CM Tools Seek Niches

IT managers seeking specialized content management software products saw new possibilities at the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas last week.

Interactive Networks Inc., of Montevideo, Uruguay, released a platform for content management called MasterWeb, while Equilibrium Inc. debuted a digital asset management add-on for Microsoft Corp.s SharePoint Portal Server.

MasterWeb is targeted at small and medium-size businesses looking for a low-cost content management solution. It features automated management of images and form processing, plus centrally administered security and workflow management. Pricing starts at $995 for one site with five contributors.

Web content management vendors are increasingly looking at opportunities to sell software to smaller companies, according to Nathaniel Palmer, an analyst at Delphi Group Inc., in Boston.

"The first major wave in Web content management ... was the Fortune 500 market," Palmer said. "But that markets more or less tapped out. The midmarket is what everybodys trying to retool for, but theres been a flood of small players going after it, plus theres a fair amount of open-source [software] out there."

Separately, Equilibrium, of San Rafael, Calif., announced it is adding digital asset management capabilities to SharePoint Portal Servers search, document management and collaboration environment with its Equilibrium MediaRich Server for Microsofts SharePoint Portal Server.

MediaRich Server helps manage digital images within SharePoint, generating thumbnail previews during search results and adding zoom and pan, automated image editing, and conversion and delivery capabilities for one or multiple images, Equilibrium officials said.

Users can create images in the file format, size, resolution or color space needed for Web, print and wireless applications and can automate the batch processing of images to speed production, officials said.

MediaRich Server for SharePoint Portal Server is available now, priced at $4,299 for a five-seat license.