delivery functions."

Scaled up to provide the performance needed to handle enterprise content, the solution becomes difficult to maintain and update, with its numerous modules and plugins and the problem that usually no single supplier takes responsibility for making it continues to work.

"That's why we decided to build a solution that would deliver the advantages of the modular approach without its drawbacks," says Barsotti.

He says Cobalt addresses the fundamental need to deliver tailored content to a growing range of destinations which might include, as well as standard web pages and print facsimiles, iOS and Android apps and a variety of social media platforms and formats. "Cobalt's clear separation between the editorial processes and the delivery modules - known as decoupling - allows the same content to be optimised for multiple destinations, constantly updatable to keep pace with changing technology and user habits."

It uses a native service-oriented architecture, designed to be used in cloud deployment and scalable to meet the needs of the largest, most geographically distributed delivery operations.

EidosMedia digital solutions architect Maurizio Merli says one of Cobalt's biggest strengths is to let users get the most out of cloud-based deployment: "Users access it through browser-based Swing interface, tailored to give each user the tools they need without unnecessary clutter. While Cobalt comes with its own underlying CMS, its decoupled design allows it to act as a content delivery framework for material originating in other editorial platforms, including Méthode.

'Best of breed' technologies are used for the various platform functions - content is managed in JSON format and is exposed through RESTful APIs; data persistence is assured through PostgreSQL and MongoDB, while search functions are performed by ElasticSearch.

The framework is open to integration with other content management systems, to revive legacy content, delivering it in a mashup-friendly format such as JSON for repurposing.

"The flexibility of the architecture and the use of standard REST interfaces allows Cobalt to interact very flexibly with existing platforms and offers several different routes to customers wishing to upgrade to a Cobalt solution," says Barsotti.

"We're very excited about the possibilities Cobalt opens up for digital publishing. It really does meet the needs of those who want to take advantage of the latest advances in publishing technology, without losing the benefits of a managed platform."