Last week I went to Alfresco's Lunch and Learn in Manhattan and was pleasantly surprised to find the room filled to capacity. It had been snowing that morning; there were 90+ car crashes in the area and even the trains were running behind schedule. Despite all that, the ECM inquirers, end users, and geeks didn't let the weather keep stop them from trudging through midtown to see what the Open Source ECM vendor had to offer. I went because I wanted to learn about Alfresco's latest features (3.2 was released in January) and because it was a good opportunity to say "hey" to a handful of folks that I knew would be in attendance.
What I found exceptional about this gathering (aside from the content) was the diversity of ECM/Document Management experience among those in attendance. On one end of the spectrum was Adam Storch of Microstrategies, who has been building ECM/DM solutions for over 17 years, (using the likes of Alfresco, Interwoven, Documentum, FileNet, Sharepoint... should we count Lotus Notes?), on the other end was a woman who was just beginning to think about dipping her toe into ECM waters. "We have to start managing our content, so we're exploring the possibilities," she said. She went on to explain that she'd been talking to a number of different vendors. "Which one is best?" she asked.
"It depends on what you want to do and on who you ask," I told her.
I offered to introduce her to some ECM veterans sitting in the room, but she declined. "When people are presenting their solutions, they all sound wonderful," she said. "But I'd bet that getting the "walk" to match the "talk" is an entirely different thing," she added, noting that she had one chance to "get it right."
As we went on talking, I thought about all the different people who I knew that could help her, and came to realize that I could ease her fears. ECM/DM technologies were no longer new. There are many people who have over a decade of experience; they know from trial and error what works and what doesn't; and they've developed methodologies which deliver time and time again. This wasn't true in the early to mid-1990s when having prior imaging experience, knowing how to spell Documentum, or how to program in Visual Basic in conjunction with Crystal Reports were often enough to win you a job. Back then, people were building solutions hoping that they'd not only meet the users' needs but that they'd actually work. This doesn't have to be the case any more.
If you've got an ECM undertaking, there are real experts who can help you. Though some of them work for ECM vendors and their partners, (and come with the associated price tag) there are others who are just as good and who are more affordable. (In fact - a good number of them have been employed by or subcontracted out by vendors for twice their current rates.) I suppose that there are advantages to both.
It's also worth noting that not everyone is equally skilled or talented, and, unfortunately, certification isn't the big differentiator. I think the best ECM architects, designers, project managers, administrators, and developers would be equally good with another technology; The reason you'd want to hire them is that they're smart AND that they have a great deal of experience with Document Management and ECM. How do you tell the difference? You talk with them about their experience. You ask them what they did, why they did it, and why they did it that way. Ask them to elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of their approach. Talk to the solutions business process owners; Does the delivered solution work?
Don't have the time to do all this? I suggest you make the time (unless you're working with someone like me, then I'll do it for you.) Trust me, having the right people on board from the start, saves time, money, and your reputation; plus your job becomes more enjoyable.
Got an ECM project to do? There's never been a better time to get started.
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