The Government Site Builder (GBS) is a Content Management System (CMS) for the Internet, intranet and extranet activities of the Federal Administration and was developed as a basic component by the Federal Office of Administration (Bundesverwaltungsamt, BVA), in the framework of the E-Government Initiative BundOnline 2005. The Government Site Builder (GSB) is a comprehensive content management solution based on the content management system Smart Content Technology SCT 4.2 by CoreMedia AG. The GSB offers standard modules for all the typical tasks of a CMS. These modules can be adopted, specifically configured, or supplemented by additional in-house developments according to the needs of the agencies. The GSB is a modular system (client/server architecture) that distinguishes between the editing system and the live system. Open interfaces support the extension of the system and connection of external applications. The highly scalable system as well as corresponding caching mechanisms allow for a reliable performance even with high access rates and highly dynamic content. For agencies of the German federal administration, the Federal Office of Administration offers central operation as an ASP service in its computer centre. However, the software can also be used remotely under the responsibility of the respective agency or other service providers.

Main results, benefits and impacts

With the Government Site Builder, the Federal Office of Administration (Bundesverwaltungsamt, BVA) provides a comprehensive content management solution, which is based on the content management system Smart Content Technology by CoreMedia AG. It is multi-client capable, allows for implementation of barrier-free web content, is SAGA compliant and offers a customisable layout based on the Internet styleguide of the Federal Government. The system contains a large number of pre-configured modules that can be adopted just as they are or customised in a flexible way and with limited effort to specific needs. A special configuration layer allows for implementation of changes even without programming skills. A powerful and flexible CMS application that facilitates a particularly fast and cost-effective implementation of websites is thus available to the public administration. The Government Site Builder is currently productively employed in 34 projects. The BVA has furthermore created a technical infrastructure that allows for the operation of different agency websites based on GSB in one central content management system as well as publication of the corresponding content on the internet or extranet. The BVA offers a hosting in the form of an ASP service. At present, 18 projects are making use of this hosting offer.

Return on investment

Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available

Lessons learnt

The establishment of a users' advisory committee with regular quarterly meetings turned out to be a critical success factor for this project. This body made it possible for the agencies which employed the GSB to share their experiences and to agree their requirements for further development and expansion of the hosting offer, and communicate these to the BVA. The establishment of a competence center CMS (CC CMS) proved to be very useful for the successful roll-out of the basic component in the federal administration. Via this group, the agencies of the German federal administration could gain substantiated information on CMS and the GSB and receive support in preparing and planning the GSB pilot projects. Especially the full service offer covering every aspect of the basic component (software (GSB), software configuration, project support, and operation, all from one source) contributed to the great success of the project. While a multi-client capable GSB hosting offer in the BVA was established, the great importance of an in-depth consideration of the aspect of system performance became evident. This aspect needs to be taken into account already in the planning, development and configuration of the software, the creation of the hosting environment and any structural changes made in the hosting environment.