info360 wrap-up

Posted by Mark Brousseau

Some odds and ends from AIIM’s info360 event this week in Washington, D.C.:

… d.velop technologies announced the launch of its ecspand for SharePoint enterprise content management (ECM) solution in the United States. Over the past two years, d.velop also introduced ecspand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. d.velop exhibited in the info360 Microsoft pavilion.

… Colligo Networks and GimmalSoft forged a partnership and will integrate Colligo’s email management software into GimmalSoft’s SharePoint-based records management solution. The partnership will fulfill the DoD 5015.2 design criteria in GimmalSoft’s solution. DoD 5015.2 is the U.S. Department of Defense’s design criteria standard for electronic records management solutions.

… Document collaboration provider Workshare said it was awarded Microsoft Certified Gold ISV Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program. The Gold ISV certification requires the highest level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies. By achieving Gold competency, partners receive benefits such as increased customer visibility through branding and accessibility, as well as training and support. Workshare has been a Microsoft Gold partner since 2005.

… Laserfiche demonstrated its DOD 5015.2-certified records management solution for SharePoint 2010. Laserfiche claims that its SharePoint 2010 integration was the first to obtain DoD 5015.2 certification. With the joint certification, Laserfiche now works with SharePoint 2010 to provide a unified business collaboration platform with enterprise content management (ECM) functionality.

… Datawatch released an enhanced version of its enterprise report management, archive and distribution solution. Called Datawatch BDS V8, the software adds certification for Red Hat LINUX, several new security features, and report and document redaction and translation.

What did you see at AIIM’s info360?

Enterprises will place emphasis on vendor integration in 2011

Posted by Mark Brousseau

As organizations become increasingly decentralized, 2011 will see enterprises identifying technology suppliers that can integrate effectively with other — often competing — solutions, according to new research released by analyst firm Real Story Group (formerly CMS Watch).

"Going into 2011, our research customers are indicating an unprecedented aversion to vendor lock-in," said Real Story Group President and Principal Analyst, Tony Byrne. "In the real world, enterprises have to support multiple devices, multiple internal portals, multiple web delivery channels, underutilized SharePoint deployments, and the lingering primacy of e-mail as a corporate information management platform — so vendors will have to adapt."

Real Story Group provided 12 other technology predictions for 2011:

1. "Bring Your Own Device" policies will push HTML5 adoption for mobile access to enterprise applications
2. Content-rich customers will rebel against Web CMS marketing spins
3. Microsoft will turn to partners to fix SharePoint shortcomings
4. The top end of the Web CMS market will be redefined
5. Intranet community managers will adopt public social functionality
6. SaaS vendors will try to separate from "The Cloud"
7. Buyers will have a greater acceptance of newer standards
8. Case Management will become the leading application from high-end ECM vendors
9. Digital Asset Management vendors will greatly expand video management capabilities
10. E-mail will remain the world's de-facto enterprise document repository and workflow system
11. Portal software will increasingly produce services for other portals
12. Specialized talent around managing content will begin to migrate out of large corporations

What do you think?

ibml's booth at ARMA 2010

ibml's booth at ARMA 2010 this week in San Francisco. ibml was demonstrating its ImageTrac Lite scanner at the conference.

SharePoint and eDiscovery Readiness

Posted by Mark Brousseau

When it comes to eDiscovery readiness, getting involved in their organization’s SharePoint initiatives should be a top priority for records managers, Martin Tuip, senior technical product marketing manager, Iron Mountain Digital, said during a presentation today at the ARMA Annual Conference in San Francisco.

SharePoint broke the $1 billion revenue mark last year, and has continued to rise past that total this year, making it the hottest-selling server-side product ever for Microsoft, Tuip said, adding that many organizations are planning to deploy SharePoint 2010 or have already done so.

“But the problem at many organizations is that SharePoint initiatives are being driven by IT, without much involvement from records managers. IT and records managers need each other,” Tuip said. “All of the content in SharePoint might have to retained, depending on your business.”

“From a legal perspective, eventually you will have a matter that will require information out of SharePoint. Those lawsuits will eventually come,” Tuip predicted. “Export functionality is available in SharePoint, but in an extremely limited fashion.” Records managers need to be proactive about working with their IT team to prepare for these inevitable eDiscovery actions, Tuip explained.

“You know that this is coming down the line,” Tuip said.

The first step in implementing SharePoint governance, Tuip said, is to determine what is going to be a vital record for your organization. Then get IT involved in setting the governance standards and determining how to implement them. Organizations can leverage their existing infrastructure to provide for seamless retention of SharePoint content, or “pick a new product that can assist with all of your retention concerns,” Tuip said. He warned that, “eDiscovery is risky. The problem with eDiscovery is that content hides in multiple places. That’s why organizations need an eDiscovery application that provides comprehensive enterprise-wide search queries of the most requested ESI types. A proper eDiscovery application can significantly reduce the collection time associated with lawsuits.”

Tuip concluded: “I love SharePoint. I think that it’s a phenomenal solution. But records managers need to understand that it doesn’t have eDiscovery capabilities, and they’ll have to work with IT to determine how to deal with that.”

What do you think?

Capture 2011: From Imaging to Archive

Coming in Early 2011 -- Actionable ideas for improving document-driven business applications!

TAWPI, IAPP and IARP have joined forces to create Capture 2011 – the premier event on complex data capture and transactional content management. This one-of-a-kind event focuses on emerging technologies and best practices for the automation of critical document-driven applications such as: invoice processing, order entry, application processing, loan processing, tax processing, healthcare payments processing, mailroom automation, payments and more!

Through end-user case study presentations, interactive panel discussions, and visionary keynote presentations, attendees will gain actionable strategies for improving business outcomes in document-driven applications. The event also will feature valuable networking opportunities, and an expo hall in which attendees can see data capture and transactional content management technologies and services firsthand.

Topics covered will include:

• Complex data capture
• Content management
• Workflow/decisioning
• Enterprise data capture
• Information archive/storage/delivery
• Data security/privacy/compliance
• SharePoint optimization

Vertical markets covered:

• Banking/financial services
• Insurance
• Government
• Healthcare
• Service bureaus
• Utilities/telcos
• Retail/mail order
• And more!

Capture 2011 will be an unparalleled event for professionals responsible for managing document-driven business applications. Don’t miss it!

For more details, visit www.tawpi.org or www.iappnet.org.

Specialized document management products challenging ECM mega-suites

Posted by Mark Brousseau

The divide between "Enterprise Content Management Suite" platform vendors and more specialized Document Management product suppliers is becoming more pronounced, giving buyers more choices to address a broad range of content management challenges, according to new research by The Real Story Group (formerly CMS Watch).

The Real Story Group just released its annual Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Document Management Marketplace overviews earlier this week, including "Cross-Check" charts for both sets of vendors. The overviews assess changes that have occurred in the previous 12 months, as well as trends emerging in today's marketplace. This research differs from other market analyses by focusing on needs and impact for the buyers and users of technology, not the sellers. "It's a risk mitigation report," notes Real Story Group analyst Alan Pelz-Sharpe, "giving you an inside look at what is really going on among the vendors and what you need to know to make the right procurement decisions." Given the divide between the more focused Document Management market and ECM suites, The Real Story Group has created two Cross-Checks.

There are no "leading" vendors or "magic" segments here. A vendor's suitability may depend on the enterprise customers' risk profile, as well as the "fit" of the technology itself, which The Real Story Group evaluates in its subscription-based research.

Other key takeaways from this analysis conclude that:

• There is continued consolidation at the top end of the market
• More focused Document Management vendors continue to thrive
• International and non-traditional options (open source/cloud) continue to disrupt both markets
• SharePoint 2010 will be remain a strong contender and competitor — but typically not a replacement system

Just as importantly, the ECM market is strong and continues to grow, with dozens of viable supplier options targeting specific business problems. "When it comes to selecting the best technology for your enterprise, you must look beyond ‘the top right quadrant,’" argues Real Story Group founder Tony Byrne. "Otherwise you'll blind yourself to many other great options."

What do you think?

TAWPI @ AIIM

Posted by Mark Brousseau

Based on what he saw yesterday, Jim Thumma (jthumma@docfinity.com), vice president of sales, marketing and professional services for Optical Image Technology, Inc. (OIT), says it is clear that info 360 – AIIM international’s exposition + conference continues to shrink. Many vendors I spoke with today share his assessment, noting that expo hall traffic has been steady for most of the show, but lighter than in years past.

Thumma’s other observations on info 360:

… “There are lots of companies pushing the cloud,” Thumma said
… Thumma found it ironic that despite all the "squawking" over the past few years about “what SharePoint isn’t,” the SharePoint pavilion was positioned in the front of the expo hall, and featured a cast of companies marketing SharePoint add-ons.
… “There are many old faces here, but also many new faces,” Thumma said.

What did you notice at info 360?

2009 Promises Major Changes

By Mark Brousseau

2009 will bring significant changes to content technology marketplaces, according to independent technology evaluation company, CMS Watch (www.cmswatch.com).

“Obviously the economic slump will continue to influence buyers and vendors,” observes CMS Watch founder Tony Byrne, “but other technology developments – including the rise of mobile analytics and a new version of MS SharePoint – will also significantly affect enterprise calculations.”

CMS Watch offers twelve predictions:

1. Open source Enterprise Content Management (ECM) players get an initial boost
2. Office14 casts long shadow on SharePoint
3. "Taxonomies are dead. Long live meta data!"
4. Regulatory-compliance concerns reignited
5. Renewed interest in pro-active e-discovery
6. SaaS vendors expand offerings
7. Oracle falls behind in battle for knowledge workers
8. New emphasis on application search
9. Social computing diffuses into the Enterprise
10. Mobile and multimedia web analytics become key requirements, disrupters
11. Long-awaited consolidation comes to the WCM space
12. Buyers remain in driver’s seat

CMS Watch principal, Theresa Regli, adds, “The last two predictions are somewhat related – we’re counseling buyers to negotiate aggressively, and some vendors will endure eroding cash flows better than others.”

What do you think? Post your comment below.

Getting the Point!

By Mark Brousseau

More organizations are leveraging Microsoft SharePoint as a common presentation layer for delivering information from disparate enterprise content systems in a highly contextual way.

“Your content and collaboration strategy needs to take into consideration the role of multiple systems serving different needs, but with a strategic vision,” Rob Koplowitz, principal analyst, Forrester Research, Inc. (rkoplowitz@forrester.com), said today during an Information Week WebCast sponsored by ASG Software Solutions.

“Companies see SharePoint as a layer for shared access across systems,” Koplowitz said. “Not only for pulling information from systems, but for presenting the information in a common way. Lots of people are doing lots of interesting things with SharePoint.”

That’s for sure. SharePoint has now surpassed 100 million licenses worldwide, representing more than 17,000 customers with over $1 billion in revenues. What’s more, Microsoft now counts over 3,300 companies as SharePoint partners. “SharePoint is a game-changing platform for Microsoft,” said Adam Morgan, portal, collaboration and search specialist with Microsoft (adam.morgan@microsoft.com).

And SharePoint should continue to move very fast. According to the results of a Forrester survey presented by Koplowitz, 24 percent of organizations said they are ‘immediately’ implementing or upgrading to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. An additional 41 percent of respondents said they will be implementing or upgrading to the platform within six months, and 22 percent said they would be doing so within the next 12 months. Only 7 percent of organizations responding said they have no plans to use the SharePoint platform.

Underlying this demand for Microsoft SharePoint is a renewed interest in enterprise collaboration and document management, Koplowitz said. “Collaboration and content management are becoming increasingly intertwined,” Koplowitz explained. “A new layer of infrastructure is being developed to access and manage content across multiple systems and processes. Users want simplified access or they won’t participate.”

This is the role Microsoft SharePoint is filling, Koplowitz said.

As evidence of the move toward collaboration and content management, Koplowitz shared the results of a Forrester survey showing that 50 percent of organizations said that implementing enterprise collaboration strategies would be among their major technology initiatives for the next 12 months. Thirty-four percent of respondents said it was a priority and 15 percent of respondents said it was a ‘critical priority.’

What’s more, Koplowitz provided the results of another survey revealing that nearly 75 percent organizations will invest in document management solutions in 2008 – topping content and e-mail archiving (66 percent), document imaging (64 percent), Web content management (62 percent), and enterprise content management (60 percent).

What is your organization’s view of Microsoft SharePoint? Post your comment below.