Why a CCM is Not a CMS: Or Why You Shouldn't Confuse a Whale with a Fish

People are beginning to realize it is a category mistake to call some kinds of systems a "CMS" (Content Management System), when what they really are referring to is a "CCM" (Component Content Management) system.  Under certain circumstances, the difference is critically important. By making this category mistake and confusing a "CCM" for a "CMS", some organizations are failing to convince their management that they need a specialized system called a CCM.  Their management or IT organizations think they already have one, when in fact they do not. Organizations that succeed in adopting a CCM have argued persuasively to management (if not to their IT organization) that a CCM is not a CMS. Just as a source control system (which does versioning) is not a CMS, and just as a Web Content Management (WCM) system is a special type of Content Management System, so a CCM is a unique specialized system for the management of another critical enterprise function:  namely the management of technical information.