A content management system (CMS) is the collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based. The procedures are designed to do the following:

1. Allow for a large number of people to contribute to and share stored data

1. Control access to data, based on user roles (defining which information users or user groups can view, edit, publish, etc.)

1. Aid in easy storage and retrieval of data

1. Reduce repetitive duplicate input

1. Improve the ease of report writing

1. Improve communication between users

In a CMS, data can be defined as nearly anything: documents, movies, pictures, phone numbers, scientific data, and so forth. CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, revising, semantically enriching, and publishing documentation. Serving as a central repository, the CMS increases the version level of new updates to an already existing file. Version control is one of the primary advantages of a CMS.