NewsFactor Network - Tech Trends - Open Source Steps Into ECM Shoes

While EMC, Stellent, Verity, Opentext and all are consolidating their ECM empire by acquiring whatever remaining independent companies are left out there, one of the co-founders of Documentum (now part of EMC) - John Newton - is trying to take ECM open source by introducing the Alfresco platform. Alfresco is a Java based approach which provides functionality for workflow, metadata support, hierarchical folder structure, and indexing and retrieval.

However, "it is initially targeting very simple document-collaboration scenarios of the type that SharePoint has addressed so successfully," said Tony Byrne, analyst and founder of CMSWatch.com.

To me, challenging Sharepoint seems to be a tough strategy - considering not only Microsoft's pervasiveness but also the fact that the basic Sharepoint server is almost free as part of MS Server offerings. Only diehard Java junkies may have need for this technology.

NewsFactor Network - Tech Trends - Open Source Steps Into ECM Shoes: "other "

Adobe still trying to solve the BPM puzzle

http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;328732938;fp;4;fpid;1854890668

In this case the sum of the components may not quite add up to a full BPM suite!

- Sanjay Kalra

IBM, SAP acknowledge limtations of BPEL in processes involving human interaction

IBM and SAP have propose BPEL4People - an extension to the BPEL4WS standard. This acknowledges the known limitations of BPEL when it comes to orchestrating human interactions in a process apart from the Web Services.

Maybe it is time for WfMC and OASIS to come together on this issue and address the need for standards for both human as well as system-to-system workflows. Or maybe we don't need these standards at all - look at Fuego - a very successful BPM vendor that doesn't support BPEL.

Cover Pages: IBM and SAP AG Propose WS-BPEL Extension for People (BPEL4People).

http://www.looselycoupled.com/stories/2005/bpel-gaps-bp1010.html

- Sanjay Kalra