Content is data after all
The recent EMC acquisiton of Documentum may appear at first sight as a sign of consolidation of the content management industry.
Rather, and more importantly, it is a distinctive indication of IT convergence, of which CM technology is a fast catalyzer
Content management systems primary function is to enable the production and publication of content to web pages. Various types of content - ideally all types in fact - and as easily, quickly and inexpensively as possible.
IT life is unpredictable and full of question marks, but of one thing I have always been certain, content management one day will do everything, even cook my breakfast.
CM will first of all become more sophisticated in terms of content production, all content lifecycle processes will be integrated in one intuitive, empowering user interface.
Next, CMS will evolve to become interfaces for non technical users, to access and interact with all IT systems.
Last year, content management products started integrating digital rights management technologies, as to allow a level of control over the content throughout its lifecycle.
In the paper Usability of CMS, I make a case for the need for CM products to deliver efficient content architectures starting from transparent and easily accessible data structures, that should be the core of any functional content software.
An important reflection that such product development suggestion is currently been accepted by the market, is the acquisition of Documentum, a leader in the CM space, by ECM, a leader in the data storage space.
Quite a big deal.
It is very interesting for the CM industry, in that it clearly points towards the reality that content is data, and indeed it shold be format independent, transparent, accessible, usable, reusable.
Equally, it reminds the data storage community that data is content, ie information. It should be accessible, retrievable, even easy to manipulate and transform (cf. Usability of CMS, content-wire 2002)
That's convergence in my book.
A discussion from the data storage perspective makes
an interesting read.
It talks about reaching data nirvana by chanting the information management mantra. And they are serious.
The future will continue to see new beginnings for CMS.
Thanks to xml technology, CMSs are promising to deliver application integration and real time data exchange capabilities to online outlets.
This could mean remote processes triggering, from any connected device.
When buying a CMS, users should think ahead, be visionary, think ideal. Ensure the technology can do all the things they want, or at least all of those which are essential to them.
Content is all things to all people, after all.
Or am I dreaming?
An early discussion
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