Meet the eZ community

When you choose to build a website in eZ Publish or eZ Platform, you’re not just getting a super functional and long-lasting content management system, you’re also getting access to a community of developers who work together to ensure you’ll get the best possible solutions and service over the long term.

If one partner doesn’t have the bandwidth or expertise to build what you need, they’ll happily recommend another that does. “The community of eZ developers have proved their commitment to the platform and tend to be, on average, more stable companies,” says Peter Keung, Mugo Web’s managing director, adding that they’re also required to be certified on eZ’s CMS. “You’re tapping into a larger ecosystem, where developers from various companies have complementary skills.”

Who are eZ’s partners?

There’s an adage about quality over quantity that comes to mind when describing the eZ Publish community of partners and developers: this is a group of quality-oriented web development agencies that value customer service as much as code.

eZ Systems’ global community of more than 100 partners offers a wide range of digital marketing expertise available for projects around the world. The 15 North American partners, including three in Canada and 12 in the U.S., cover a broad variety of sectors -- from government and nonprofits, to post-secondary institutions and publishing houses, to museums and hospitals.

A few examples include:

• Beaconfire Red, an eZ partner located in Arlington, Virginia, which has worked with large nonprofits like the New York-based Foundation Center
• Contextual Code, based in Tallahassee, Florida, which works with government departments such as the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
• Novactive, based in San Fransisco, which has worked with large brands like The Economist, Hibu, and GAYOT.com
• Espace Courbe in Montreal, whose clients include a variety of cultural and educational institutions

Not to mention our own portfolio of clients in publishing, health care, and education among others here at Mugo Web.

“Our clients have 100 percent confidence when we recommend eZ,” says Benoit Dubuc of eZ partner Espace Courbe. “They say if you think it’s the best, that’s what we’ll use.”

eZ partners meet several times per year to share knowledge and technical solutions, and meet virtually every second month to support one another in advancing practical solutions for their clients. “We have phone meetings every two months and we talk about stuff that is close to all of us -- technical and business-related,” says Dubuc. “It’s a vibrant community.” 

David Liedle is a senior technical evangelist with eZ Systems, whose role involves working with partners and developers to promote the product and advance partner needs. He likens eZ’s partner community to being part of a family. “It’s not just an open source project,” he says, “when you become an eZ partner you’re joining a family and a network of support. eZ Systems has a lot of experience collectively, and when you step into that universe, you get access to that internal process of creation. You can say ‘hey, I’m a partner, I really need this, can you prioritize this?’ And the opportunity for that to happen is there.”

But what’s in it for you?

Well, there’s another adage about good things coming in small packages, and that may be apt here as well. We’re obviously not as big as WordPress or Drupal’s community of developers, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a big impact -- on our clients, and their audiences. eZ partners know the platform intimately, and, just like the software, are focused more on medium- to large-size enterprise implementations. They’re not freelancers, they’re established agencies with an average of 10 years’ experience. And they’re intimately involved with the eZ community.

“Our clients appreciate the fact that we really care,” says Dubuc. “We know what’s coming down the pipe with the product, and we let them know how it will benefit them. This allows us to provide a better service.”

Plus, the close connection with eZ means partners can influence the product as well. “We have a direct channel to the vendor in case there are any issues that come up in implementation or bugs,” says Keung. “Plus, we lobby on behalf of our clients when it comes to adding certain functionality or going in a certain direction with the CMS.”

“A lot of companies surprise you with their new features,” says Liedle. “There are no surprises with eZ as it’s being created. You see everything I see as an employee, and that’s really special. We really listen to partner feedback.”

Interested in learning more about how Mugo and the rest of the eZ community can help you? Contact us anytime.