Enterprise Content Management

Today we released a major update to our Enterprise Content Management technology evaluations. Our release highlights some important trends, most notably some new mobile interfaces coming down the pike. Our team will share some more details about those trends in the coming weeks. Meantime, if you're a subscriber, you'll receive your updated edition shortly. If not, and you want the inside story on ECM vendor pros and cons, you can purchase the report here, and you can always check out a free sample first.

Alfresco Software, the leader in open source enterprise content management (ECM), recently announced the expansion of its North and South American partner program for system integrators (SI) in response to increasing demand. As open source economics continue to create new opportunities for SIs, the lack of upfront license fees for Alfresco ECM also enables enterprise customers to fund more projects and allocate more budget and resources to project delivery.

Ohio-based Hyland Software has announced that it has launched its SaaS enterprise content management system OnBase in Europe with its first operation centre already opened in London. As a specialist in medical document management, they really couldn’t have picked a better location as the English National Health Service, like its counterparts across Europe, are just about bankrupt and will be in the market for any solution that will cut costs. Hyland's OnBase enterprise content management suite provides integrated document management, business process management and records management in a single application and can be deployed on-premise or as a hosted solution.

Yes, it's true, the open source enterprise content management system that seems to live to support just about any environment has added another server to the list. Alfresco (news, site) has announced that their Community Edition 3.2 can now be easily installed on Ubuntu Server Edition, free! Alfresco just released the Community Edition 3.2 earlier this month. The latest version of the community edition of their open source enterprise content management software also includes some updated records management capabilities, improved Forms, IMAP support and a nice solution for the iPhone.

It's been a while since we heard from Laserfiche, the company that was then busy launching its enterprise content management system Rio.However, recently Laserfiche announced the availability of  Weblink 8, which they say, will significantly expand Rio by enabling developers to build a portal site without having to bother with any of the tiresome coding usually associated with such projects. This additional product adds management capabilities to public web portals and should make Rio and WebLink itself an attractive prospect, particularly in the area of web content management and document management.

On the heels of its acquisition by Open Text, Vignette plans an imminent introduction of VCM 8.0, a key component of the Vignette Web Experience foundation, which is designed to empower marketers and business users to manage media-rich, global Web properties.Vignette says VCM 8.0 allows organizations to easily create and manage an engaging online experience while relieving IT of basic, day-to-day Web responsibilities. Reportedly, a novice user will be able to build Web sites in minutes rather than hours while maintaining brand consistency. VCM 8.0 also includes productivity-enhancing capabilities such as personalized toolbars, favorite shortcuts and workspaces that recall user preferences.

Many industries face management challenges when it comes to regulatory issues. From the financial sector to the pharmaceutical, figuring out how to best manage, store and archive content while meeting compliance mandates is often a complex process. Thanks to Virtify, a leader in enterprise content management solutions for life sciences companies, things are getting easier. Today they've announced the release of an end-to-end web based solution aimed at managing content and compliance requirements for all facets of the life science industries.

Enterprise Content Management specialist, Alfresco Software and EnterpriseDB Corporation, are partnering to offer Alfresco Enterprise for use with EnterpriseDB's Postgres Plus and EnterpriseDB's Postgres Plus Advanced Server. A New PartnershipAlfresco's open source ECM, in use by the likes of FedEx, Fox and Virgin Mobile, already has a Microsoft SharePoint protocol and CMIS support, for a wider choice of operating system, database, application server and desktop environment.

Everyone said that the Interwoven/Autonomy deal would only be the first in a series of big announcements within the enterprise content management world. And that it is.Today, Canadian-based enterprise content management vendor Open Text (news, site) has reached a deal to buy Vignette Corporation for US$ 310 million.Vignette is expected to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Open Text. The deal will see Vignette stockholders get US$ 8 per share plus 0.1447 of Open Text stock.

Want more signs that SaaS is becoming a must-have solution in these troubled times? You have to look no further than SpringCM to get them. Last October, it beefed up its SaaS-based enterprise content management system with Version 4.5 and then again, in March of this year, with Version 5.1, adding a number of new features and enhancements. Now, to add muscle to that, SpringCM has announced five new industry-specific applications available on its platform — three of them from entirely new partners and two more from existing partners.

Alfresco has released version 3.1 of its enterprise content management system. Exclusively available to enterprise customers, this version has a number of stability improvements designed to support the most complex enterprises. Improvements to the InfrastructureAlfresco Enterprise 3.0 was put through its paces when it was released. The enterprise content management solution was built for high availability and clustering, but needed some fine tuning. This is what 3.1 provides, fining tuning and some tools to help monitor and maintain:

IBM has taken another step into the future with the launch of its North American Enterprise Content Management Systems Community. Although only in its infancy, blog authors and community creators Ian Story and Ranjun Chauhan describe it as a community that will serve as a collaboration point for all users of the IBM ECM suite of products. Big Blue Enterprise Content Management ChumsThe IBM ECM Community is open to all participants including end users of systems, project managers, technology administrators, third-party solution providers, integrators, as well as developers. The registration door is open and people are already filling out their profiles.

Ever think about global warming, air pollution and dying out populations of polar bears? Or whether your grandchildren will be able to leave the house without an oxygen mask?Yes, we are back onto the environment-friendly, green track. There’s a lot that can be done both at home (think recycling) and at work (not surprisingly, think content management). There are multiple advantages to a green(er) enterprise. With green IT practices being strategic this year, businesses can not only control costs and efficiency, but also reap environmental benefits.

With the final release of Alfresco Labs officially available, Alfresco believes they have an enterprise content management solution that can easily compete in today's tough economic market. With this release comes Alfresco's first solution for the presentation tier of website development - the new Web Studio. They released the enterprise version of Alfresco Labs in late October. Now, the cycle for Alfresco Labs is complete with the final version hot off the press.

Open Text™, a global leader in enterprise content management (ECM), recently announced the latest versions of Open Text Desktop Viewer and Open Text Thin Client Viewer, with expanded support for new file formats. The solutions help enterprises lower costs and improve productivity by providing a simple way to manage the creation, capture, viewing, markup and publishing of content across departments and the enterprise. Using the Open Text Thin Client Viewer, customers can view, share, distribute and collaborate on documents online with partners, suppliers and customers via a Web browser.

Enterprise level applications are not cheap. In particular, enterprise content management systems can send an organization's budget plans through the roof. Unless, of course, you are implementing an open source enterprise cms. So the story goes.  According to open source enterprise cms provider Alfresco, they are the alternative with a scalable, easy to use platform at a fraction of the price.We read their Total Cost of Ownership for Enterprise Content Management whitepaper. The whitepaper walks you through the licensing and hardware costs associated with several propertiery ECMs and shows how clearly open source is the more inexpensive option.

Unisys Corporation (NYSE:UIS) today announced the Unisys InfoImage® Connector for Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007. Unisys InfoImage Connector is a new solution developed by Unisys in collaboration with Microsoft that enables Unisys customers to seamlessly connect Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Unisys InfoImage document imaging and workflow solutions. Unisys InfoImage is used by financial services firms, government agencies, and other organizations to process high volumes of loans, claims and tax forms in digital form. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is a leading collaboration and portal software suite. Unisys believes that combining these technologies will enable users of both solutions to significantly enhance productivity and improve their ability to comply with disclosure requirements.

Content management, until very recently, has been a war zone. For a market that thrives on the efficient sharing of information, much has been done by vendors to put up barriers to ensure that should anyone decide to actually share content, they're faced with nothing but problems. Proprietarianism, like the analogous atom bomb, has nearly killed us all. Let's look at the evidence. Perhaps your content repository doesn't work with your portal software. Or you have disparate databases that - no matter how hard you try - refuse to see eye to eye. Or you dare to acquire another company that runs on a different platform altogether. Goodbye comfortable content publishing processes, hello proprietary migration hell.

Alfresco has just announced the third incarnation of its Enterprise Content Management System. Alfresco Enterprise 3 is what Alfresco CTO John Newton refers to as the completion of the Product Suite that had been envisioned since the company began. A Busy Year for Alfresco These days the team over that Alfresco has been very busy. They have managed to weave their ECM into a number of other products. Products like Quark, Acrobat.com, CAStor and Adobe LiveCycle are just a few to mention who have incorporated the ECM into their product in some way.

Doubt anyone is bored at the IBM Information on Demand Conference. Yesterday at the conference IBM announced a new agile ECM portfolio — we got dizzy just reviewing the enhancements, trying to keep them all straight. The new portfolio takes on a new format bringing together content, process and compliance capabilities in a neat little composite application framework. The new ECM portfolio is, again, the continuing saga of IBM’s vision of InformationOnDemand.