Joomla's greatest threat

I think that this is a very interesting topic to be concerned about. I think Joomla is going to be safe at least for awhile as it provides an Open Source environment for web developers. As long as the Open Source world keeps new extensions coming out and they are cost effective, it may take a large effort and some serious eye opening features for Apple to come out on top. In my opinion, I am going to want to master Joomla first before attempting anything else.

Great post, Richard. I'm going to post it on my Facebook business page PatVB-Web-Design so it will help drive traffic your way. The biggest issue I'm facing right now with my 90+ websites is malware and keeping sites clean. My hosting company tells me it is mostly Joomla sites that are vulnerable. Can you address that more, please? Thanks!

Pat

And what are you using for your blog? It looks super, and the one weakness I've been told between Joomla and Wordpress.

I think MODX will be the future threat.
They are picking up pace over at http://modx.com/
I have been using MODX as long as Joomla. The actual core of modx is better than joomla (imho).
Eventually template houses will start producing canned themes and skins. People will take notice.

Regards,
William

Richard

I think you're wrong to disregard Google - '...I seriously doubt they have the expertise'. With 'a ton of cash' that's easily bought in.

So - Google remains best at search. And Gmail. And Docs. And Maps. That is starting to sound suspiciously like Monty Python's 'what have the Romans ever done for us?' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso

Given the diversity, and competence, of what Google already offers - if they ever set their mind to WANTING to offer a CMS, I think they would represent a substantial threat. It all comes down to wanting to. And sniffing round Joomla sites telling us they need updating might just be a pointer in that direction.

Ian

I must DISAGREE with you on the google point. You say that you don't think Google can come up with a contender, BUT consider what made them great (besides relevant search results). It was their minimalistic interface (at least in my opinion). When I want search I go to google, the other SEs all are too cluttered.

So, if they came up with a simplistic (yet functional and stylish) CMS which worked, was easy to use, I think they may have a good chance...

There is room for many CMS's in the market place just as there is room for many project management solutions. It is simplistic to think one player will dominate and hold the market totally. Companies like google apple etc. I guess will not be interested in a CMS development because the opportunity for revenue stream with so many free offerings is limited to say the least.

In the end beautiful UX and sensible functionality will win out. All CMS's on the market suffer the from the battle between the engineers and the UX. The link between articles and menus is still too complex for most newbies to understand quickly.

The big question is ,what can players like apple or google get from providing a free CMS. I guess the answer is nothing, and therefore its my opinion they would not enter this market at all.

What joomla needs to do is get more organised on the roadmap front and be more democratic about the new features it adds. If it does this then it is not going to loose touch with users and providers and therefore secure its future.

I think that one question is "why would Google, Facebook Apple want to have a CMS" These organisations are cash rich at the moment and could effectively buy anything but how would they monetize it. Do we want a CMS with adverts all over it? At the moment, with the open source environment we at least have some control over Joomla and its development. The three above mentioned companies want to totally control everything they own - so open source would be out of the question.

However, no one can tell what will happen. What will be Apple's next big product? I think that the whole Joomla community need to keep a watchful eye on this - particularly the management team, who need to be very careful how the update cycle is managed so as not to alienate loyal users.

In conclusion, nothing is certain and nothing should be taken for grated.

Richard,

Good call! I never went through your more thorough analysis above, but being an avid Apple fan I'm somewhat biased. So instead, I went straight to your last idea below: Apple. Some weeks ago, while just casually thinking about "What will Apple do next ..." (or at least in the near future), their own CMS seemed like a possibility, but with a twist.

Your three final questions in your artical above are very poignant! As Apple explores how to build on what they have already achieved, if they want to keep growing, they have to find new avenues. Then at some stage, offering their own CMS would seem like a natural move. But Apple like to do things their way don't they, so open source would almost definitely be out.

Perhaps more importantly, Apple could fix two big problems of Joomla, WordPress, and Drupal (and more), by relieving users of having to go through the continual upgrade / update process, while perhaps providing better security (but in the process, may create more problems for some users, who suddenly find their website looks different in the morning, after an enforced overnight upgrade: ouch!).

Apple's CMS approach could be a hosted solution, allowing users to focus fully on content creation, while Apple's own apps could provide many different customization options, that are currently served to Joomla, WordPress, and Druple as templates, plugins, extensions, and modules. Everything would go through a strict protocol to ensure everything does what it says on the tin (unlike Microsoft Windows' more relaxed approach).

If that were to happen, yes, one big problem could be solved if Apple chose the "hosted solution" route, at the expense of end users losing some control. What's more, in that scenario, since Apple would provide the means to support end users directly, developers could move into app development.

It's an intriguing idea, except for one thing: Apple does what Apple does :-) Of course, they have their own plans, and a new CMS may be low on their list of priorities. Apple seem to like solutions that combine hardware with software that they fully control. Plus, a CMS will only serve a proportion of end users, and perhaps Apple like a "bigger pie".

So the simple answer: we don't know. But an Apple CMS is an intriguing possibility! What would it be called: "AppleWeb" perhaps, as Apple seek to in a sense create their version of the web. Well, Apple don't do anything in a small way do they :-)

I was about to deploy a Joomla informational website with a few products, but I've found it is much easier to go with an open source shopping cart that has extensive CMS features (Prestashop in this case but there are others).

Almost all my customers are e-commerce based and every e-commerce site has to have a viable shopping cart. So if the whole site is built around it, rather than as an add-on extension, it's so much easier to maintain.

For e-commerce I'm finding less and less need for Joomla, so maybe they should focus some attention on this critical element before they become the next Betamax, at least for e-commerce sites.

I think there are probably a lot more contenders for the open source CMS than was mentioned here but I think that Joomla has a very loyal and dedicated user base and it is going to take one massive tool to over throw that.

I have to say that William might be on to something with MODX but it is far from being as robust as Joomla and there just is not enough community behind it to be anywhere near Joomla at this point and at the level of development they are at least 3 years behind Joomla.

@Pat - I would say your host is just covering their back side claiming that Joomla is the problem. Like Richard said keep it up to date and that of your extensions and if your host is good you are not going to have the problems you are having. I host about 400 Joomla sites on my dedicated boxes and I experience on average 100 hack attempts a day and knock on wood they are not getting in. So I am going to say if you are having issues and have your sites up to date then blame your host before you allow them to blame Joomla!

Google CMS? yea right, I don’t know about anyone else but I refuse to use a tool that will never get out of beta. Google is good at what they do but I doubt they have what it takes to commit to anything close to a full blown CMS and where they are so heavy into collecting data about everyone who uses their tools I for one could not sell a client on a platform that wants to get in their business like Google by their own admission does!

I'll post one last comment and then I will be done. In my opinion Joomla already has a very large foundation to work on. i never want to be the one who says "Never" though. The one good thing that Joomla has working for it is that it's free. Its Open Source so it will help keep a lot of web developers in business. These other companies can come out with a Closed Source solution, but unless its REALLY impressive with much more features, I see it difficult for any new CMS' to climb to the top. I mean really. Lets think about it. We already know and love Joomla, but if the bigger companies throw some money at some good programmers, you never know what they could come up with. One thing is for sure though. Regardless of whoever else comes out with a CMS, Joomla will be one of the top players no matter what. Joomla isn't going anywhere. So to all the Joomla developers out there, I think your jobs are safe (for at lest awhile).

P.S. - If one of these other companies does even surpass Joomla remotely, eventually sooner or later a newer version of Joomla will be built and the topic will start back up all over again. - Hope you guys enjoyed.