Storage vendors and ECM

I was told recently that it is not uncommon in enterprises to see 7-10% growth in structured data, and 200% growth in unstructured data. Though I don't actually believe this, I think the sentiment is probably correct and that for sure in most instances unstructured data is growing at an order of magnitude plus, that of structured.

Assuming this to be the case then, why is it that storage vendors have little to say about this?
Even EMC who bought Documentum a few years back still have a very fuzzy and muddled story around ILM (information lifecycle management) and as for NetApp, Hitachi, HP etc they don't really have much of a story at all.

Surely that has to change, for at the moment if you look at a typical ECM stack the layer that has the least lock in is the storage layer. Indeed it is not uncommon for buyers to demand that the new ECM platform architecture be storage agnostic. A move I applaud, but potentially bad news for storage vendors.

Surely at least one of the storage vendors could start to think about this intelligently, and come up with a half decent story as to the added value they might bring to the archive, retention management aspects of unstructured data, with full acknowledgement to the ECM management layers above?

It will be no big surprise if someone like HP buys and ECM vendor - the bigger surprise will be if a more sophisticated and useful discussion around the full lifecycle of a document starts to emerge.

Ethics, Charity and IT Analysis

Just a quick (yet rambling) blog to start 2007 - Ethics, Charity and IT Analysis is something of an oxymoron, and that frankly is a very sad state of affairs. Over the next few weeks I hope to post a bit more on Analyst Ethics, as its an area that we don't like to talk about too much, but really should.

This is prompted by a triage of signals, from James' blog (mentioned in previous post), an article in my much loved Economist on Ethics, and the storm in a teacup regarding Microsoft offer of laptops to certain bloggers. Plus some other stuff it's best not to discuss in writing for fear of a lawsuit..

Ethics - we should have a code of Ethics for Analysts. Journalist have them (at least reputable ones), Financial Analyst have them too - and so should we. First question of 2007 then is how!

Charity is a somewhat different topic and I don't intend to discuss this too much on this blog, James again (turning out to be my nemisis) wants us to give space to that. Well I shall brief space to this link that has inspired me, I warn you in advance that this is not pretty reading so please click with caution (seriously): Link

If you think you can help me to help support the Crawfords in their work drop me a note. Other than that I will keep charitable things to the side bar.

But in moving forward in 2007, I would like to expand my horizons a little, work ethically and in line with my beliefs - I do hope that all we give value to buyers and vendors alike - for at some ends of the 'analyst' world value is little more than protection money, and I hope that in 2007 we can all as an industry start to address these issues a little.

Bribing Bloggers.....(and Analysts?)

Joel ( a top notch New York blogger) has posted a very interesting piece on what he call's the 'bribing of bloggers' it is well worth a read.

What Joel discusses is moves by Microsoft to treat bloggers as influencers - and basically extend top bloggers with the same privileges as Industry Analysts. These privileges extend to flights and first class hotel and dining at the vendors events, plus in many cases lots of freebies (cell phones, laptops)
In reading Joel's piece he makes no mention of Analysts and I am not sure if he is aware that what he describes is everyday business for analysts at Gartner, IDC and Forrester etc.

Indeed it was my regular life for six years with Ovum (though I never accepted cellphones, laptops etc) - and now I have made the choice to work with CMS Watch, and politely refuse any offer of generosity by vendors.

I think the CMS Watch way is the right way, I think genuinely reaching out and involving the user community (buyers, integrators and consultants) is the right way to do analysis. I still speak to the vendors, and would not be able to do my job properly otherwise - but I am hopefully not in anyway compromised when I do.

I don't blame Microsoft for reaching out to Bloggers in this way, and they are not the only ones doing this - all major vendors are working out how to deal with the blogger phenomena - and some are pondering if the old Industry Analyst hegemony is as solid and important as they once thought. Its a difficult time for vendors, and Microsoft shouldn't be beaten up over this - they are simply offering to influential bloggers what they and all their competitors have offered to Analysts for years....and if this is not the right thing to do, then the bloggers should advise Microsoft and the others as to what would work, as I am sure they will get a listening ear..

An ECM Report for ECM Buyers in 2007

As 2006 draws to a close, its getting dark outside, and I am getting a little sleepy from being overheated by my log burning stove, and the smell of woodsmoke. In this twilight world where I dream of getting chapters written, and deadlines met - I am also thinking about all things I have not done in 2006 and await me in 2007....

Things that I hope some kind hearted readers of this blog might consider helping me out on!

Compiling a list of relevant ECM standards for the Report (turn out this is easier said than done) - I have the JSR and DOD stuff all listed but then it all starts to get a bit hazy....

Finally writing an article for somebody on the complexity and standards of engineering manual authorship (SR1000D and all that)

Getting brave and taking up the challenge to really look at security from an ECM perspective.

Eventually punching the next person who says " ECM - thats the same as KM "

Dealing with the vendors when they see the final draft of their evaluations and as always don't like them (not the most fun part of this job)

Finding out more about non US and non Euro Centric ECM systems - I know they are out there - Japanese ECM vendors?

Meeting the ECM Report deadline - and it selling in truckloads


On reflection though 2006 as been a productive and eventful one -

My time at Wipro was really good and I am fortunate to have left, but stayed friends with so many

AIIM, CMF2006 and ECM Plaza were all very positive experiences as a speaker and attendee

Cover article 'Hide What's Inside' was particularly sweet as it was a devil to write

ECM is Dead, Long Live ECM article for CMS Watch really struck a chord with so many

I joined CMS Watch and so far so very good

Amassed a lot of American Airline points and a lot of Marriott points too (on a weekend to Vermont my family and I stayed at a Residence Inn and I hated it because it felt like I was at home - true story)

This blog became something positive in its own right, something I never expected

So as an ECM Analyst/Advisor/Consultant/Writer/Speaker/Shaman I am very much looking forward to 2007. The industry is in the midst of so much change and the future is very bright indeed. More importantly, following on from my work at Wipro and Ovum I am really fired up about working on behalf of technology buyers without compromise, or hidden agendas - with CMS Watch and with APS, what you see is what you get...

So to everyone - have a wonderful Christmas and a terrific New Years !

Poll on Open Source ECM

The outcome of my little poll here on the impact Open Source options will have on the ECM market is as follows:




Pretty overwhelming result then really! And if it means anything (and I would not place too much value on it) then I guess it is telling us that buyers are getting smart and the Open Source is simply another option to consider.

In truth the polling numbers weren't that high (under a 100) but its interesting nonetheless. That great book, 'Lies, Damned Lies & Statistics' would love such specialist polls and their outcomes. Yet even though this is far from scientific its probably as good as some polls we see come from more mainstream sources on the topic.

Personally I had thought that lowered software license costs would have polled much higher - but hey that shows how much I know :-)

Chosing vendors for the ECM Report

I threw a little stone in the pond on Friday (see CMS Watch Blog) regarding the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for ECM. I guess it was late in the day………

Anyhow, I now feel that I really ought to be as open as possible about how I am writing the forthcoming ECM Report, in particular how I am deciding who to include and not to include. Most important for me and CMS Watch is that the process is transparent.

First up – coming up with a workable list is much harder than it might seem, and the one that is currently on my desk probably bears no resemblance to the one I sent Tony Byrne last week! But nevertheless there is in effect more than one lists.

The first is those that without whom the ECM Report would make little or no sense. Therefore the major ECM vendors such as EMC, OpenText, Interwoven etc etc constitute the logical top tier, and will be covered in depth. After this I will cover those who are currently disrupting the market and importantly getting the ear of ECM buyers (the buyers are after all who I am writing this report for). The key disruptive vendors currently include Alfresco and Oracle (particularly with the pending Stellent acquisition) – and then I have a third tier, those that are solid established and high value players but tend to play in a particular geographic or industry niche, included here might be Formtek for Cimage – they may not be as well known as the tier one and two vendors, but in the right circumstances should be considered for the short list.

My hope is that the report will meet the needs of 90% of ECM product buyers ( I can never make everyone happy) and that third tier group will likely grow as new versions of the report are issued over time. Likewise the tier 2 (disruptive) vendors may also change as some will prove to have little longevity, and others come into play.

In the CMS Watch, ECM Report that we hope to publish in Spring 07, we also want to be sure that we are sensitive to geographic variations (EVER in France and Spain, NewGen in India and Objective in Australia for example), and though we cannot hope to capture everyone (nor would I try) it is in this last group of Geographic and Vertical Industry specific that the biggest gaps will inevitably be (and of course it is complicated as even regional players often play outside their regions!).

In other words there is really no rocket science to this – and I am always open to comments and suggestions as to how to improve things. The key thing though with the ECM Report (and the other CMS Watch Reports) is that they are written solely with the needs and requirements of potential technology buyers in mind, their/your needs are the beginning and end of the inclusion and product evaluation criteria. And its also worth stating loudly that CMS Watch does not receive any revenue at all from software vendors, no consulting to them, not even flights and hotels for an event!

And if anyone at Gartner wants to slug me one, then I can’t really blame them – but that magic quadrant was really begging for it too you know ;-)