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    A GUIDE TO EVALUATING ENTERPRISECONTENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

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    Preface

    The explosion of information fuelled by the Internet is now driving

    organizations to externalize their business processes in order tocommunicate with and better service their customers, suppliers and

    employees. Capturing, managing and distributing the many forms of

    unstructured documents and "content" now being generated is now

    therefore a crucial requirement for corporate growth and survival.

    Understanding how to apply document, business process and content

    management technologies with the right infrastructure is essential in

    order to integrate both front and back office business processes,

    leverage corporate information assets and establish more effective on-

    line business relationships.

    As an AIIM Advisory Trade Member, Documentum's ECM Evaluation

    Guide is a welcome educational approach and provides a rich source of

    information for organizations now evaluating their information and

    content management goals. This concise and comprehensive guide

    identifies many of the key requirements for an ECM solution and offers

    a framework for evaluating an organizations specific requirements.

    John Symon

    Sr. Vice PresidentAIIM International Europe

    The Enterprise Content Management Association

    A Guide to Evaluation: Enterprise Content Management

    2

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    Index

    Section I - An Overview of Enterprise Content Management

    Introduction 4

    Enterprise Content Management 5Enterprise Document Management 6

    Web Content Management 7Digital Asset Management 8Compliance 9Collaboration 10

    Section II - The Pillars of Content Management

    Architecture 12Scalability 13

    Standards Support 14Usability 15Globalization 16Security and Access Controls 17Library Services 18Business Process Automation 19

    Unlimited Content Types 20XML and Multi-Channel Delivery 21Content Intelligence 22

    Enterprise Integrations 23Cross-Enterprise Collaboration 24Scanning and Imaging 25Records Management 26Development Environment 27

    Support and Market Presence 28

    Summary 29

    A Guide to Evaluation: Enterprise Content Management

    3

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    Introduction

    Purchasing enterprise content management (ECM) software, like any enterprise software,

    represents a major commitment of resources time, money, and staff. This guide will help you

    make an informed purchase decision.

    We have organized the guide in two sections:

    Section I AN OVERVIEW OF ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT

    The definitions of enterprise content management and its components enterprise

    document management, Web content management, digital asset management,

    compliance, and collaboration.

    Read this section to get an understanding of the primary elements of ECM.

    Section II THE PILLARS OF ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT

    A discussion of the capabilities that provide the foundation, or"pillars," of a content

    management solution.

    Here is where youll find help assessing your own ECM requirements and a framework for

    evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of competing solutions. This section includes

    information explaining how Documentums products address each of the pillars of content

    management to provide a unique solution to the challenges of ECM.

    Finally, some advice to keep in mind as you read through the guide. The acquisition of enterprise

    software is often driven by an immediate business need. In evaluating ECM solutions, remember

    that whatever you buy today should not only help you solve todays problem but tomorrows

    as well.

    4

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    Section I AN OVERVIEW OF ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT

    Enterprise Content Management What is it?

    An enterprise content management (ECM) system should be capable of managing all of the unstructured information or

    content in your enterprise. This information exists in many digital forms: text documents, spreadsheets, still images,

    audio and video files, and many other file types and formats. ECM helps you create content with common desktop

    applications like Microsoft Word and easy-to-use content authoring templates. It can also capture and incorporate existing

    content from a variety of sources.

    ECM manages this content and the content from other enterprise applications such as enterprise resource planning,

    customer relationship management and enterprise portals. It adds intelligence, creating categorization schema, metadata,

    and tags that make search and retrieval faster and more efficient. ECM also manages the review, revision, and approval

    process for any piece of content according to user-defined business rules. It manages relationships between pieces of

    content, allowing one piece of content to have multiple identities depending on how it is used in various contexts and

    renditions. This is the object modelof content management. Combined with intelligent content, the object model

    supports efficient repurposing of information.

    ECM also controls the publishing of content through multiple channels. For example, a single piece of content may be

    published simultaneously to a Web site, broadcast as a fax, printed as a text document, and sent to a handheld wireless

    device.

    All of this functionality has one purpose to leverage enterprise knowledge assets for competitive advantage.

    While Documentum takes an enterprise view of managing content, and has designed its platform architecture to manage

    content across the enterprise, you may find it easier to tackle one initiative at a time. Application-specific solutions, based

    on an enterprise ECM system, enable companies to establish a beachhead for ECM in a strategic area, while controlling

    the pace of enterprise deployment.

    Enterprise Content Management5

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    Enterprise Document Management6

    Companies in highly regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, government, and financial services have recognized for

    some time that they require precision content-control solutions. These solutions rely on enterprise document management

    (EDM) to provide verifiable compliance, and to avoid fines and closures that could severely impact profitability and time

    to market. In these organizations it is imperative that content, such as standard operating procedures, material safety data

    sheets, or customer records, is carefully controlled to meet regulatory compliance or quality standards.These organizations,

    in common with many others, share the need to control and distribute critical documents in a systematic fashion. With the

    rise of the Internet and e-commerce, that need has grown dramatically in an increasing number of companies,

    in almost every industry.

    Key Components of an EDM Solution:

    Content creation Integrations with industry-standard authoring tools, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, andMacromedia Dreamweaver

    Version control Enables tracking of major and minor document versions

    Library services Provides check in/check out capabilities and enforces user-specific data models such as virtual

    document management or multi-language rendition management

    Workflow Defines and automates business processes associated with creating and distributing documents

    Lifecycle management Identifies and enforces document stages such as reviewed, approved, published, archived,

    and retired

    Attribute-based and full-text searching Allows users to navigate large sets of information without knowing

    how that information is organized or stored

    Native XML capture and authoring Separates information from layout

    Renditions Creates version in other formats such as PDF and HTML for any channel or device

    Open APIs Enables faster integration with legacy systems and leading business-critical applications

    Standards-compliant architecture Supports XML to create an optimum development environment

    Unlimited scalability Manages billions of information objects

    Global platform Accommodates local language, culture, and currency

    LDAP, SSL, and digital certificate support Essential for electronic submissions and secure e-commerce

    User- and role-based security Controls how documents are reviewed, modified, approved, and published

    Access control lists Creates permission sets for defined groups and facilitates collaboration outside the firewall

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    Web Content Management7

    Application-Specific Solutions

    Your Web site is much more than a company storefront or digital brochure. Its the way you interact with customers. Its

    how prospects learn about your company and your business. And it can be a direct line of communication between you,

    your partners, and your suppliers.

    Deriving maximum value from your Web site requires a Web content management (WCM) system capable of delivering

    dynamic, highly-personalized, multilingual content to individual customers, partners, and suppliers around the world. Web

    content management solutions automate the complex process of creating, managing, and publishing content to Web sites

    and Web applications in multiple languages and locales. Like other enterprise-wide solutions, a WCM solution should

    empower non-technical users through template-based contribution and integration to a wide variety of authoring tools.

    Key Components of a WCM Solution

    Integrated support for desktop authoring tools such as Microsoft Office

    XML template-based contribution for non-technical users

    Browser-based, multilingual Web site administration

    Workflow, lifecycle, translation and locale management

    Integrated graphics and text

    Integration with third-party Web and XML authoring tools

    Automatic generation of application-specific metadata

    Site editions and rollback

    Robust API and support for J2EE development

    Automated conversion to HTML and PDF

    Scalable platform capable of servicing the most visited Web sites

    Native integration with all common Web servers, application servers, personalization servers, portals, directories, and

    databases

    Personalization and customization of content for each user based on profiles and preferences

    Secure delivery to server farms

    Powerful search capabilities

    Dynamic page creation

    Support for industry standards such as WebDAV

    Integrated management of rich media for Web sites

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    Digital Asset Management8

    To efficiently manage graphics files, streaming audio and video, and other rich-media assets, marketing organizations look

    to software applications designed specifically to manage digital assets. Digital asset management (DAM) delivers business

    value and return on investment (ROI) through innovative methods of organizing, distributing, and tracking digital and

    physical media across multiple channels. In addition DAM provides businesses with the ability to move digital content

    efficiently along the supply chain through production, post-production, and distribution processes.

    DAM solutions provide advanced content management capabilities for rich media, allowing companies to streamline and

    unify the management of all multimedia and image-rich content.

    Key Components of a DAM SolutionAsset ingestion Stores, registers, and indexes any digital media asset in a repository

    Asset analysis Indexes each asset as it enters the repository and extracts media-specific properties

    Asset identification Uses metadata and asset proxies (thumbnails, down-sampled audio, and other low resolution

    versions of the primary asset) to quickly locate and identify digital assets

    Asset security Provides a multi-level security model that can be applied to assets, individual users, and user groups

    Batch-mode capture Easily captures, imports, or moves large numbers of files into a repository

    Desktop editing capability Integrates with leading desktop non-linear editing software to

    simplify offline production

    Streaming audio/video Integrates with popular streaming servers, enabling users to view streamed media without

    waiting for long file downloads

    Rendition management Manages related files in multiple formats as a single object, facilitating search,

    reuse, and tracking

    Transformation Automates standard media transformations such as MPEG to AVI, resizing, cropping, etc.

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    Compliance9

    Compliance has become a hot-button issue for companies and organizations in every industry. It was not so long ago that

    compliance primarily concerned a small number of organizations operating in highly regulated environments such as

    pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and government. Today, with the increased focus and sensitivity toward financial and publicly

    disclosed documents, every organization regardless of industry must be concerned with compliance in regard to both

    their own business practices as well as the policies set by industry and regulatory agencies.

    Moreover, in these tough economic times with investors wary of any irregularity, companies need to project absolute

    confidence in the accuracy of any document they create or publish. An ECM solution can help businesses achieve that

    confidence through control of guidelines and procedures. Compliance capabilities enable organizations to automate,

    control, and audit their business processes from the moment content is created to the point it's published

    or eventually archived.

    An ECM system with compliance capabilities allows any organization to:

    Meet your interpretation of regulatory and industry compliance guidelines such as: 21-CFR-Part 11, ISO, SEC, DoD,

    OSHA, HIPAA, and the EPA

    Automate business processes to manage documents through a controlled lifecycle including retention and archival

    Configure audit trails to ensure on-going compliance

    Use digital signatures and encryption for enforced security

    Key Components of a Compliance SolutionRecords management Enables the management of business-related content that, based on predefined business

    rules, cannot be changed or deleted and must be retained over time for administrative, regulatory, or legal requirements.

    Logging and auditing Allows organization to track which files were accessed by whom, how the files were used,

    whether they were printed or e-mailed, and more

    User authentication Provides a mechanism for verifying user identification, typically through user name and

    password, but may involve more elaborate means of identification, such as smart cards or biometrics

    Flexible and secure access control Goes beyond simple read/write access to enable more careful control over

    content; for example: no access, browse, read, relate, version, write, delete

    Strong security Delivers on a key requirement for compliance, especially when information is accessed over publicnetworks such as the Internet

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    Collaboration10

    The old adage, "knowledge is power," is finding expression today in the sharing of ideas, information, and work in

    progress. People are more effective and efficient when they can tap into existing know-how and leverage it in new,

    collaborative-based process. That's why collaboration is behind every new product or service.

    To flourish, though, collaboration depends on the right technology. But many of today's collaboration solutions are

    incomplete for example, they might enable chat and discussion, but not support the capture of these discussions for

    future reference or the ability to turn a discussion into a formal project. Bringing collaboration together with content

    management allows users to pull teams together quickly, involve all participants, leverage all relevant content, and manage

    business processes to completion. Indeed, business requirements are increasingly underscoring the need for

    integration of these two areas.

    Key Components of a Collaboration SolutionReal-time information exchange Supports chat rooms, discussion threads, virtual meetings, application and

    desktop sharing, and white boarding

    Content sharing Allows users to access documents, illustrations, photographs, presentations, animation, and video

    from a variety of sources

    Project-based tools Creates shared workspaces to support project teams and manage the complexity

    of project activity

    Inter-enterprise workflow Enables contributors from any organization anywhere in the world to participate

    seamlessly in collaborative projects

    Virtual teams Provides a workspace for ad hoc assemblies of contributors across functional departments, across

    disparate geographies and time zones, and across separate enterprise organizations

    Integration with ECM platform Leverages core ECM functionality, such as centralized repositories,

    workflows, and library services

    Robust security features Invokes functionality such as SSL encryption and support for digital certificates

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    Enterprise Content Management11

    Section II THE PILLARS OF ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT

    Though you may be evaluating enterprise content management for a variety of applications, there is generally only one

    driver for ECM the strategic necessity of using enterprise knowledge assets for competitive advantage and organizational

    efficiency. Whether its a consumer Web site or corporate portal, a supply chain management application or partner trading

    exchange, youve realized that content structured and unstructured information is either the key to greater business

    efficiency and larger operating margins or the bottleneck that prevents them. Youve also realized that no departmental

    solution can possibly keep pace with the rapid growth of enterprise content. Youll end up with isolated silos of content

    that cant even communicate, much less exchange information.

    So, an enterprise solution is in order. And there are some basic capabilities you should expect from an ECM system. These

    form the necessary foundation, the "pillars" of a content management solution. The pillars do not represent every function

    that an ECM system can possess but, without these features and characteristics, a content management system will not be

    scalable enough, robust enough, or secure enough to deliver trusted and relevant content to your customers, partners,

    suppliers, and employees.

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    Architecture12

    Architecture It Pays to be Demanding

    The single most important aspect of any ECM system is the underlying architecture. With the right architecture, you will be

    able to deploy your system to serve millions of Web-based users, maximize network performance, support global

    operations, and meet your organizations structural and functional requirements. Without the right architecture, your ECM

    solution will be doomed to a lifetime of expensive custom retrofits, patchwork fixes, and subpar performance. In other

    words, it pays to be demanding about architecture.

    Documentums architecture has been honed over the last decade and was initially built on the experience of the founders of

    Documentum who were key engineering executives at a leading relational database management software (RDBMS)

    company. When they left to create Documentum, they understood enterprise software and the importance of architecture.

    Thats why at the core of the Documentum architecture they designed a repository capable of handling 256 penta-objects(256 x 1015 objects), well above the threshold of even the largest enterprise content archives.

    Architectural Flexibility with the Documentum Content Server

    The Documentum repository is delivered through the Content Server, which implements a rich set of content workflow,

    process automation, and content lifecycle services for managing content and business processes within and between

    distributed enterprises. The Content Server supports deployment flexibility with numerous configuration options such as:

    Single Server, Single Repository: This is the simplest configuration, which provides centralized storage, access, and

    management of content using a single repository. The single-server configuration has one instance of a relational database

    for metadata storage and one area for storing content.

    Multi-Server Repository: In this configuration, there are multiple Content Servers in geographically distributed

    locations. This enhances performance by locating a server to process user requests close to a user community. Content

    remains in a single repository.

    Multi-Server Repositories with Distributed Content: Content storage and request processing are handled from

    multiple locations. This optimizes bandwidth usage by reducing the need for large file transfers over the network.

    Multiple Repository Using Replication Services: Replication Services extends the architecture used with

    distributed content to the automatic replication of attribute information. It removes the constraint of using a single

    database for attribute information and enables local servers to function autonomously as well as participate in a distributedenvironment.

    Repository Federations: Repository Federations are groups of cooperating repositories that share common definitions

    to ensure the integrity of cross-repository operations. Users, groups and security settings are defined in a single repository.

    Smooth and consistent operations are ensured throughout the enterprise and between organizations by defining critical

    items once, and applying those definitions across the entire enterprise.

    Documentum Content Server configuration options can be combined and altered to provide the right solution for your

    content management needs today and a future-proof migration path for tomorrow.

    As you evaluate ECM solutions, insist that potential vendors demonstrate the flexibility and scalability of theirarchitecture. More than any other content management component, system architecture is almost impossible to "fix" once

    it's found to be inadequate. As Documentum founder Howard Shao says, "Architecture cannot be an afterthought."

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    Scalability13

    Needed: Room to Grow

    Whether youre considering ECM for customer Web sites, an intranet application, or a business-to-business portal, you can

    be certain of one thing: the amount of content you need to manage will only increase. Industry analysts suggest enterprise

    content will grow more than 200% annually. For that reason alone, its obvious that scalability is a critical issue when

    youre evaluating ECM solutions.

    But growth in sheer content volume is not the only significant factor that can affect ECM performance. You may start out

    with a 100-user system with a single group publishing content to a Web site, but, as you enfranchise contributors across all

    functional areas of your organization and extend that capability to suppliers and partners, user demand grows rapidly.

    Similarly, the richer and more targeted the content on your Web sites, the greater site traffic will be.

    Theres No Substitute for Architecture

    The underlying issue affecting scalability in all of these areas is the architecture of your ECM solution. You need a system

    that is designed to accommodate nearly unlimited growth.

    As discussed in the earlier section on Architecture, Documentum is the most scalable ECM solution on the market. The

    founders of Documentum understood enterprise software and the importance of architecture and scalability.

    Many users discover the importance of scalability the hard way after their needs grow and the system

    they've deployed fails to keep up. True scalability cannot be added to an ECM solution. It is essential to the

    platform on which features are built and extended, and it must be there from the beginning.

    Documentum delivers on scalability by providing a repository with the most scalable architecture on the

    market, capable of handling billions of objects as can be the case when managing XML components.

    Documentum also provides support that can take full advantage of scalable hardware architecture through

    vertical scalability as well as horizontal scalability.

    Horizontal scalability: Each tier of the Documentum platform scales across multiple servers, allowing

    customers to effectively build and grow highly available, low-cost systems with excellent performance.

    Transparent load balancing at each tier helps to provide uniform resource consumption and continuous

    operation for high availability.

    Vertical scalability: Documentum software scales up high-performance servers, facilitating data center

    consolidation and significantly reducing the cost of managing large production environments. The partitioning

    and load balancing used in multi-server environments is also effective when scaling within a large symmetric

    multiprocessing (SMP) host.

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    Standards Support14

    The Importance of Standards

    When youre implementing an ECM system, there will always be risks the technology may not perform as promised or

    the vendor may be unstable. But after purchase, the biggest risk by far surrounds deployment and integration. Existing

    technology infrastructure such as legacy systems and in-place enterprise applications, including customer relationship

    management (CRM) or business intelligence (BI) software, can dramatically increase the complexity of deployment and

    integration. The result? Your costs can skyrocket. Mitigating this risk should be high on your list of priorities when

    selecting an ECM solution.

    The answer to deployment and integration issues is simple: industry standards. Standards protect enterprise investment,

    promote innovation within the industry, and make it easier for vendors to support the products they sell. If a content

    management solution is not standards-based, if it relies on a proprietary programming language or stores content in non-

    standard file formats, it subjects the potential user to two risks. First, initial deployment and integration may require

    substantial custom programming to work around inherent incompatibilities with existing technologies. Second, any future

    technology decision will be impacted by the need to accommodate a proprietary solution.

    The ECM market is maturing and standards have evolved that the majority of enterprise software companies and their

    partners adhere to. Many of these standards are de facto rather than de jure but, nevertheless, they have gained broad

    acceptance. As a result, their use eases integration and speeds deployment.

    Documentum Standards-Based from the Ground Up

    The Documentum ECM platform is thoroughly standards-based and integrates support for the following standards and

    widely-used programming languages in its core architecture: XML, XSLT, DOM, COM, SAX2, DTD, VB, ODMA, J2EE,

    Java, HTML, C, and C++. Additionally, via Content Distribution Services Documentum provides a set of content delivery

    services to securely syndicate content to partners and affiliates. This enables the subscription to, and publication of,

    content based on ICE, HTTP, and FTP protocols.

    Documentum also participates in standards-setting bodies such as the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC) and

    XML.org. These organizations promote the development and acceptance of uniform standards and provide a forum for

    industry members to address relevant technology issues.

    For example, Documentum is a founding member of XML.org, an industry Web portal operated by the Organization for

    the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). XML.org provides accurate, timely information about the

    application of XML in industrial and commercial settings and serves as a reference archive for XML specifications such as

    vocabularies, DTDs, schemas, and namespaces.

    Support for industry standards is a key factor in the evaluation of any ECM solution. Documentum not only adheres to

    industry standards and participates in standards-setting organizations but has one of the most open and published APIs of

    any ECM vendor, making rapid integration with enterprise applications a reality.

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    Usability15

    Most likely your organization has a heterogeneous population of potential system users from IT personnel and

    developers to non-technical staff in many functional departments. Your content management solution must address the

    needs and provide the right interface for each constituency.

    For Every User There is an Interface

    Power users need a full-featured interface with the content repository. Depending on a user's security profile, the

    Documentum Administrator gives full control of key library services. These services include creating workflows, assigning

    business process rules, managing relationships between content objects, and handling transformations from one content

    type to another.

    For content contributors (typically non-technical users who work primarily with business applications), Documentum

    Desktop provides an intuitive interface to the repository using a file/folder structure that makes navigation straightforward

    and familiar. Documentum Desktop follows the Windows Explorer paradigm, which enables business users and content

    contributors to work comfortably in a familiar Windows environment. Documentum Desktop also provides tight

    integration with the Microsoft Office suite of applications. For example, content can be created with Microsoft Word and

    Microsoft Excel and saved to a Documentum repository from within the application window by simply clicking the File

    menu and selecting the appropriate item: Check In as New Document, for example. Check in/Check out, Search, Document

    Properties, and other functions are all available from the dropdown menus of Word, Excel, and other Microsoft

    applications.

    Documentum Webtop is ideal for users who prefer the point-and-click navigational ease of a Web interface based on J2EE

    architecture. Business users access content via check-in and check-out mechanisms that promote content integrity. System

    administrators can easily and quickly deploy Webtop through an enterprise user community while maintaining access

    security. Webtop provides two types of views of the content in Documentum repository: the Classic View for experienced

    users and the Streamlined View with a particularly easy-to-use new user interface paradigm.

    Documentum Web Publisher gives business users an efficient, browser-based tool for creating Web content. Contribution

    templates enable non-technical content authors to submit content to any Web site, intranet, or extranet. The enhanced

    translation feature in Web Publisher eases the process of viewing and adding translations and requesting them from outside

    providers via workflows. The advanced edition also provides administration capabilities and rich media services.

    Documentum Content Services for Portals such as BEA WebLogic Portal enable users to access a secure Documentum

    content repository and leverage powerful Documentum enterprise content management tools and processes as portlets from

    within the portal. Documentum portlets allow companies to easily incorporate content management services in their

    corporate portal, transforming the portal into a dynamic center for content-driven business processes such as real-time

    contract negotiation, supply chain management, and global project management.

    The flexibility of the Documentum API and Web Development Kit (WDK) allow all of the Documentum clients to be

    customized or extended to meet particular technical or business needs. In addition, a large number of third-party products,

    which focus on specific content management dimensions such as creation, capture, management, delivery, and archival are

    integrated with the Documentum repository. In fact, there is virtually no standards-based enterprise application or

    development tool that cannot be used with Documentum.

    Without users, no ECM solution can deliver its promised benefits. Usability is the lynchpin that connects the system to the

    enterprise. Make sure your system makes the connection with the entire range of business and technical users.

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    Globalization16

    Today, organizations frequently look beyond their geographic borders for new markets. Obviously, the Internet is emerging

    as the pre-eminent vehicle to reach those markets. Although at present the Web is predominantly an English language

    medium, 70 percent of all Web users speak little or no English. In fact, of those for whom English is not native but who

    speak it passably or well, 80 percent still prefer to transact business in their native tongue.

    Clearly, organizations that adopt an English-only approach are ignoring, and perhaps insulting, a significant number of

    potential customers. Interaction, persistency, and transaction rates all increase significantly when non-English speaking

    users have content in their native language. If your business has global aspirations, it makes sense to present your products

    and services with multilingual content.

    Multilingual content delivery will soon become an essential part of your channel strategy. Unfortunately, the majority of

    content management systems have not been adequately designed with globalization in mind.

    Delivering Content Management to Global Organizations

    Since Documentum serves so many global organizations, the challenges of globalization have been driving our product

    development efforts for quite some time. One of the key requirements of a globalized content management system is a

    repository that can store and manage multilingual content.The Documentum content repository is Unicode-compliant

    using the universal transformation format-8 (UTF-8), which means it can support single-byte languages such as English,

    French, and Italian, and double-byte languages like Korean and Kanji.

    Documentum also enables multilingual rendition management, a unique feature, which provides the ability to manage

    relationships between objects as well as manage multilingual renditions whereby changes to base content are intelligently

    linked to versions in different languages.

    To accommodate local language and culture, Documentum Inter-Enterprise Workflow Services extends workflow

    capabilities to third-party translators and content providers. Documentum also provides a localized user interface in

    French, German, Spanish, Italian, Kanji, and Korean.

    Without adequate content management support, publishing and supporting Web sites in multiple languages often results in

    obsolete content, embarrassing translations, and time-consuming manual updates. Documentum automates the publishing

    process using sets of business rules for each Web site called "locale fallback" rules that determine which content is

    deployed and help to ensure that only appropriate content is presented. The fallback rules are locale-dependent and reflect

    the language and culture of the region.

    For example, using Documentum, a company's Japanese Web site may share common translated content with its English

    counterpart as well as specific localized content. Shared content is automatically synchronized all sites, regardless of

    language, have the most up-to-date version. Localized content will have its own lifecycle and business rules. If the relevance

    of localized content expires, fallback rules ensure it can be replaced automatically with properly translated generic content.

    The Documentum approach to globalized content management addresses the complexity of doing business in an

    international environment where language, culture, and regulatory requirements may differ substantially from country to

    country. If you are a global enterprise without a global content management system, consider the opportunities you may be

    missing.

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    Security and Access Control17

    The Paradox of Security

    Leveraging knowledge assets requires an unrestricted flow of information. That is one of the great benefits of content

    management systems: they enable and control that flow. But what about security? This is the paradox of content

    management. How do you enable wider access to your content while protecting it from unauthorized access?

    Security takes many forms. Content must be secure in the repository. The process of staging and publishing content to the

    Web or through other remote channels must be secure. And collaborative content exchange must be secure for you, your

    partners, and your suppliers.

    Reliable Security for Your ContentSecurity does not need to be complicated to be effective. The Documentum security model is easy to apply and is

    implemented using the operating systems password control mechanism. This simplifies password administration and aging.

    Documentum employs a combination of user- and role-based access control, as well as basic and extended permissions to

    determine who has right of entry to content and what actions can be taken with it. Access control lists (ACLs) determine

    right of entry and can be set up to screen by individual user or by role. For example, a content ACL could be set up that

    allowed only vice presidents and above to have access. An ACL can be applied manually or automatically when content is

    created and can be inherited by sub-classifications of content. Every piece of content is governed by an ACL.

    Once access is defined, Documentum applies permissions. Permissions define what actions a user can take with any content

    object or group of objects. There are seven levels of basic permission:

    None User cannot see object contents or attributes

    Browse User can see object but not open it

    Read User can open object in read-only state

    Relate User can annotate object

    Version User can create a new version of object

    Write User can change current version of object

    Delete User has full access to object, including the ability to remove it from the repository

    Extended permissions, usually part of a system administrators role, include: change location, change date, change

    permission, and change owner. Documentum also supports light directory access protocol (LDAP), secure sockets layer(SSL), digital certificates, and electronic signatures, which are necessary for the approval of electronic content to meet

    regulatory requirements.

    Make sure your content management solution solves the paradox of security accelerating the flow of information

    without risking the value of your information assets.

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    Library Services18

    How the Work Gets Done

    From an every day use perspective, library services are at the core of what an ECM solution actually does with your

    content. Wherever your content is published (on a trading exchange, Web site or intranet, or to a handheld device) and in

    whatever form (hard copy, Web page, CD-ROM or multi-media presentation), if you want to manage, leverage, modify, and

    control that content, you need library services.

    Library services is the collective name for a set of basic, but mandatory capabilities that ensure the integrity and security of

    your content. These capabilities include:

    Check In/Check Out: This is the most fundamental task of an ECM system getting content into and out of the

    repository. Check in/check out maintains read only and edit states, locks content while in use to prevent accidental deletionand overwriting, and ensures that locks on content are visible and understood.

    Version Control: As content is created, reviewed and modified, versions proliferate. An ECM system must keep track of

    them, maintaining an audit history that includes all versions and renditions. Version control supports the pruning of

    unwanted versions and the ability to roll back to earlier versions. Version control should also enable security to be applied

    on a per-version basis.

    Rendition Management: Renditions are different forms of the same content. For example, a Microsoft Word

    document could have an HTML rendition and a PDF rendition. A robust ECM system should streamline the automatic

    creation of renditions and maintain their relationship to the original content. This requires a content repository that can

    manage complex content objects.

    Annotations: Content review and approval often requires the ability to annotate a piece of content. An ECM solution

    should support leading annotation tools such as Infodata AnnoDoc. Annotations should be stored as separate objects and

    related to the document version for which they were created. These objects can be versioned and will have their own

    metadata, making them searchable.

    Virtual Document Management (VDM): Virtual document management builds on the relational object model of

    the ECM architecture. It enables content objects to be organized, assembled, and published as a single structure without

    copying or moving the original objects. The virtual document is a concept that is only realized when it is published. Each

    rendition of a virtual document becomes part of the complex identity of each component object. Changes to any of the

    original objects are immediately reflected in the compound structure. Examples include an intricate contract that

    incorporates language from many parts of an organization, a new drug application, or a manufacturing specification.

    Virtual documents are subject to security, version control, workflow and so on, just like any object in the repository.

    Whether you are dealing with Web content, traditional documents, rich media assets, or a combination of the three, library

    services do a lot of the heavy lifting in an enterprise content management system. Documentum has the most powerful

    suite of library services of any ECM solution on the market. Be sure your solution is up to the challenge.

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    Business Process Automation19

    Business Process Automation the Secret to ROI

    In ECM, the control and management of content over its lifecycle from creation, review, and delivery to archiving and

    retirement is called business process automation. If an ECM solution delivers business process automation that is

    powerful, flexible, and easy to use, genuine operational benefits can be achieved throughout your business. Business process

    automation increases the number of content touch points contributors throughout an organization who can be

    involved in the creation and use of enterprise content. Business process automation can:

    Enable compliance for companies in highly regulated industries while promoting good business practice throughout

    the enterprise

    Improve qualityby routing key business documents through the appropriate review and approval processes

    Boost productivityby enabling users to access and repurpose critical information stored in business documents

    Increase operational efficiencyand collaboration among all users, including remote employees and external

    suppliers and partners

    Setting the Standard for Business Process Automation

    The Documentum approach to business process automation comprises three elements: content lifecycle management,

    workflow, and Documentum Inter-Enterprise Workflow Services. It is an approach that has been refined from the

    company's early days as an innovator in traditional document management to its emergence today as a leader in enterprise

    content management.

    Content lifecycle management is an automated management of content from testing and staging through approval,

    publishing, and retirement, while enforcing security with audit trails and sign-off capabilities. Lifecycles are configured with

    a graphical editor and are easy to use. Content is routed automatically and all assigned attributes such as review, edit,

    approve, and publish are enforced by predetermined business rules.

    Workflow, another critical component of automation, moves content through business processes for review, approval, and

    security at each stage. Documentum provides predefined workflow templates that can be easily customized with drag-and-

    drop elements representing typical workflow tasks. Workflows can be modeled to mirror an organization's existing

    business processes. Complex workflows can be broken down into smaller, contingent workflows that are activated when

    certain milestone tasks are completed. Both workflow and lifecycle can be used either independently or in combination.

    The workflow model within Documentum is augmented by Inter-Enterprise Workflow Services, an extension of the

    Documentum platform that allows an organization to maintain control of a workflow even when the associated tasks have

    been allocated to outside suppliers or partners. Inter-Enterprise Workflow Services enables organizations beyond the

    enterprise firewall to contribute approved content to a common repository and participate in Web content management

    and collaboration processes without additional software investment.

    Documentum Inter-Enterprise Workflow Services require only a simple e-mail system or Internet access at each partner

    location. By implementing workflow automation with Inter-Enterprise Workflow Services, trading partners can exchange

    content safely and securely while deliverables are met on time at each end of the exchange. Where security is critical, Inter-

    Enterprise Workflow Services encrypts content through a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and supports digital certificates to

    authenticate users and content.

    The set of product features that enable business process automation must carry a heavy load if ECM systems are to deliver

    measurable ROI. When evaluating ECM, make sure your choice is up to the task.

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    Unlimited Content Types20

    Content Variety is the Rule not the Exception

    Enterprise content is heterogeneous. Marketing departments rely on tools such as Quark, Adobe Photoshop, and Microsoft

    Office and routinely work with jpeg, avi, mpeg, pdf, and standard text files. In R&D and engineering, youll find CAD

    drawings and Microsoft Project files. In the manufacturing plant, batch records are the norm, while throughout every facet

    of the organization XML is becoming the de facto standard for inter-enterprise collaboration. Multi-channel delivery

    requires HTML, Wireless Markup Language (WML), Smart Management Interface Local Exchange (SMILE), and a host of

    other formats and emerging standards.

    When you evaluate ECM solutions, keep in mind the range of content formats that need to be supported and the depth of

    support required. And dont forget you not only need to be concerned with what formats a system will support today

    but also how easily that system can accommodate new content types tomorrow.

    Documentum Engineered for the Future of Content

    The ability to manage multiple content types effectively is not something that should be added on to an ECM solution.

    Every time you "bolt" a technology to your content management system for the purpose of handling a specific content

    type, you are laying the groundwork for problems in the future.

    Out of the box, Documentum natively supports more than 250 formats and, just as important, the ability to add new

    content types, a core feature of the platform. All Documentum content management technology, including access control,

    workflow, lifecycle, is common to all these content types without the need for any point solutions. When content types

    require unique services, Documentum provides specialized functionality as a seamlessly integrated solution.

    For example, photographs, illustrations, music, animation, video these forms of media are now commonly created or

    rendered in digital formats and used across a variety of channels: on the Web, in print advertising, on product packaging, in

    television or radio spots. Digital technology provides companies in all industries with a powerful vehicle for promoting

    products and services, educating employees, and establishing global brand recognition. For these companies, dealing

    effectively with rich media can be even more critical than traditional document or Web content management and,

    particularly on a large scale, infinitely more complex.

    But digital assets present a number of management challenges:

    Categorizing and indexing files with media-specific properties and metadata to accelerate searching

    Eliminating the need for expensive talent to perform menial tasks such as image resizing

    Tracking assets through multiple distribution channels to protect copyright infringement

    Documentum delivers specific capabilities for managing rich media assets such as asset registration and analysis, batch-

    mode capture, integration with leading desktop non-linear editing software, rendition management, and file transformation

    profiles. By extending the value of rich media assets, Documentum helps organizations realize new revenue streams from

    their digital assets, improve operational efficiency, and increase ROI.

    New content formats will continue to emerge. If your ECM solution cannot keep up, its value to the enterprise will be

    significantly diminished.

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    XML and Multi-Channel Delivery21

    XML the Lingua Franca of E-Business

    Extensible Markup Language (XML) is fast becoming the standard format for e-business content creation, management,

    and delivery. As you evaluate ECM systems, you need to understand the depth of support for XML that each solution

    offers. As the e-commerce marketplace matures and standards are broadly adopted, XML will become increasingly

    important in all e-business transactions.

    Since XML separates format from content, it enables the enterprise to leverage its knowledge assets more effectively

    through content reuse and multi-channel publishing. And, the acceptance of XML as the language of e-business has made it

    a platform-neutral mechanism for facilitating information exchange. This characteristic of XML makes it easier for

    organizations to collaborate, speeding product development and decreasing time to market.

    The flexibility that XML brings to content creation, reuse, and exchange, demands a content management system that not

    only handles XML but exploits it.

    Documentum Unrivalled Support for XML

    Documentum supports XML natively at the object level and applies a full suite of content management functions such as

    workflow, lifecycle automation, security, library services, and full-text searching to XML content. Documentum also

    features integration with leading XML editors such as Arbortext Epic and Corel XMetaL, while Documentum

    WebPublisher application provides template editors to speed the capture of XML content.

    Documentum features XML chunking, which allows the storage and retrieval of discrete XML components. This greatly

    streamlines and accelerates the assembly of custom renditions for multi-channel delivery. For example, with Documentum

    support for Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT), you can transform XML to Hypertext Markup

    Language (HTML) for Web presentation or to Wireless Markup Language (WML) for delivery to wireless devices. With

    XML, content can be created once and leveraged anywhere, enabling a richer user experience for your customers,

    employees and business partners.

    The future of e-business will be written in XML. Make sure your enterprise content management solution speaks the

    language natively.

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    Content Intelligence22

    Intelligent Content The Key to Successful Personalization,

    Search, and Navigation

    Content intelligence is the ability to provide structure for unstructured content a process enabled by the intelligent and

    automated tagging and categorizing of business content for personalized delivery and easy searching. Tagging and

    categorizing content with rich metadata makes it available for reuse across multiple initiatives such as customer and

    employee portals, custom applications, and personalized sites where capabilities such as precise search, easy navigation, and

    personalization are critical to productivity and customer satisfaction. By extending the value of content through reuse,

    content intelligence also cuts the costs of recreating information.

    Despite the importance of intelligent content, generating it can be a challenge. Manual content tagging and categorization

    are time-consuming and require individuals to make consistent decisions across an enormous amount of information. If

    overall categorization schemas, content metadata, and business rules must change to meet market opportunities, manual

    systems are an even greater liability. While one enterprise struggles to deliver more precise content targeting or

    accommodate channel-specific applications, another brings a new product to market and gains first-mover advantage.

    The difference is an automated, enterprise-scale content management system that embeds intelligence in every content

    object enabling personalized delivery, facilitating and accelerating reuse, and enriching customer applications. So, your

    choice of a content management solution will be a critical factor in the success of any personalization technologies you

    deploy.

    As businesses adjust to the demands of e-commerce and globalization, one of the defining trends in the marketplace will be

    how well they exploit their knowledge assets for competitive advantage.

    Best-of-Breed Content Intelligence Capabilities

    Documentum Content Intelligence Services (CIS), a high-performance extension of the Documentum platform, automates

    and controls the tagging and categorization of enterprise content. Automated tagging and categorization capabilities

    analyze content for concepts and keywords, storing the results as tags and mapping the content to folders.

    And unlike point solutions that focus only on departmental challenges or Web content, Documentum CIS automates

    tagging, categorization, and taxonomy management across the enterprise for all content types, such as XML components,

    text documents,Web pages, and digital assets.

    Documentum also offers seamless integration with personalization servers such as ATG Dynamo, IBM WebSphere, and

    BEA WebLogic. These servers excel at targeting content to particular users or groups of users, enabling precise search and

    retrieval, subscription-based services, and portal and data mining applications.

    As businesses adjust to the demands of e-commerce and globalization, personalization, search, and navigation will become

    more and more crucial to success in the marketplace. Effective personalization, search, and navigation are a direct result of

    exploiting knowledge assets for competitive advantage, a result that relies heavily on powerful, intelligent content

    management.

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    Enterprise Integrations23

    No Application is an Island

    To be accurately termed enterprise class, a software application must integrate easily with other enterprise applications.

    This is especially true for enterprise content management software because the very nature of ECM is to enable other

    processes and functions. Applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management

    (CRM) can be consumers as well as contributors of content so it is absolutely essential that your ECM solution feature an

    infrastructure that enables seamless integration.

    Documentum Built to Integrate

    With out-of-the-box integrations for many key enterprise applications, the Documentum platform is the most open and

    flexible on the market today. Its open APIs and standards-based Web Development Kit provide a platform on which

    systems integrators and customers alike can also build custom integrations.

    The Documentum integration with SAP, for example, provides users the content they need to leverage SAP effectively. ERP

    solutions cannot function optimally without an underpinning of trusted content. Finance tasks require customer statements

    and invoices. Logistics require facility drawings. Production requires engineering drawings and parts lists. A common

    repository for this content helps organizations maximize their investment in ERP. With Documentum, content can be

    located easily and published seamlessly from within an ERP application. It can be linked to ERP objects, and primary

    repository services such as check in/check out, version control, and workflow can be abstracted to the ERP layer.

    The Siebel CRM application is fast becoming the de facto standard for managing customer relationships electronically. Yet

    CRM applications in general are not particularly adept at managing unstructured content, although virtually all

    communication with a customer comes in some unstructured form text documents, e-mail, faxes, digital images, even

    recorded phone conversations. Because Documentum manages all content types seamlessly, its integration with Siebel brings

    together the richness of unstructured content with the power of CRM to provide a 360-degree view of a customer.

    ECM integration is equally important to the way a customer or prospect interacts with your organization. For instance, if

    the channel of choice is the Internet, you will probably be using some combination of application server, commerce server,

    and personalization server. Documentum is tightly integrated with the leading application servers such as BEA WebLogic,

    IBM WebSphere, Oracle 9iAS, and Sun ONE.

    The Documentum Portal Integration Pack allows portal vendors to write integrations to the content management functions

    of Documentum. For example, Documentum portlets for the BEA WebLogic portal server expose core content managementcapabilities such as inbox, workflow, and version control. Plumtree has created gadgets that serve the same purpose,

    allowing basic Documentum functionality to be exposed through the portal interface. Beyond the portlets, Documentum

    can power enterprise portals with content in a way similar to the application server integration.

    No matter how robust an ECM solution, it cannot provide value across the enterprise unless it is designed to integrate with

    other enterprise applications. Along with industry standards and the ability to manage all content types, integration

    capability is a must have for enterprise content management solutions.

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    Cross-Enterprise Collaboration24

    Enabling the Connected Enterprise

    Value chain optimization demands a high level of enterprise fitness, and this is where ECM applications must live up to

    their name. Being an enterprise application does not mean simply delivering integrated capabilities for each department

    within a company. It means providing flexible and extensible applications that help a company become an enterprise in

    the larger context, existing profitably within its competitive ecosystem. In other words, an ECM application must

    contribute to a high level of enterprise fitness.

    Documentum approaches enterprise fitness with an infrastructure that enables native XML content capture and authoring,

    and a set of content exchange services. There are three elements to these services: inter-enterprise workflow, content

    aggregation, and content distribution.

    Documentum Inter-Enterprise Workflow Services, described earlier in our discussion of business process automation,

    enables secure collaboration in any business process that relies on content, such as approving a production specification,

    completing an RFP, revising a technical drawing, or publishing an online catalog. Engagement Services manages the

    collaborative transfer of content, keeping control of workflow and managing associated lifecycle services.

    Documentum Content Aggregation Services enables automatic gathering of content from partners. With Content

    Aggregation Services, customers can automatically receive the latest documentation, test reports, data sheets, availability,

    and other information about the material from their suppliers. This process allows organizations to eliminate any

    inconsistencies and increase efficiencies by automating the business processes between partners.

    Documentum Content Distribution Services takes care of the automation, regulation, monitoring, and control of contentdistribution to partners and customers. For example, Content Distribution Services can help companies prepare and publish

    content from multiple repositories (such as sports news, fund prospectuses, or product catalogs), and allow customers,

    partners, and other constituents to subscribe to these content offers. This allows organizations to streamline partnerships,

    reduce costs, and increase operating efficiencies by securely expanding their business networks.

    Your choice of an enterprise content management system needs to take into account the level of enterprise fitness your

    particular ecosystem requires. Business-to-business integration is essential to unfettered value chain optimization.

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    Scanning and Imaging25

    Discarding the Paper Weight

    With all the noise generated about the paperless economy, it's sometimes easy to forget how dependent business still is on

    paper-based transactions. From bid proposals, purchase orders, and invoices to legal documents, inter-office memos, and

    SOPs, printed and hand-written forms consume reams and reams and reams of paper in every office where business is

    conducted. Large warehouses still store and archive this paper by the ton.

    Relative to electronic systems, paper-based transactions are extraordinarily costly and inefficient. Storage is just one

    problem. Perhaps more critical is the difficulty of locating information that only exists in paper format. But because

    paper-based transactions are still a necessary part of business, it would be impractical today to consider

    eliminating paper entirely.

    Enterprise content management with integrated scanning and imaging functionality removes some of the costs and

    inefficiencies associated with paper and may allow you to discard some of those ubiquitous paper weights that serve no

    other purpose known to man.

    And Reducing the Paper Wait

    The combination of scanning and imaging software and an ECM system allows you to convert paper-based forms (as well

    as film, microfiche, and faxes) into electronic images that can be analyzed, indexed, attributed, filed appropriately, and

    stored securely. An ECM system like Documentum enables users to quickly search for and locate information based on the

    attributes of scanned images. Users can apply security, version control, and lifecycles to this content, ensuring that it's

    accessed only by appropriate personnel, that various versions are managed together, and that it's safely archived when

    appropriate.

    Archiving alone can save a tremendous amount of space and money, but other features, such as the ability to annotate

    scanned images and route them through workflow processing, can make the entire organization far more efficient. For

    instance, automated workflow can help ensure that paper forms are routed immediately to the people who are waiting to

    review them as soon as they're captured, eliminating the problem of vital information piling up in someone's inbox while

    that person takes a nice, long vacation.

    Only Documentum provides the technologies required to capture and fully manage hardcopy information. The close

    relationship between Documentum and Captiva allows Documentum to resell InputAccel, the leading solution for scanning

    and imaging paper-based information. Together, Documentum and Captiva InputAccel provide the highest performance,high-scale scanning solution on the market serving organizations that scan thousands of documents each day, processing

    any document type, providing validation before content enters Documentum, and converting image files and values into

    Documentum objects and attributes.

    Make sure you have the tools to quickly turn paper into managed, business-ready content and eliminate the wait too

    often associated with paper-based processes.

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    Records Management26

    Spotlight on Corporate Records

    In today's tough economic climate with investors wary of corporate impropriety, careful management of business records

    has become a paramount concern. Eager to boost investor and public confidence, companies large and small now place a

    premium on the ability to present records on demand, comply with regulatory requirements, respond quickly to litigation

    and implement good business practices.

    Records management is the management of business-related content that, based on predefined business rules, cannot be

    changed or deleted and must be retained over time for administrative, regulatory, or legal requirements. Records

    management software solutions automate the generation of records at any stage of the business process, their enforcement

    of business rules, and the corresponding disposition of content, including content deletion and destruction.

    How does records management relate to enterprise content management? They're driven from common requirements to

    manage the complete lifecycle of content from its creation and active use through its archival and eventual destruction. But

    while enterprise content management is primarily concerned with control of dynamic content, records management is

    focused on the automatic generation, retention, and ultimate disposition of records in all formats at any stage of the

    content lifecycle. Integration of the two technologies provides better application functionality and a more complete overall

    solution for managing the entire lifecycle of content.

    TrueArc and Documentum: Leaders in RM and ECM

    TrueArc is the category leader in records management (RM) and is the leading worldwide provider of electronic records

    management and digital preservation software. With its acquisition of TrueArc, Documentum provides a complete,

    enterprise-class record management solution that enables customers to ensure compliance with standards and regulations,

    protect against costly and time-consuming litigation, mitigate the risk of non-compliance, and enhance and protect the

    corporate image.

    The combined Documentum/TrueArc product offering enables organizations to:

    Manage all physical and electronic records from creation through archiving or destruction

    Apply record-keeping rules uniformly and automatically

    Safeguard and access relevant records, linking records with related business content, without incurring steep

    administration and storage costs

    Produce records on-demand, recover deleted content and prove missing records and content were destroyedappropriately, reducing the risks of associated litigation and fines

    Protect intellectual property

    Archiveor destroy records after their administrative, regulatory, or legal retention periods have elapsed

    When investors, accountants, or regulators come knocking, will you have the answers to their questions? Records

    management integrated with ECM can provide the tools to find any archived record quickly or provide justification for

    when and why it was destroyed. Your business may depend on it.

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    Development Environment27

    The Development Environment Friend or Foe?

    Regardless of the depth and breadth of a particular ECM solution, it is unlikely that any offering will meet your specific

    requirements exactly. During deployment, either you or your integration partner will inevitably need to do some type of

    customization. It may be simply a look-and-feel issue or something more fundamental such as integrating with a legacy

    system and the business processes unique to your company.

    When you purchase an ECM system, you are purchasing a development environment as well. It is this environment, as

    much as the core ECM system, which can make or break the overall success of a deployment. Therefore, it will pay big

    dividends in the long run to thoroughly understand the strengths and weaknesses of your ECM system's development

    environment. The ideal development environment is open and flexible based on industry standards that allow developers

    to use a rich tool set in tackling the challenges of customization.

    Documentum Built as a True Platform

    Documentum is committed to open standards and nowhere more so than in the Documentum development environment.

    All of Documentum's capability is provided through an API that is exposed as a set of Java classes with a COM-based

    wrapper for VB/C++ programmers. In Documentum 5, Documentum introduces a new Business Objects Framework that

    allows developers to build reusable business objects that significantly simplify the development of content applications

    while facilitating their interoperability. A J2EE compliant Web Development Kit has been built on top of the core API

    which essentially provides a set of pre-built components and UI elements for content contribution capability and is

    provided in the form of Servlets, JSPs, and Java Beans.

    The Web Development Kit is also used to build generic "portlets" that can be integrated with a number of enterprise

    portals. Documentum also provides developers with a JDBC interface built on top of the core API that allows content and

    metadata to be retrieved directly from the repository or from Documentum Site Caching Services. Other open standard

    protocols allowing access to Documentum repository include FTP, ODBC, and WebDAV. Finally, Documentum's Web

    services initiative exposes the functionality provided in Documentum business objects as Web services.

    Along with architecture, scalability, and standards, a flexible development environment is critical to maximizing ECM

    return on investment over the long haul. Make sure you don't overlook this essential component.

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    Support and Market Presence28

    After the Sale, Then What?

    Although architecture, standards, and product functionality will logically be at the top of your list of ECM evaluation

    criteria, product support and less tangible factors such as market reputation and financial stability should also be given

    serious consideration. For example, poor support can impair the rollout of any enterprise application, regardless of how

    perfectly the product meets your needs. Enterprise content management is no exception to this rule.

    A product without a large installed base also poses problems. For one, it limits your access to trained consultants and IT

    staff. Also, your opportunities for sharing best practices with other users are equally limited. Further, a market leader

    attracts other leading vendors to work with it, easing integration issues. Successful integration between the content

    management system and the architectures of other enterprise technologies, such as application servers and personalization

    engines, is much more likely with market leaders.

    Documentum A Leader in Every Category

    Fortunately, with Documentum none of these issues is a concern. Documentum has the largest installed base of any ECM

    solution in the market and the company has a very proactive technical outreach program for developers and IT

    professionals. Documentum R&D spending has always been robust and continues to be a priority.

    In terms of support, Documentum offers a comprehensive yet flexible array of options designed to help customers, IT

    professionals, developers, and partners achieve maximum value and ROI from Documentum. We recognize that

    requirements for technical support can vary enormously from business to business and can change as businesses grow and

    adapt to competitive pressures. Our goal is to give you the level of support you need when you need it.

    We offer several tiered levels of support:

    Standard Support Services The cornerstone of our customer support program, which provides expert

    troubleshooting and the answers you need to ensure smooth installation and productive operation of your ECM solution.

    Key features include free upgrades and maintenance releases, round-the-clock Web access to the Documentum knowledge

    base, and expert technical support via phone during normal local business hours.

    Extended Support Designed to meet the needs of businesses that delay product upgrades but need to ensure

    continued, smooth operation of their Documentum deployment.

    Mission-Critical Support Access our worldwide technical support network 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for

    lightening-fast response to critical problems.

    Developer Support Leverage our development knowledge and experience with the latest technical tools andcapabilities to streamline and accelerate your development process and ensure maximum coding efficiency and quality.

    Enterprise Support A standard requirement for mission-critical applications, providing you with maximum

    performance and minimal downtime from your Documentum application.

    Documentum has support centers located in Australia, Germany, UK, and North and South America enabling worldwide

    support. In addition, Documentum has technical support partners to expand language and support coverage throughout

    AsiaPacific and EMEA.

    Your ECM vendor should meet as high a standard in support, financial stability, and market presence as it does in product

    functionality. If it doesnt, the future success of your ECM deployment is in jeopardy.

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    ECM facilitates the management, distribution, and exchange of large volumes of content within and beyond the enterprise

    to customers, employees, partners, and suppliers. Certain basic features are necessary for an ECM solution to deliver

    tangible benefits to the organization, and these features have been identified in our guide.

    These capabilities are required whether you are considering content management for digital assets, a portal, a customer

    Web site, or document management. Not all ECM products have the same technical strengths so its important when

    evaluating solutions to compare them in the context of your individual requirements.

    If you would like more information about the topics covered here or would like to find out how Documentum can help

    you evaluate your content management needs, simply email us at [email protected] or contact one of the

    regional Documentum offices listed below.

    Documentum, Inc.6801 Koll Center ParkwayPleasanton, CA 94566-7047

    phone (925) 600-6800fax (925) 600-6850www.documentum.com

    Documentum in the U.K.phone +44-208-867-5145fax +44-208-867-3030www.documentum.co.uk

    Documentum in Francephone +33-1-55-20-2200fax +33-1-55-20-2222www.documentum.fr

    Documentum in Germanyphone +49-89-6-66-81-178fax +49-89-6-66-81-111www.documentum.de

    Documentum in Japanphone +81-3-5716-5212fax +81-3-5716-3850

    www.documentum.co.jp

    Documentum in Koreaphone +82-2-780-4660fax +82-2-780-5802www.documentum.co.kr

    Documentum in Australiaphone +61-3-9684-9700fax +61-3-9684-9701www.documentum-sea.com

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