KMWorld Trend-Setting Products of 2014

We’ve published our annual list of Trend-Setting Products for nearly a decade and a half (more than a century in “technology years”), and the selection process hasn’t changed. The list is assembled through an informal, yearlong collaboration with a judging panel consisting of colleagues, analysts, system integrators, theorists, practitioners and a select group of knowledge workers.

This year, we looked at more than 600 products. Some have been around for a while, a testimony to the limber execution of their initial mission of adaptability. Others are relatively new. The judges agree the market should be ready to embrace the solutions because all have helped to create a market, extend it further or redefine it.

All the products we list below have been designed with a clear understanding of customers’ needs. In many cases, it is precisely the vision of customers who implemented the products that qualifies them as trend-setting, by creating opportunities not originally considered by the vendor. The market, of course, will ultimately decide value.

By no means the only trend-setting products, those on this list deserve the special attention of KMWorld readers.

We encourage you to dig deeper into the Trend-Setting solutions, as well as to check out further descriptions of selected products that begin following this article as well as on page 19, KMWorld September 2014, Vol. 23, Issue 8.

Accellion: Kiteworks—new integrated digital rights management (DRM) features, including the ability to control viewing, copying and altering shared documents.

Access Innovations: Data Harmony Suite—systematic application of taxonomies and/or thesauri in total integration. Click here for more product details.

Accusoft: Prizm Content Connect—a new version of its HTML5 document viewer that integrates into the SharePoint 2013 environment. Click here for more product details.

Acrolinx: Version 4.0—software guiding technical writers to create more findable, engaging and understandable content.

Amazon Web Services: T2—an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instance type designed to reduce costs for applications that do not require sustained high CPU performance but benefit from the ability to burst to full performance.

Appian: BPM Suite—cloud, on-premise and mobile intelligent business process management and collaboration.

ASG Software Solutions: CloudFactory 8.0—enabling IT organizations to leverage their existing data center resources alongside their public cloud resources and software investments under one management platform.

Astera: Centerprise—full data integration platform designed for business information experts.

Atlassian: Connect—new framework for developers to build add-ons that deeply integrate with the company’s JIRA OnDemand and Confluence OnDemand.

Attensity: Attensity Q—real-time data stream analytics through natural language processing and semantic analysis.

Attivio: Active Intelligence Engine—new features include the Predictive Analytics Module, AIE Scope Source and AIE Business Center.

AvePoint: DocAve 6 Service Pack (SP) 4—an enterprise-grade platform for SharePoint infrastructure management and data governance.

BA Insight: Knowledge Integration Platform—enables organizations to rapidly deploy powerful, search-driven applications. Click here for more product details.

Bamboo Solutions: Innovative Technologies for SharePoint—Office 365/SharePoint Online apps. Click here for more product details.

Bloomfire: Bloomfire KM Platform—new integration with Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.

Bonitasoft: Bonitasoft 6.3—further extension of the platform, giving IT professionals a more advanced set of tools to quickly develop and integrate process-driven business applications.

BP Logix: Process Director—full BPM solution available in on-premise, cloud and OEM editions.

Brainspace: Brainspace for Business—knowledge sharing and discovery solution using augmented intelligence and machine learning to create organizational connectedness. Click here for more product details.

Bridgeline Digital: iAPPS Social—allows customers to easily set up customized watch lists tailored by social network, topic or author.

Calabrio: Calabrio Analytics—allows users to derive benefits of speech, desktop and text analytics without steep learning curves or extensive investments.

Clarabridge: Version 6.2 of its namesake customer experience management (CEM) solution—combines two product offerings, Clarabridge Collaborate and Clarabridge Engage into one, Clarabridge Act.

Code42: SharePlan—enables real-time collaboration backed by endpoint management and deployment flexibility, featuring in-place file sync, private/public cloud deployment and an open API.

Colligo Networks: Colligo Briefcase for Mac—integrates SharePoint into Macintosh Finder.

Comindware: Comindware Project for iPad—enables smooth transition from desktop to touch devices to ensure work continuity regardless of the device type or platform.

Comintelli: Intelligence2day—SaaS tool to allow businesses to be more organized and systematic in terms of monitoring companies and issues in which they are interested.

Concept Searching: conceptClassifier for SharePoint—semantic metadata generation, automatic document classification and enterprise-grade taxonomy management.

Connotate: Connotate 4—simplifies and streamlines the “Webdata” extraction process and ensures full coverage of a website, using the Webkit engine.

Content Analyst Company: CAAT 3.15—concept-aware analytics suite for software product companies, systems integrators and information services providers.

Coveo: Coveo for Sitecore—enables organizations to build contextual search and discovery experiences on websites powered by the Sitecore Experience Platform.

Crafter Software: Crafter Engine and Crafter Social plug-ins for Liferay—enable the creation of rich digital experiences designed to improve customer and employee engagement.

Datawatch: Datawatch Desktop—integrates the data access and modeling capabilities of Datawatch’s legacy Monarch Professional software with the newly acquired capabilities of Panopticon's Designer visual data discovery solution. Click here for more product details.

E-Spirit: FirstSpirit CMS 5.1—further enhances the user experience along the entire Web experience supply chain.

Earley & Associates: Consulting Services—taxonomy and metadata, enterprise search, SharePoint, content management, digital asset management and usability testing.

Eccentex: AppBase—platform-as-a-service (PaaS) providing developers with a rich cloud environment to develop, scale and manage enterprise-grade dynamic case management SaaS applications.

eGain: KnowledgeAgent—role-based solution permitting agents to view appropriate levels of information and use different access methods to the knowledgebase. Click here for more product details.

EMC: InfoArchive—unified enterprise archive platform for IT optimization, cost reduction and information governance. Click here for more product details.

Empolis: Empolis Smart Service—combines service resolution management (service data created by service center agents and customers) and smart diagnostics (sensor data created by machines).

FirstRain: Personal Business Analytics for Salesforce1—dynamically responds to developments detected in the global Web and social media, combined with the user’s changing business interests.

FTI Technology: Ringtail V. 8.4—visual predictive coding software for legal review with new features for users to train the model to enhance efficiency. Click here for more product details.

Google: Google Glass—wearable computer.

HiSoftware: Site Sheriff—controls access to SharePoint content by allowing a wide variety of secure sharing scenarios to empower focused audiences to collaborate without changing item permissions and adding complexity.

HP/Autonomy: MediaBin 8.1—simplifies the core tasks of media management, search and publishing while providing advanced scalability and in-depth, real-time media monitoring and analytics for all rich media assets, including images, audio and video files. Click here for more product details.

Hyland Software: OnBase Cloud—integrates document management, business process automation and records management. Click here for more product details.

IBM: Connections 5—fully integrated suite of social and real-time collaboration, analytics and content management tools delivered on any screen or device.

Integrify: Integrify 6—100 percent Web-based platform to centrally manage user requests from multiple locations, streamline workflow and operations, automate business processes and improve the overall customer experience. Click here for more product details.

IntelliResponse: OFFERS—an intent-based offer solution that presents real-time, customized promotions to customers in the context of a customer service interaction.

Interneer: Intellect MobileApps—enables business users and IT to build and manage native smart mobile apps on any iOS device for enterprise use. Click here for more product details.

Jive Software: Spring Cloud Release—combination of the latest upgrades for Jive and JiveX in the cloud.

K2: Mobile Apps—access to all K2 workflow and business process tasks across all processes from a single interface for iOS, Android and Blackberry devices.

kCura: Relativity Collection—allows users to perform targeted collections of select documents or forensic images via e-mail, in-person or with a portable drive. Click here for more product details.

Kofax/Kapow: Kofax Kapow—data integration solution designed to simplify the user experience, encompassing the entire information supply chain.

Linguamatics: I2E Semantic Enrichment—used within an existing enterprise search deployment to enrich the current data, make it more discoverable and provide more relevant search results.

M-Files: M-Files DMS—secure document management solution fully integrated with Windows.

MadCap Software: Flare—complete solution for technical communicators and content developers to maximize authoring efficiency and content reuse.

Metalogix: Email Migrator 3.0—migration tool that can move legacy e-mail from multiple e-mail sources including into Microsoft Office 365 or other hosted Exchange platforms and on-premises implementations of Exchange.

MetaVis Technologies: OneDrive Management Suite—provides tools to make OneDrive deployment, through administration and backup, smart, simple and secure, while helping clients gain valuable insights along the way. Click here for more product details.

MicroPact: Entellitrak Platform—new full-text document search tool and a new direct-to-case document scanning module known as escan.

Mindbreeze: InSpire—a pre-installed enterprise search appliance box. Click here for more product details.

Moxie Software: Moxie Web Self-Service—permits companies to create branded, configurable and easily navigable self-service experiences to provide access to useful knowledge throughout the customer journey.

Noetix by Magnitude Software: NoetixViews 6.3 for Oracle E-Business Suite—a new solution for Release 12 subledger accounting (SLA).

OpenText: Discovery Suite—integrates, enriches and manages big content within the enterprise to reduce risk and cost as well as improve productivity, collaboration and engagement.

Oracle/RightNow: RightNow Cloud Service—new capabilities to help organizations automate the management and deployment of complex business policies for customer support.

PeopleFluent: Mirror Suite—talent management solution built around people not HR processes; integrates video and social technologies into talent applications.

Picturepark: Picturepark 8.6—digital asset management with a new NoSQL search and indexing layer.

PPC: Taxonomy and Metadata solutions—full range of taxonomy and metadata consulting services to provide a quick start in designing a taxonomy.

QUMU: Qumu Lync Client—enables Lync users to automatically organize, publish and share the information from a recorded Lync session.

RAMP: RAMP for Microsoft—video content platform (VCP) for organizations that have standardized on the Microsoft Business Productivity infrastructure.

Raytion: Search Analytics—dedicated tool developed specifically to visualize search behavior.

Recommind: Axcelerate 5—cloud-based e-discovery review and analysis platform.

RSD: RSD GLASS 3.2—information governance solution that includes key enhancements and additional features within its Policy Manager, Governance Manager and Governance Dashboard modules.

SDL: SDL Web—comprising a series of solutions that include SDL Tridion, SDL Mobile, SDL SmartTarget, SDL Media Manager, SDL Safeguard and SDL Customer Analytics. Click here for more product details.

Search Technologies: Aspire 2.0—content processing system that includes improved workflow for creating content processing applications, a dynamic new user interface and the option to implement on Hadoop.

Sinequa: Sinequa ES V. 9—integration and use of Hadoop into a host of new connectors (now totaling 140) to data sources.

Sitecore: Sitecore Experience Database—highly scalable big data repository that collects and connects actionable customer data to deliver unique customer experiences in real time.

Sitrion: HR Self-Services—employee and manager HR self-services, available within a social intranet, human resource portal, Outlook client, on mobile devices and synchronized with SAP.

Smarsh: Archiving Platform—tools for faster, smarter search across all content types designed for supervision and e-discovery.

Smartlogic: Semaphore 3.7—improved ability to support very large SharePoint farms and greater interoperability with the semantic Web.

Socialtext: Socialtext 6.0—improved functionality for micro-blogging, social networking, content creation, expertise location and video capabilities.

SpringCM: File It—embeds SpringCM on a Salesforce page, such as an account, opportunity or case, to work with content specific to that page.

Synaptica: Synaptica Express—taxonomy management software for individuals or small business users hosted on secure servers and available as a subscription service.

TallyFox: Network Platform—enables organizations to build and manage their own knowledge networks, connecting people with specific expertise and the content associated with their specific interests and know-how.

TheBrain: TheBrain for iOS—combines note taking, file synchronization and mind mapping apps.

TIBCO: Spotfire 6.5—the latest version of TIBCO’s leading analytics platform connecting diverse data sources, including new spatial data sources.

Traction Software: TeamPage 6.0—host of new collaboration features, improvements and internal updates as well as consolidated capabilities from updates shipped over the TeamPage 5.2 baseline.

Transversal: Web Self-Service—natural language approach to search for faster, better results. It automatically anticipates what customers are likely to be looking for and how their questions relate to the knowledge at hand. Click here for more product details.

Verint Systems: Verint Customer Analytics—set of analytics for examining customer interactions and comments across a broad range of channels, including phone, social media, surveys, e-mail, chat, etc. Click here for more product details.

VirtualWorks: ViaWorks Connector for the Alfresco One Enterprise Content Management (ECM) System—allows companies to easily search and instantly retrieve all enterprise information sitting inside, outside and across multiple Alfresco installations from inside Alfresco.

Wall Street Network: Insight—knowledge management for SharePoint.

X1: X1 Search 8—solution for search of e-mails, files and cloud data from a standard desktop client or light footprint thin client architected for virtualized desktops.

Xyleme: Bravais 3.0—cloud-based solution for storing, managing and delivering personalized learning content to students, employees and customers when they need it, using the applications they prefer on the devices they choose.

ZL Technologies: Unified Archive—new version with native social media analytics built directly into existing information management architecture.