eCopy and Interwoven announced the integration of eCopy ShareScan OP (Open Platform) software with the Interwoven WorkSite collaborative document management solution. The integrated solution allows customers using Canon MEAP capable imageRUNNER devices to add paper-based information that may be otherwise left out of the electronic business workflow. The eCopy Connector for Interwoven WorkSite provides full function integration between eCopy ShareScan OP, Interwoven WorkSite, and Canon MEAP (Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform) digital copiers. eCopy Connectors directly link eCopy software to enterprise applications, such as document management, e-mail, and fax. The eCopy Connector for Interwoven Worksite is available for both eCopy ShareScan and eCopy ShareScan OP. eCopy ShareScan operates on a touch panel and PC attached to a Canon imageRUNNER device or scanner. ShareScan OP is embedded within a MEAP enabled imageRUNNER device. The suggested retail price for either Connector is $1,495. www.ecopy.com, www.interwoven.com
Day: January 30, 2005
StoredIQ Inc. (formerly Deepfile Corporation), a provider of content-driven compliance and security solutions for files and e-mail, announced StoredIQ 3.0, a content-driven compliance and security platform designed to discover, protect and manage business critical files and e-mail. StoredIQ 3.0 scans the internal content of files and e-mails, enabling business-based classification of unstructured data. This file classification is then used to enforce user defined automated policies on that data, mitigating risk for enterprise customers by ensuring adherence to corporate and regulatory compliance guidelines, as well as protecting information security. StoredIQ 3.0 is the basis for a suite of content-driven compliance and security applications. The company is also announcing the first such application, HIPAA Solutions Pack, an automated solution that addresses HIPAA security compliance requirements for files. Once found, files can be analyzed by location, owner, age, size, type and other characteristics that are critical to the enterprise’s corporate compliance and security policies. StoredIQ 3.0 then allows users to define automated policies that can delete, move, migrate, or encrypt the files to meet the appropriate corporate or regulatory policies. Finally, reports and advisory messages are delivered to end-users and auditors to ensure that compliance is maintained over time. Implemented on a self-contained appliance that doesn’t require any external software agents, StoredIQ 3.0 supports files on NT, UNIX/Linux and NetWare file systems. www.StoredIQ.com
Interwoven, Inc. announced the introduction of Interwoven OffSite, an offering that provides business professionals with the capability to access and modify their working documents, e-mails, and projects while working offline. A new module for Interwoven WorkSite 8 software, OffSite enables business professionals to experience the functionality of WorkSite when disconnected from the network. With OffSite, users can create new documents, modify documents or file e-mail into appropriate folders. On reconnection to the network, this content is automatically synchronized with the entire matter or client file. As a fully-portable version of WorkSite, OffSite uses the same familiar user paradigms and interfaces available in online mode. Complete collaborative document management functionality provides users with the ability to browse the file hierarchy, view and modify existing documents, create new documents, and search repository content just as if they were connected to the network. Interwoven OffSite will be available in Q2 2005 as an add-on module to Interwoven WorkSite 8. www.interwoven.com
Intellext announced that it has emerged from its research and development stage and is now commercially marketing and shipping its software solution, Watson. By reading and understanding what people are working on and using that knowledge to proactively find and deliver useful information to the user, Watson is able to find information the user didn’t know existed — in places they otherwise might not have looked. In emerging from the incubation stage, the company has changed its name to Intellext from Open Road Technologies. Watson determines what information is relevant to each user, and forms contextually-based queries rather than simple one or two-word search terms to generate the most useful and complete set of results. Watson automatically brings users any relevant information from their company’s external and internal information sources including websites, desktop search applications, online news sites, subscriber services and search engines, as well as documents and data from a company’s corporate knowledge management systems, databases and intranets. If the user chooses, Watson will even retrieve advertisements that are related to their current work. Information from Watson’s multiple sources is then organized by relevance regardless of its source, and presented to the user in a non-intrusive way. The online information collected and presented by Watson is based solely on relevance, so users do not receive intrusive advertisements and unrelated content that interrupts their work. Intellext is also offering the MuseSearch MuseServer as part of the Watson solution for large organizations. www.intellext.com
Microsoft provided an analyst briefing on Thursday January 27th titled “Creating Business Value through Collaboration.” Personally, I was struck by the presence of a clear strategy for infrastructure dominance (in the sense of OS, server and core technologies such as email, search, etc.) as well as the absence of the same for solution-specific or industry-specific dominance in the market for content technologies. I think the resulting messages — ranging from the clear to the hinted — were intentional, further demonstrating the company’s ability to boldly state “where it wants to go today” without necessarily divulging the types of technology providers it intends to run over in the process.
In terms of collaboration from a generic perspective, the Microsoft “information worker” strategy has been evident since at least 2001. At that time I wrote “Each [product] provides just enough collaborative technology to hover in and around the realm of markets such as knowledge management, document management, portals, and virtual project management” in a discussion on SharePoint, Exchange and Mobile Information Servers in relationship to the significance of .NET and the acquisition of CM vendor NCompass, Inc. (InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, Inc. Analysis, 05/03/01) It was clear that Microsoft encouraged speculation on how the aquisition could change the content techology landscape. As a result, most analysts predicted an impending “market shakeup” due to the entrance of platform players such as Microsoft and IBM into specialized areas such as CM, DM, and portals.
Looking back from early 2005, I would not describe Microsoft inroads to content technology markets as “earth-shattering” or “competition-crushing”, but I would describe the marketing and technology development progress as calculated, consistent, broad, and more recently, deep. In 2003, Microsoft executives such as Jeff Raikes and Steve Ballmer discussed aspects of the information worker vision in detail through public “Executive E-mails”. Touching on issues such as content authoring, publishing, rights management, collaboration, and compliance, the Microsoft roadmap included highways such as Live Communications Server, Exchange Server, Project Server, Sharepoint Services and Rights Management Services with interconnected avenues such as LiveMeeting, OneNote, Office 2003, and InfoPath. According to Raikes, the vision — branded “Office System” — represented the company’s transition from a client applications provider (read: desktop/workgroup market for content technologies) to a client, server and services provider (read: enterprise market for content solutions.)
Thursday’s collaboration briefing was a solid message about the technology areas in which Microsoft feels “comfortable”, and in the words of the presenter, “areas in which we consider ourselves best of breed.” (Kurt DelBene, Corporate VP, Microsoft Office Servers Group) Considering that the primary flavor of the presentation stressed providing software and services as platforms for partner-driven solution development, it was interesting to note when “best of breed” was mentioned in the same breadth as “out of the box capabilities.” IOW, the ability of Microsoft to continue directly competing against ECM, DM, WCM, and portal vendors should clearly not be underestimated.
Other points of interest:
- Microsoft is moving more content and collaborative functionalities to an infrastructure level, possibly affecting change for competitive differentiation in the content technologies market. IOW, do others follow and move more specialized capabilities to a commodity level? One of the more interesting discussed in this context was content-based privilege and rights management. Surely not a new subject (see Gilbane Report in 2001) but interesting nonetheless.
- Microsoft strategy for a broad infrastructure functionalities coupled with a mammoth developer base assures that “build versus buy” is still a major competitive headache to suite and pureplay content technology vendors.
- Microsoft is clearly still in the game of “out of the box” collaborative workspace solutions (i.e. LiveMeeting, SharePoint), directly competing with pure-play vendors and other platform titans like IBM (i.e. Workspace.)
And the beat goes on…
Microsoft provided an analyst briefing on Thursday January 27th titled “Creating Business Value through Collaboration.” Personally, I was struck by the presence of a clear strategy for infrastructure dominance (in the sense of OS, server and core technologies such as email, search, etc.) as well as the absence of the same for solution-specific or industry-specific dominance in the market for content technologies. I think the resulting messages — ranging from the clear to the hinted — were intentional, further demonstrating the company’s ability to boldly state “where it wants to go today” without necessarily divulging the types of technology providers it intends to run over in the process.
In terms of collaboration from a generic perspective, the Microsoft “information worker” strategy has been evident since at least 2001. At that time I wrote “Each [product] provides just enough collaborative technology to hover in and around the realm of markets such as knowledge management, document management, portals, and virtual project management” in a discussion on SharePoint, Exchange and Mobile Information Servers in relationship to the significance of .NET and the acquisition of CM vendor NCompass, Inc. (InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, Inc. Analysis, 05/03/01) It was clear that Microsoft encouraged speculation on how the aquisition could change the content techology landscape. As a result, most analysts predicted an impending “market shakeup” due to the entrance of platform players such as Microsoft and IBM into specialized areas such as CM, DM, and portals.
Looking back from early 2005, I would not describe Microsoft inroads to content technology markets as “earth-shattering” or “competition-crushing”, but I would describe the marketing and technology development progress as calculated, consistent, broad, and more recently, deep. In 2003, Microsoft executives such as Jeff Raikes and Steve Ballmer discussed aspects of the information worker vision in detail through public “Executive E-mails”. Touching on issues such as content authoring, publishing, rights management, collaboration, and compliance, the Microsoft roadmap included highways such as Live Communications Server, Exchange Server, Project Server, Sharepoint Services and Rights Management Services with interconnected avenues such as LiveMeeting, OneNote, Office 2003, and InfoPath. According to Raikes, the vision — branded “Office System” — represented the company’s transition from a client applications provider (read: desktop/workgroup market for content technologies) to a client, server and services provider (read: enterprise market for content solutions.)
Thursday’s collaboration briefing was a solid message about the technology areas in which Microsoft feels “comfortable”, and in the words of the presenter, “areas in which we consider ourselves best of breed.” (Kurt DelBene, Corporate VP, Microsoft Office Servers Group) Considering that the primary flavor of the presentation stressed providing software and services as platforms for partner-driven solution development, it was interesting to note when “best of breed” was mentioned in the same breadth as “out of the box capabilities.” IOW, the ability of Microsoft to continue directly competing against ECM, DM, WCM, and portal vendors should clearly not be underestimated.
