Jeff Potts

Content Management
Web Content Management/Document Management market happenings and lessons learned

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My blog is now located at http://ecmarchitect.com If you are not redirected automatically, please follow the link.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Alfresco is an open source enterprise content management solution founded by one of the co-founders of Documentum.

Alfresco Enterprise Network Release Candidate Announced. Alfresco, Inc. announced that it is making available the Alfresco Enterprise Network Release Candidate. This integrates closely to the JBoss Cache, JBoss Application Server and Hibernate utilizing the underlying scalability and high-availability features. Alfresco utilizes JBoss Cache's ability to distribute and maintain data caches, making it possible to build large-scale systems which allows Alfresco to deliver cached data at in memory speeds. Alfresco also utilizes the clustering, failover and load balancing facilities of the JBoss Application Server to increase scalability. Content models are more complex than traditional relational database tables. Alfresco utilizes Hibernate to control the content management schema. Alfresco complements these products with content replication and use of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) to integrate to different, configurable authentication systems. Features of the Alfresco Enterprise Network are single sign-on through Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) across the JBoss Portal and portlets,fail-safe content services, a massively parallel content grid, and distributed high availability within the data centre and between disparate data centres. http://www.alfresco.org [Gilbane Report News]

12:52:20 PM

Monday, September 26, 2005

Massachusetts Makes Smart Move Official. Switch to OpenDocument format will make state documents more accessible to the public because anyone can have the software to read the format. [eWEEK Linux]
10:21:24 AM

Recipe for a CMS disaster.

InfoWorld has published a case study of a CMS disaster, caused by a lack of author involvement in the project. To quote:

The new system I was developing would be an improvement, but I knew it would take time for our users to become productive in the new environment -- and they were not known for their patience. I was particularly worried because our project plan didn't include any opportunity for interaction with the users.

Some of these problems could've been resolved through the use of requirements captured in a narrative format, along with supporting scenarios. But as indicated in the article, user involvement throughout the project is critical.

[Thanks to CMS Watch.] [Column Two]

10:09:55 AM

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Die hard for FatWire Spark. After FatWire acquired the Content Server product line from divine in 2003, most commentators expected the original FatWire "Spark" product to fade away. Although sold almost exclusively in the USA and not easily upgradable to the more robust Content Server package, FatWire has kept Spark alive and today announced that Sun Microsystems will offer an unlimited - use license free to Sun Portal Server customers. This is an interesting move for two vendors struggling to find their niche. FatWire may see Spark as a lead generator, but some Sun licensees might come to find Spark limiting -- although, to be fair, other portal vendors' CMS tools are similarly light. Other customers might be frustrated that Sun, and not FatWire, will handle product support. Internationally, the FatWire sales force could be left in an awkward position, with Sun giving away Spark for free while the FatWire reps try to push the more complicated (and expensive) Content Server product. By Janus Boye. [CMS Watch Trends and Features]
5:53:26 PM

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Two articles on the State of OS CMS.

There are two recent articles on the state of OS CMS: "The State of Open Source CMS" by Gregor Rothfuss in the Cutter IT Journal which you need to subscribe to read; and "Straight from the Source: Open Source Content Management" by John Harney in inaugural issue of Enterprise Open Source Journal. Writing on this topic is a daunting task because the space is so expansive and dynamic. These

By noemail@noemail.org (Seth). [Enter Content Here]
8:25:17 AM

Content Repository Standard Approved by JCP Executive Committee. Day Software announced that the JSR 170 Content Repository for Java Technology API has been approved by an industry expert group of the major players in content management. JSR 170, which has been developed under the Java Community Process (JCP) program, is designed to lessen the risks of proprietary vendor lock-in by improving the interoperability between content repositories and applications. This new standard helps companies manage content across large-scale enterprises. Day's CTO, David Nuescheler, has lead the JSR 170 initiative by acting as the specification lead since its inception. Apache, BEA Systems, IBM, Oracle, and SAP amongst many others all serve as members of expert group for JSR 170. Other industry participants include Documentum Inc., Filenet, and Vignette. http://jcp.org [Gilbane Report News]
8:23:03 AM

New Plone Book: PloneLive.

There is a new Plone Book available: PloneLive 1.0 by Michel Pelletier and Munwar Shariff. What makes PloneLive really interesting is that it is a LiveBook that is constantly being updated. You can buy it print on demand for $44.95 from Amazon or a year's subscription for $29.95. The PloneLive Site also has a blog and other content...[Enter Content Here]

8:18:32 AM

Friday, May 13, 2005

Interwoven Announces ECM Solutions on Microsoft Platform. Interwoven, Inc. announced they have become a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Interwoven, building on Microsoft technologies, will enable information workers-starting with professional services firms including legal, accounting, management consulting, corporate legal departments, and IT consulting-to manage the entire content lifecycle through the tight integration of the Interwoven WorkSite Collaborative Document Management, E-Mail Management, and RecordsManager solutions with the Microsoft platform including Office, SharePoint Portal Server, and Windows. http://www.interwoven.com [Gilbane Report News]
7:39:31 AM

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

CMPros announces management committee and executive director. Content Management Professionals (CM Pros), the international content management community of practice, today announced the appointment of its Management Committee and new Executive Director, reinforcing the organization's increasing relevance to the content management discipline. [CMPros]
5:32:47 PM

I originally wrote a shorter version of this Documentum WCM Overview for the Southwest Documentum User Group. I've made this version a little friendlier for people who might not be as familiar with Documentum.
1:32:34 PM

Friday, May 06, 2005

PHP-Nuke Review. The latest Intranet Journal reviews PHP-Nuke. We link to a lot of trade-press product reviews, but remember they are almost uniformly glowing. You will find few comparative analyses, and this article is no exception. The author does point out that PHP-Nuke (like all the other Nukes, we wish he'd add) is more than a CMS and really represents a website-in-a-box application potentially well-suited for certain collaborative Intranet environments. The review also helpfully advises caution in examining the provenance of optional add-ons. But what about documentation? "It is likely that a documentation project will be launched in the future"...... [CMSWatch Trends and Features]
5:51:56 PM

The Content Management Handbook. Tony Byrne has written a review of Martin White's recently-released The Content Management Handbook. To quote: The gem of White's book is that it speaks directly to the beleagured manager who has just been handed a content management project. White... [Column Two]
5:48:54 PM