ECM Market Overview 2008
Let us be clear—there is no "right" or "magic" or "leader" location in this chart. Buyers with strong internal IT processes and a predilection for "early adoption" may favor a vendor undertaking fundamental change, on the grounds that they can influence roadmaps and new technology and "leapfrog" competitors stuck with older tools and approaches. Other customers will prefer an ECM supplier evolving at a more moderate pace; while still other buyers will prefer a more conservative approach. It is to you to decide where your preferences sit.
The four dimensions we plot are:
- Size—Denotes the relative size and importance of the vendor in the broad technology marketplace.
- Focus on ECM—Indicates how much of the firm’s efforts are focused on ECM. For some it is a side activity, for others it is the sole focus.
- Vendor evolution—Weighs the current pace of change at the vendor itself. Is it evolving as the marketplace changes? Has it just been acquired or acquired another product?
- Product development—Weighs the current pace of change for the ECM solution. Is the product line about to undergo a major revision? Is the firm in the midst of trying to piece together many disparate modules? Or is little happening, with a mature product undergoing minimal change?
Each buyer will rate the importance of those dimensions differently, and we encourage you to make use of the tool interactively. Our placement of the vendors denotes our assessments as of late 2007; we will update it substantially at each revision of the report. Indeed, it is a snapshot of vendors in motion.
The vendors
EMC Documentum
EMC Documentum began a period of major change in early 2007 that will continue through 2008. In mid-2007, the first major upgrade to the Documentum platform (D6) in years was released. Initial reports have been very positive, but as with any new and major release, the prudent buyer will wait until one or two patches have been released before embracing it. Also, David DeWalt left the firm in March 2007—a loss that EMC seemingly did not expect and one that will have a major impact on the executive leadership and, by default, on the corporate and product direction of the Documentum product set. EMC itself also began a process of repositioning itself as an archive software vendor, and EMC as a whole as a full-service supplier and outsourcing solution (similar to EDS).
Therefore, we place EMC Documentum firmly in the Turbulence sector of our chart.
IBM/FileNet
When IBM bought FileNet in late 2006, it took on a product set in P8 that had recently undergone a major revision to Version 4. There is integration work to be done to make sense of the two parallel product sets (IBM CM and FileNet P8), but there is less turmoil than may have been expected. Likewise, as the entire executive team from FileNet replaced most of the previous IBM team, there will be a period of settling down, and certainly there will be change over time to manage. Thus, we place IBM across the Turbulence sector.
Oracle/Stellent
Oracle will apparently allow the Stellent UCM product set to continue in its current form for some time to come, and instead is concentrating on integrating elements to run on top of its Content DB and BPEL process manager, so there is less turmoil here than we might have thought. Nevertheless, this is a period of major change, albeit one that appears to be settling down sooner rather than later, in large part due to Oracle’s enormous resources and the relatively small size of this acquisition. Hence, Oracle is placed across the Turbulence bordering Balance sectors.
Open Text/Hummingbird
Corporately, Open Text has a clear, applications-oriented strategy, yet there can be no underestimating the scale of the task it faces in rationalizing not just the Hummingbird acquisition, but a myriad of prior purchases. Nevertheless, progress has been made, particularly in building up the library services story of LiveLink. Consequently, we placed Open Text in the Turbulence sector.
Alfresco
The new kid on the block in the ECM world, Alfresco made a mark quickly on the market, and yet despite being a new firm, it is surprisingly stable and well funded. It is not undergoing any major corporate change, and the product is reaching a point of some maturity (as an ECM platform), but the company is still experimenting with licensing and governance models. It is also becoming something of a slave to fashion, and has embraced Web 2.0 in its entirety. Therefore, we place Alfresco in the Shifting sector.
Interwoven
The WorkSite products have clearly done well for Interwoven (interwoven.com), yet it remains unclear whether the company wants to commit to them to the same depth as its traditional WCM tools. Interwoven operates as a group of fiefdoms; this particular group, in comparison to others,is moving more slowly both at the product and corporate level. Hence we have placed Interwoven in Maintenance, bordering the Stasis sector. It is potentially a good match for a conservative buyer.
Vignette
Like Interwoven, Vignette’s original WCM products seem to get more love and attention than the company’s acquired ECM tools. As such, little of import is happening with the product set. Some elements from its Tower acquisition appear to be languishing, and corporately addressing that does not appear to be high on the agenda. Though to be fair, Vignette did in 2007 staff a new and separate unit simply to support and develop the imaging and workflow elements of its product stack. Consequently we placed Vignette in the Stasis sector.
Xerox
Xerox is a very large firm, but DocuShare is a tiny part of the mammoth company—albeit a small part that has done well. The product is mature, and we expect changes to be organic and incremental. The executive team responsible for DocuShare also remains stable, although the larger Xerox company has recently begun to take notice of DocuShare as a potential SaaS offering in the Far East—hence our placement and weighting of Xerox in the Continuity sector.
Microsoft
Despite all the hype around SharePoint, ECM is not a major area of focus for Microsoft as a whole, even if it is getting more attention now than in the past. But the deeper story here is that SharePoint remains nowhere near complete or mature, even if it is progressing well. As such, we expect it to undergo some major revisions in 2008. Thus, we have positioned Microsoft in the Overhaul bordering Refresh sector.
Hyland
Hyland is a stable company (despite being acquired by private equity in 2007) with a stable product set, developing its technology continuously, if conservatively. Therefore, we place Hyland in the Balance sector.
Newgen
Newgen has done well in its home market (India), and the product stack has been undergoing a thorough overhaul, emerging as a Java platform with strengths in imaging and workflow. The company is conservative by nature, and growth—though explosive by western standards (the firm now employs over 900 people)—is tempered and moderate by local standards. Hence, we place Newgen in the Balance sector.
Nuxeo
Nuxeo is seeing a period of growth, and spurred on in part by rival Alfresco, it is investing more in marketing and becoming more visible in the marketplace. In late 2006, it ported the entire product to Java, and that appears to have worked well. The product is settled and the firm steadily growing, with no debt. Hence, we place this open source vendor in the Shifting moving toward Balance sectors.
EVER
Just like fellow French vendor Nuxeo, EVER is experiencing growth with a relatively settled product set. No sudden moves either with the product or in positioning the company; instead, it focuses on selling into well-established sectors such as government. EVER places firmly in the Balance sector.