Documentum inc. and SiteScape Inc. have released upgrades to their respective collaboration software offerings that put project and task management, usability, and document management integration high on their priority lists.
Documentum released Version 7 of its eRoom collaboration application while announcing plans for a more extended enterprise version of the product. SiteScape released Version 7.0 of its WebWorkZone hosted collaboration service.
New features in eRoom 7 include collaborative project and program management capabilities, a personalized site access page for single-sign-on authentication, and a federated server infrastructure designed for large installations across many locations. The upgrade offers expanded search and site navigation capabilities that give users access to all enterprise content, context and work spaces without searching multiple repositories. eRoom 7 features enhanced and native support for third-party security provisions, officials said.
Bob Buttacavoli, partner for global e-business at Mercer Inc.s Human Resource Consulting unit, in New York, said the most critical feature of eRoom 7 is its enhanced support for collaborative content management. “It should give us a much more comprehensive view of multiple projects, how they stand, how to mitigate risks,” Buttacavoli said.
Buttacavoli said the project management capabilities in eRoom 7 could lessen Mercers reliance on Microsoft Corp.s Microsoft Project for those tasks. He also liked eRoom 7s expanded search capabilities.
“We have people working on multiple projects, so it helps when you can search across all those projects, not just the eRoom youre in,” Buttacavoli said.
eRoom 7 includes new, out-of-the-box tools for compliance, project management, new-product development and finance.
By next quarter, Documentum, of Pleasanton, Calif., plans to release eRoom Enterprise 7, which includes all the capabilities in the standard eRoom offering plus a unified content repository for the centralized control, retention and management of content.
Enterprise 7 users will also gain the ability to launch an eRoom and access collaboration features from a Documentum application, such as managing a process exception, and be able to publish centrally managed content out to multiple-target workplaces.
Meanwhile, SiteScape WebWorkZone 7.0 features document management capabilities such as round-trip editing and version control and multifile, drag-and-drop uploading; improved workflow; support for collaborative tasks and reminders; and numerous usability enhancements.
The Maynard, Mass., software developers service is essentially a hosted version of its flagship Enterprise Forum 7.0 product. By September, WebWorkZone customers will be able to buy SiteScapes solution modules, including Forum Program Management, Human Resource Collaboration and Proposal Management.
WebWorkZone will include access to Forum eMeeting, a Web conferencing service that offers application sharing, whiteboarding, and voice and video over IP.