Acoustic Content vs. Cascade CMS

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Acoustic Content
Score 1.2 out of 10
N/A
Acoustic Content (formerly Watson Content Hub) gives business owners the power to create, robust and consistent brand experiences using cloud-based, cognitive content management capabilities. Marketing and merchandising professionals can quickly select content to create relevant offers delivered across multiple channels, such as mobile, web-based or email. Acoustic is an independent spun off from IBM Watson Marketing in 2019.N/A
Cascade CMS
Score 5.4 out of 10
N/A
Cascade CMS (formerly Cascade Server) by Hannon Hill is a content management system, with built-in tools to help users eliminate stale content, increase digital outreach, and promote end-user adoption and accountability. Cascade CMS is designed for decentralized web teams in most major industries, including higher education, government, healthcare, and technology. Included is Clive, an engagement and real-time personalization tool for collecting information and using it to craft personalized…N/A
Pricing
Acoustic ContentCascade CMS
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Acoustic ContentCascade CMS
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Acoustic ContentCascade CMS
Features
Acoustic ContentCascade CMS
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Acoustic Content
8.4
Ratings
4% above category average
Cascade CMS
8.0
Ratings
1% below category average
Role-based user permissions8.40 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Acoustic Content
8.4
Ratings
10% above category average
Cascade CMS
7.1
Ratings
7% below category average
API8.30 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language8.40 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
Acoustic Content
8.6
Ratings
11% above category average
Cascade CMS
7.1
Ratings
8% below category average
WYSIWYG editor7.40 Ratings6.10 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness8.30 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Admin section8.30 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Page templates8.30 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Library of website themes9.00 Ratings5.50 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design9.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Publishing workflow9.40 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Form generator9.40 Ratings6.40 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Acoustic Content
8.8
Ratings
18% above category average
Cascade CMS
6.9
Ratings
6% below category average
Content taxonomy8.30 Ratings8.00 Ratings
SEO support8.40 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Bulk management8.90 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Availability / breadth of extensions9.40 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Community / comment management8.90 Ratings4.80 Ratings
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Acoustic ContentCascade CMS
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
Acoustic ContentCascade CMS
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
6.7
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Acoustic ContentCascade CMS
Likelihood to Recommend
It is advisable to create custom designs that call for specific programs and content without giving direct access to those programs. We still have to meet the proposed use case where it should not be used.
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Cascade Server is well suited with it's WYSIWYG editor being better than most editors that I have used in other systems. In context, editing makes adding content easy compared to the last CMS I used where you had to wing it and view the page outside of the CMS to see if it was correct. The ability mix HTML, CSS, and the Script of your choice anywhere and with ease.
The scenarios were Cascade Server is less appropriate would be in the use of compilers or programs like Visual studio. You need to go out of Cascade Server and go to other environments to perform tasks and then copy the result to Cascade Server. You can write directly in Cascade Server, but it's easier to do in and editor that is specific to a function.
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Pros
  • Ease of use of the tool
  • Fast results for sales from automated merchandising
  • Great insight into top performers
  • Good support
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  • Very easy-to-use. I trained over 200 users, and never once heard someone say that it was difficult to figure out. People generally left the training excited to get started managing their content.
  • Technology independent. We were able to put any language into it that our customers required: .NET, classic ASP, PHP, static HTML.
  • Customer Support. The Hannon Hill team was truly amazing when it came to helping their customers, including us. They always went above and beyond to fix issues, help customers figure out complex methods for using Cascade Server, and general support.
  • Annual User's Conference. This was a great event that brought Cascade Server enthusiasts together, and the entire Hannon Hill staff was present and available for customers to talk 1-on-1 with.
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Cons
  • Application is less user friendly as some of the commonly used functions even hidden inside menus.
  • Community support is very low as Acoustic Content is not widely used by many people.
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  • Not much that I can add here, except that as a non-programmer, it can be a bit overwhelming to understand all the options and capabilities of the system. We have programmers who have been able to do almost anything we need with the system, but I can't understand it!
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Changing systems would require too much effort. Our institution is using Cascade Server, WordPress and Drupal but we only serve 2200 students so we have 1 too many content management systems. Reflecting on current technical resources we would like to drop down to 2. This effort hasn't moved forward because of the extensive work required to migrate content and train users in a new system.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
Cascade CMS is completely usable on mobile devices, we can train our content editors in a single 2-hour session, and we support 1,000 users with a very small team.
There is a level of complexity for the system administrators, site managers and web programmers who implement templates and content types. But the complexity is neither arbitrary nor inconsistent – and once learned provides a powerful environment within which we can develop robust sites that are beautiful and powerful, yet easy for our content editors to manage.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
Amazing customer service and VERY customizable.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
Does a great job.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
They have always regarded any question or problem we encountered as very important. We have never felt that they ignore or downplay any issue and not once has anything been left unresolved. They also hold an annual conference where users are invited to attend and share their experiences and wisdom with the entire Cascade community. And with the care and support the provide, we all feel a part of that community.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
Training was helpful.
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
Still needed that physical help
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
The key to any CMS implementation is PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. Proper planning with Cascade can increase your satisfaction exponentially once the site migration/creation is complete. When all is said and done, your implementation can make your site run like a Yugo or Maserati. Be smart and deliberate in your decisions. Drive the Maserati. It is already paid for.
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Alternatives Considered
Acoustic Content stands out mainly in 3 areas, Digital Asset Management system AI Based metatags More secure CDN and REST API to share content All these three features play a huge role in Acoustic Content CMS in terms of finding matching images for our content, categorize and sort our content automatically and finally secure way to publish our content.
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Cascade CMS focuses on managing content and gives you the tools to display this content any way that is needed. While it may lack some features/extensions found in other popular platforms, the user management, workflow and template engine are the best you can get.
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
I used it only a few times.
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Return on Investment
  • Freed up user time to call a variety of applications quicker.
  • Allowed developer an easier tool to integrate other applications for end users.
  • Allowed us to have a single method of application implementation and usage that is easier to debug, saving time.
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  • Initially, ROI was positive - because we completely redesigned the website when we implemented Cascade.
  • Over time, the inability to keep up with the latest interactive tools has reduced visitors time on site.
  • Also over time, the difficulty of use has led to less buy-in by backend users, leading to outdated pages, little timely information, and lower visitors.
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ScreenShots

Acoustic Content Screenshots

Screenshot of Cognitive TaggingScreenshot of Flexible, Easy EditingScreenshot of Automatic renditions createdScreenshot of Card-based Asset Library