Integrating Microsoft and EMC Documentum Technologies
Leverage the best of both worlds for improved information management
In today's information landscape, increasingly powerful tools are available for managing enterprise information. At the same time, information assets are proliferating at a daunting rate. What's more, information is often stored in silos and may not be available where it's needed. For most organizations, this means that finding information is harder than ever. According to Forrester Research, this "information anarchy" results in a high degree of business and IT frustration resulting from reduced productivity and visibility.
How can an information worker identify the right source for a document? Why can't a sales executive see the entire history of a customer, including content and data? These issues have become a top priority for most enterprises for the next several years.
A Typical Business Case
Many organizations are now integrating Microsoft and EMC Documentum technologies to help solve information integration problems that are unique to their industry or business unit. For example, pharmaceutical companies are improving SOP publishing by combining the powerful document control features of an EMC Documentum repository with the accessibility of a SharePoint portal interface. Insurance companies are marrying scanned content with CRM and claims data to get a complete digital picture of a customer's history. In the public sector, these technologies are coming together to enable enhanced citizen information provision and better management of records and procurement processes.
To illustrate how this integration can streamline business processes, consider the case of a typical media and entertainment company. The company can see benefits from an integrated information platform in the following ways:
- The right interface for the right task. Designers and production staff can work in a robust digital asset management system then publish finished products to a user-friendly portal where sales staff can access them.
- No double entry of data. Sales staff can complete media licensing orders at a customer site using offline form capabilities. The order data can then be synchronized with the order management system through workflow integration.
- A better way to handle paperwork. Accounting and purchasing representatives can generate contracts tailored to specific customer data, then capture and file signed contracts using advanced scanning software.
- Improved management visibility. Supervisors can run performance reports that incorporate operations workflow and sales data.
With these seamless handoffs and task-oriented user interfaces, productivity and performance visibility can be optimized, creating real competitive advantage. Leveraging the right technology in an integrated information infrastructure is the key to unlocking this potential.
So how does it work? Microsoft and EMC have made key steps in recent product releases to ensure that the two platforms integrate easily, particularly when considering SharePoint Portal/EMC Documentum integration or the ability to manage repository content via Word, Outlook and other parts of the Office suite. For customers considering these types of integration, in many cases a software component is available. For example, EMC has released Documentum Content Services for SharePoint (web parts that allow users to manage Documentum content from within the SharePoint interface).
Where a product component is not available or where unique business requirements exist, the two platforms can be integrated through customizations. Improved support for web services makes this easier than ever before to both implement and maintain over time. To find out what approach is right for your organization, contact Burntsand today for an initial assessment.
About Burntsand
With a unique focus on helping clients unify information to increase agility, Burntsand is a North American leader in the delivery of systems integration consulting services. Burntsand partners with leading enterprises to achieve their Integrated Information Management goals through the delivery of Enterprise Content Management, Collaboration, Enterprise Operations & Service Management, and Customer Relationship Management solutions. Burntsand's Time to Value approach makes the firm different: it gives customers an edge, helping them realize near-term business benefits and long-term competitive gains. The company's distinguished partner status with EMC, Microsoft and BMC reflects its business maturity and sustained technology depth. Headquartered in Toronto, Burntsand operates from locations across North America. The company's shares (TSX: BRT) are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
