Information

SharePoint and Documentum, The Need for Therapy

A while back, I talked about how Patience is a Virtue while waiting for the proper integration of SharePoint and Documentum.  Andrew Chapman and the team at EMC have been working hard, and we will have what we need, at least the first step, before too much longer.  In the meantime, we have choices to make, and consequences to deal with, on a daily basis.

The biggest problem right now isn’t that EMC’s solution is behind the curve.  The current solution from EMC is comparable to their competitor’s offerings.  The problem is that the solution is inherently inadequate.  EMC knows this (which is a good thing), but until they, or anyone, gives us a better option, what do we do?

Continue reading →

Documentum’s High Volume Server, 6.5sp1 Edition

1 Comment

One of the highlights of the D6.5 release was the new features around enabling high volumes of content in the repository.  There are two standard problems around storing lots and lots of content in an ECM system.

  1. Every object in an ECM system has overhead.  In Documentum, it is takes 2-3K in database storage per object.  That can add up quick.  Just think of the emails in your organization or the images that a financial institution might generate from scanned documents.
  2. The very act of adding content into the Content Server takes several round trips to the database.  Is this a valid ACL to assign?  Does the containing folder exist?  Those are just two of the questions asked during the process.

After learning about these features in more detail, in discussions with Victor (See a recording of his presentation on the Developer Network) and Ed, at EMC World 2008, I started making plans to use it on one of my projects.  I later learned that there is a catch.  Before we get to the catch, let’s review the highlights.

Continue reading →

AIIM’s iECM Committee, Validating CMIS

8 Comments

As you may have heard, I’ve been a member of AIIM’s iECM committee for over a year.  I’ve been more of a lurker as I was a little nonplused at the efforts of the committee, but I stayed with it to learn more about their efforts in detail and hoping to one day be able to help in a substantive way.

Well, that day has arrived.  We are taking on the creation of a prototype, CMIS-based, system to store the presentation from the 2009 AIIM Expo.  The basic premise is to have one or more CMIS back-end systems storing content with a central interface that would provide content, seamlessly, to users.  Rather than explain the details, I’m publishing the “official” write-up.

Before you dive in, if you are a vendor with a CMIS implementation, we want to speak to you.  You can contact me or the people listed below.

Continue reading →

Vignette is Losing at Musical Chairs

9 Comments

So I was just casually heading over to look at an older Big Men on Content post when I saw their latest.  It seems that Interwoven was purchased today by Autonomy.  Uh, WOW!  Okay, maybe a bit of an over-reaction, but with Vignette in a death spiral, what is next for them?

Before we get to Vignette, lets look at the news itself.

Continue reading →

Tony Byrne Visits the Web Content Mavens

7 Comments

Happy New Year Everyone!  It has been a while since my last post.  Things have been returning to normal and I took some time off during the holiday season to hang out with my wife and boys.  Upon returning to work, there was the normal small post-holiday backlog accompanied by the chaos that is the Presidential Inauguration.  I understand that it is an important event in American history, but the loss in productivity for what is essentially Obama’s first day of work is staggering.

Maybe I should request a parade on my first day of work the next time I decide to start interviewing for a job.

In the midst of all this, on Wednesday evening I had quite an enjoyable evening at the monthly Web Content Mavens event here in DC.  It was, as always, a fun time talking to various people about their challenges implementing WCM and ECM systems.  I even ran into a few Documentum people.  The highlight of the night was listening to, and talking with, Tony Byrne, founder of CMS Watch.

I like Tony, and not just because he has bought me a beverage or two in the past.  Tony doesn’t mince words.  He tells his honest opinion in his drive to educate people on the world of ECM.  Previously, he had spoken to the Mavens on Social Media, but tonight was focused on the Web Content Management (WCM) marketplace as it stands right now.

Continue reading →

Gleanings from Momentum 2008 Europe

6 Comments

I didn’t attend Momentum 2008 Europe, which makes the umpteenth time in row that I haven’t attended, the inverse of my streak in the States.  There were several people that did attend and I thought I would provide some basic thoughts and links for people.  I will be asking questions, so if you know the answers, please leave a comment.

[Edit 19 Nov. 2008: Be sure to read the comments for more links and commentary.]

Continue reading →

The Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management, 2008

6 Comments

[Updated 11/10/2008 in order to make Gartner, Inc. happier, or at least less angry.]

One thing about writing entries on public transportation, no Internet.  This make is tough to refer to web sites that haven’t been opened and cached.  As a result, today (I’m optimistic, so I’m not saying “this week”) brings you Gartner, Inc.’s 2008 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management review.  Released on September 23, 2008, the biggest surprise was the number of vendors that didn’t hype it.

An important note from Gartner, Inc., Gartner advises readers not to compare the placement of vendors from last year to this year.  With that in mind, since I’m human, here is a link to my post about last year’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management titled, The ECM Magic Quadrant, for reference.

Enter Open Source

Before we get to the chart, there are two big developments to take note of this year.  The biggest is the inclusion of Alfresco.  That’s right, an open source vendor has arrived.  They are listed categorized as a niche player so far in this report.  Considering limited, but growing, adoption and their evolving product, that is understandable.  I think that their vision got dinged because they have been taking a stronger collaboration (read Enterprise 2.0) tack as of late, but that is just conjecture.

I think they may be selling Alfresco short, but marketplace adoption and confidence is a factor in this study.  It will be interesting to see how the perception, and reality, evolves over the next year.

Other open source vendors will be slow in appearing here as Records Management is considered a core requirement to be in the chart report.  I agree with this, but I may set the bar lower for compliance than Gartner, Inc. does as I think basic retention policies are all that is required.

Continue reading →

EMC and the CMIS Standard

I talked a few weeks ago about the proposed CMIS standard.  I then went on to explain that vendor support is one of the two critical keys, the other the technical details, for the standard to succeed.  I went on to stress that the leaders for successful adoption of CMIS need to be the ECM Platform vendors.

I then promised some more posts on the topic and promptly vanished.  I’ve been busy at work and trying to enjoy the college football season.  I have vowed to get some posts out in the next week addressing the vendor support for CMIS.  As I know most familiar with EMC’s efforts, I’m starting with them.

Continue reading →

My Floating Head on the EMC Developer Network

2 Comments

Have you ever read my blog and wondered what I sound like in normal conversation?  Have you looked at the new EMC Developer Network and you weren’t sure where to start?  Want to solve all the problems in the ECM world by starting to document our Design Patterns?

Are you in luck!  Alan Z and the crew over at the EDN patiently waited while I filmed myself talking to space and put together a quick little video explaining how we can start working together to capture our Design Patterns.  This video focuses on some content in the Documentum portion of the EDN, but this approach can work for capturing any knowledge in the EDN.

So go out there and start adding content.  I’m sure the EDN team will reward heavy contributors to the Design Patterns.  I know I will owe a debt of gratitude to the heavy contributors and I will pay-off that debt at the next conference.  More importantly, do it to help each other.  Set an example for others.  Even if you add one fact to the process, that is a fact that someone will need that nobody else may know.

Let’s go people.  Time to become more than just implementers.

Vendor Support for CMIS

4 Comments

As I discussed yesterday, I’ve been waiting a long time for the Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) standard.  There is still a fair amount of excitement out there as more people join the conversation.  I’m still excited, but the excitement is beginning to be tempered by reality.

There are two primary factors to standard adoption:

  • Is the standard technically sound?  It has to actually solve the stated problem.  It is okay if a standard is limited in functionality in initial drafts as long as it evolves to accomplish everything required.  At the same time, it must be easy enough to use.  These are not small technical challenges.
  • Is there vendor support?  Let’s face it, if the vendors don’t support it, then it will fail.  The JSR-170 and JSR-283 standards are perfect examples.  They aren’t supported by a critical mass of vendors.  The reasons range from the technical (we work in Java), to the philosophical (it is a bad standard, let’s focus elsewhere), and to the lazy (nobody cares so let’s ignore it).

Customers are important, but it takes a large mass of them to force the vendors to act.  I would qualify them as a secondary factor.  While I digest the technical aspects, take a look at the Vendor Support factor.

Continue reading →