International web strategy: Facade insulation specialist Sto counts on CMS from e-Spirit

Central data for many markets

120 editors at Sto will work with the new system and will directly benefit from the process- and usability optimizations enabled by the FirstSpirit CMS. These include the simple and intuitive usability, the central availability of content, and the ability to automatically publish previously created content to all available channels from the editing system, for example to mobile end devices. Sto will use the CorporateContent FirstSpirit module, which can be used to very simply and quickly distribute central content and predefined pages to the different country versions. It will then be available in the future on a consistent basis and in standard layouts. At the same time, the system offers the on-site editors localization options which allow them to customize content and media to their market-specific requirements. This minimizes the cost and effort required to generate pages and makes it possible to publish updates far more quickly than before.

AppCenter in use

The central availability of digital media content provides additional efficiency for the websites via a Digital Asset Management (DAM) protocol. Here Sto is very efficiently linking the DAM solution Celum to the content management system via the new FirstSpirit AppCenter. The AppCenter, which was presented by e-Spirit at CeBIT 2011, enables simple interface integration of any (web) applications from cloud- and SaaS products, and from the desktop, directly to the CMS.

"Along with these enormous improvements in the work process for editors, and the potential savings associated with it, the system also boasts operational cost-benefits. We can also manage the installation and management, as well as rapid development of templates for global use, using internal IT resources", says Axel Killmann, Manager Online Communications at Sto AG and project manager for the FirstSpirit implementation. After the migration of the German website, plans call for the integration of all international sites to FirstSpirit as well as the intranet with integration into an IBM WebSphere portal.

e-Spirit is implementing the project together with their partner, Virtual Identity, which among other things is developing the corporate identity parameters and the design for the website and the front-end templates. The overall project will then be implemented by the IT department at Sto, together with e-Spirit.

Sto: On track as technology leader

Sto AG (Stühlingen) is a leading global manufacturer of products and systems for coating on buildings. Its comprehensive portfolio encompasses paints, plasters, varnishes, facade insulation systems, materials for the concrete restoration, floor coating, and acoustic systems and ventilated rainscreen cladding systems. With approximately 4,250 employees, the group posted turnover in 2010 of 986 billion euros at its 20 production locations. The guiding principle "Building with conscience“ encapsulates in three words the Sto group's vision of itself, which encompasses ecological and social responsibility. The company's origins can be traced back to a lime production plant that was founded in 1835 and was acquired in the 1930s by Wilhelm Stotmeister. Today Sto AG is led by the third generation of the Stotmeister family, who also hold a majority of common shares.

About Virtual Identity

Virtual Identity connects brands and companies with our networked society. Founded in 1995, the agency develops Web-based solutions for brand management, corporate and marketing communication. Virtual Identity has around 100 employees at its offices in Freiburg, Munich, Berlin and Vienna. Clients include: Allianz, Festo, Haufe Mediengruppe, HypoVereinsbank, Infineon, Lexware, MAN, Opel and Siemens.