EMC Modernizes Documentum

Storage infrastructure vendor EMC came out with a major update to its Documentum collaboration suite on July 22, and analysts believe it is now better equipped to compete with Microsoft SharePoint in the marketplace because it will appeal to younger, Web 2.0 users.

Enterprise Content Management Suite version 6.5 utilizes the long-established Documentum platform to deliver its goods—the capability for people to work accurately on common projects no matter where they are located geographically.

Documentum 6.5 offers a "rich Web 2.0 user experience" for people used to social networking applications, EMC officials said. It features enhanced XML capabilities, federated records management and reduced business process management complexities, officials said.

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"It's about time EMC revamped its collaboration offerings and started competing more head-on with Microsoft SharePoint," analysts at The 451 Group said in a flash report. "CenterStage at this point is really about getting a new, modern interface for Documentum and hopefully, as a result, holding onto Documentum customers that are looking at SharePoint.

"Existing Documentum customers will no doubt be pleased with Documentum 6.5 and the CenterStage addition. EMC has a broader vision for what CenterStage may become, although it will likely be difficult for the company to gain traction with new customers as a vendor of more collaborative apps. But at least now it's in the fight."

New features include:

—A new Knowledge Worker client, released off the top as a free online beta.  This sports a  redesigned interface for shared team workspaces, guided search and simple Documentum access.

—A new Media WorkSpace, which uses Flex technology to provide a personalized, dynamic way to view, find, compare, annotate, review and share rich media assets.

—A new lightweight client called My Documentum, completely integrated with the desktop, which provides users with immediate access to the latest versions of content they use most often and also allows them to work on documents when they are not connected to the server.

—A new Web Publisher Page Builder, which is built using Flex technology, provides authors with a much needed WYSIWYG interactive interface, to create compelling Web experiences.

—An enhanced TaskSpace that delivers a highly configurable user interface providing an all-in-one business process management experience that uses in-line folder navigation with side-by-side image viewing and annotation for task processors in the context of a business process.

"The next generation of ECM needs to provide business users with appealing and flexible content-enabled solutions while ensuring that IT continues to maintain control by mitigating these new elements of risk," said Melissa Webster, an analyst at IDC, in a statement.

"The explosion of digital content combined with the ease of use of Web 2.0 and social computing fuel users' expectations for how technology should work and how they should access information."