SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint, what more is there to say?

CMIS and SharePoint

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This is a critical subject.  As I said when the CMIS standard was released, the key to its success will be vendor adoption.  This means more than just signing off on the standard.  The vendors have to incorporate it into their message and start to show clients, partners, and analysts how they plan to support and implement CMIS.  Based on how the ECM marketplace has begun to revolve around SharePoint, I consider Microsoft’s support a major component for success.  CMIS can succeed without them at first, but it will be a much steeper hill to climb without Microsoft.

Well, Microsoft appears to be doing things right so far.  In addition to showing a desire to participate in the AIIM effort (along with EMC, Alfresco, IBM, and Nuxeo), they hosted the first OASIS CMIS Technical Committee meeting out in Redmond, WA.  More important than either of those actions is the implications of this MSDN article, Integrating External Document Repositories with SharePoint Server 2007.

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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?

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Vignette is Losing at Musical Chairs

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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.

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Tony Byrne Visits the Web Content Mavens

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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.

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Gleanings from Momentum 2008 Europe

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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.]

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The Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management, 2008

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[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.

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Forecasting the Future of Documentum and SharePoint

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I look at the numbers.  I know that I get a bump in readership just by using the workword SharePoint.  It also happens to be a vital issue to the Documentum world.  Aside from the future of CenterStage vs. SharePoint, which is a non-starter until we see a non-beta CenterStage, there is this simple fact.  People are adopting SharePoint and are looking for help more and more often.  This can be in the way of services, but can also be from and enhanced architecture created with the help of Documentum.

Well, we’ve been patient, and Andrew has begun to share some of his thinking with us.  Andrew Chapman is a great person and lets his sense of humor show in his blog.  If you don’t find it funny, you are doomed in the ECM world.  If there is any field that requires a sense of humor, it is ECM.

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Documentum 6.5 is Released

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Just so you know, last night I saw the first bits of D6.5 on the download site. The entire core stack is out. If you are a partner, you may not see some components as they are fixing some of the entitlements. I expect that to be fixed quickly. [Edit 8/5/2008: Fixed.] Share and enjoy.

Also, D7 is slated for Q4 2009. This is on schedule for 18 months after D6.5, as their strategy for releases dictates.

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Documentum Connector for MS Office SharePoint Server 2007 Overview and Demo

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At the EMC Federal Government Forum, we were treated to a surprise, the overview of a new SharePoint/Documentum integration. Slated to be released shortly, it appears to replicate the features of the existing SharePoint products. The difference is that the Documentum Connector for MOSS 2007 is based upon DFS and Web Services and is customizable. This means that what you see is what you start with, not what you get.

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SharePoint and Documentum, Patience is a Virtue

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Well, the time has come to talk about the elephant in the room, SharePoint.  It was a slow conference for me regarding SharePoint.  I didn’t attend any normal sessions on it as I was usually being pulled away by other items.  I did get a lot of time with Andrew, Erin, Craig (yes, Craig), and a boatload of partners talking about the SharePoint problem.

Problem?  Yes, problem.  The problem is that nobody knows what to do to make everyone play together.  I’ll tell you right now, playing together is required.

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