Quick note: We are in the process of moving our website, so please excuse any odd typefaces or colors. We'll have a much simpler site very soon. That being said...
A new comment on one of my older posts sparked my interest, for a few of different reasons. First, because it came from an intelligent ECM professional (and former EMC employee), and second because it wasn't self-promotional in the least.
If you don't feel like clicking over to the original post, I'll clue you in; Brian Shin aka "shiningarts" had this to say about 2.0 technologies, eRoom, Documentum and CenterStage (I've edited one political comment out because I don't want it to be a distraction.)
Even as a former EMC consultant, I did not understand the real intent of eRoom. All I could see was that it requires carting around zillions of login IDs and passwords to be a part of the paltry eRoom offerings, which hardly provided any significant benefits. I am glad to see EMC is introducing CenterStage to replace eRoom finally.
In light of some of the Twitter applications through which the "Yes We Can" crowd was able to successfully mount last year's historical changes, I should have faith that CenterStage can transform EMC into a household name. However, EMC can't compete with the other popular Twitter applications out in the open, instead, it can be successful by promoting the "Keep Us Safe" (KUS) framework integrating CenterStage, Documentum, and its premiere storage architecture seamlessly.
I know there are a lot of disagreements about whether Documentum is indeed a leading CMS system or not, in part, due to its ornery performance and interface. Remember, before Microsoft was established as a household name, it was cranky and it still is. Since Microsoft Sharepoint is too busy to become a sharable thick client point, it does not have any chance to be a Twitter any time soon. Whereas, if EMC can mash the "YWC" and "KUS" camps together successfully, then it can potentially become the next new three letter kid on the block, EMC.
Considering EMC's fairly consistent track record of integrating acquired applications, Chuck Hollis' Twitter theory and Joe Tucci's ILM strategy are not sounding too bad after all.
So, I say, if CenterStage is the cool eRoom replacement,(and is it that, or is it something else?) and if it's free, why are some of my clients planning to do eRoom upgrades later this year? Because there's no easy way to migrate to CenterStage or because the features/capabilities are different?
Also, why are two of my clients piloting Sharepoint for collaborative drug discovery when they could be using CenterStage that promises to "Keep Us Safe" (KUS) and doesn't cost anything? Wouldn't it be more efficient since they plan to continue using Documentum as a repository for Regulatory Documents?
I do understand that, to an extent, we are now living in a Sharepoint+ pick your "KUS" ECM Vendor world and that ECM vendors have to play nice with Sharepoint if they intend to come to/stay at the party, but...aren't, 2.0 front-ends (like CenterStage) user-friendly too? Won't GenY users be at least as comfortable with 2.0 interfaces as they are with Microsoft?
I finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really find it funny reading your posts.
Anyway, I felt it was about time I posted
Posted by: callingcardsunltd | 09/25/2010 at 10:18 AM