IBM is gunning for SMBs who want to flip the switch on content management right out of the box.
To cater to the needs of smaller companies, Big Blue on Monday plans to announce a content management solution thats packaged on its eServer iSeries boxes. iSeries boxes already come preloaded with storage, server, software, security and networking to run a businesss entire operations.
DB2 Content Manager Standard Edition 8.3 features search, document process management and a variety of viewing options. Its designed to present content that includes scanned images, forms or documents.
Such material can be offloaded from clients and moved to a central, secure repository for storage and management—all the better to mine it for business intelligence.
This version ships with a graphical workflow builder. Users can create and maintain workflows to define and automate such tasks as document creation, approval and archiving.
It also packs support for Web services, allowing various types of data to be captured, managed and retrieved within the framework of a services-oriented architecture.
In addition to native support for Web services, DB2 CMSE 8.3 also natively supports XML.
The update allows for automatic capture and management of XML documents—a feature thats enabled in a common content repository. Meanwhile, an automated XML schema-mapping utility enables the automated capture of XML documents.
IBM is pitching the upgrade as being cut out for SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) in particular since smaller players have a tough time dealing with the exponential growth of content.
“…The need to quickly and precisely access that content and use it for business value is more important than ever,” according to Jon Prial, vice president of IBM content management and discovery, who is quoted in a release.
Prial is quoted in the release as saying that IBMs iSeries backbone makes the software even more practical for time-crunched SMBs, given that its preloaded. “Leveraging the rich capabilities and ease of use of iSeries servers, this new software makes content management easier for organizations of any size to deploy and use,” he said.
DB2 CMSE 8.3 is scheduled to be available on Monday through IBM and its business partners. U.S. suggested retail prices begin at $6,900.