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Chatham College

Case Study

Chatham College recently re-engineered its entire Internet site, using Estrada Web Technology as its Web development and content management solution. Some keys to this successful project included: the ability to develop custom functionality; "out of the box" features such as dynamic Web publishing, Workflows and a user-friendly interface that enhance productivity; and superior, personalized training and support.

Chatham College Web site

NT Authentication Simplifies Life for Users

The Chatham Web site utilizes NT authentication in order to securely manage its Estrada user access permissions. With NT authentication, designated Web Authors and Administrators donít need to log in to use Estrada. Instead, they can automatically access and edit their Web pages when they are using a computer that is part of Chathamís existing NT network.

"In no way did I want users to have to memorize yet another new login and password," said Jason Larimore, Chathamís manager of Web development. "It was a big selling point for us that Estrada can be integrated with our existing NT authentication."

Customer Service Makes the Difference

A major selling point for Estrada over other Web development and content management products was its high level of personalized support and training. He has not been disappointed.

"Estrada provides outstanding support," said Larimore. "Any time that I have encountered an issue, all I have to do is call and Iíve gotten a quick response from [one of the Estrada Professional Services team members assigned to Chathamís project]."

"I also appreciate that I can call them up and just bounce ideas off of them," he added. "Theyíre intelligent and very responsive."

Estradaís training method was another major selling point. Larimore said, "I was pleased that Estrada provided training at our site. That was much more convenient for me and my users than if weíd had to travel to an off-site training facility, or if Iíd tried to learn it on my own."

Distributed Authorship Frees Technologists, Empowers Users

Estrada helped solve a vexing issues that haunts virtually all universities: how to get more done with fewer staff and resources.

First, Estrada provided the Chatham community with Web publishing tools that are easy to learn, simple to use and yet powerful. This enables designated Authors around campus with a way to build and update Web content directly, rather than having to depend on a technical webmaster. After one short two-hour training session, nontechnical Authors were ready to dive in and begin doing basic authoring.

"Iíve always dreamed of inventing a product like this," said Larimore. "Itís ideal for any Web developer because it really takes the day-to-day content updating tasks off of my hands."

Promoting , Simplifying Marketing Oversight

Estrada also helped Chatham balance the Collegeís desire for marketing and editorial consistency with the need for academic freedom and direct access to user-friendly Web publishing resources. Estrada Web managers can exercise as much or as little control as their organization requires.

By utilizing families of templates, or graphical shells, that establish the basic parameters for how pages should look, Estrada helps the College to ensure consistent marketing, branding, navigation and other standards through the entire site. It also allows Authors to focus on their content rather than trying to learn complex graphic design skills.

Another Estrada feature, called Workflows, helps the College maintain a high level of informational accuracy and quality. Workflows are like production lines or quality assurance routines for the Web. Any new content or changes to existing content are automatically recorded, tracked and moved through a chain of reviewers, who ensure that the changes are appropriate before they are published. The workflows are completely customizable, so that different workflows can be set up for different areas of the site, and each one can contains as many or as few review levels as needed.


Technology

  • Estradaģ Web Technology Web Content Management & Development System
  • Estradaģ Smart Templates
  • Server: Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS)
  • Hardware: X86
  • Server Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000
  • Network Operating System: Windows NT
  • Database: Microsoft SQL Server 2000

For More Information

About Estrada Web Technology

Estrada Web Technology
Contact Information

Estrada Web Technology a leading provider of dynamic content management and Web development solutions. Estrada facilitates the production and distribution of large quantities of information over the Web by providing a secure way for individuals throughout an organization, regardless of skill level, to manage Web content. It provides analysis and productivity applications to streamline business operations, and the means to deliver personalized, targeted and interactive experiences to online audiences. Estrada can also be used for application and corporate infrastructure development and systems integration. The firmís national client base includes leading corporations, federal and state government, higher education and nonprofit organizations.

About Chatham College

Chatham College
Woodland Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Tel: (412) 365-2751
Email:
Web site: www.chatham.edu

Chatham has been preparing World Ready WomenSM since 1869, and is one of the nationís oldest colleges still awarding undergraduate degrees solely to women. Today Chatham College provides its more than 1,100 students with a liberal arts education and pre-professional programs and offers graduate studies, continuing education and certification programs for women and men. The Collegeís $52.5 million endowment is among the largest per student in the nation.


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Chatham College Case Study
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