Pitch building content used during the group discussion during DocVille event on 17/11/2011 at Brussels

1. Is SAP outsourcing its ECM capability?
MODERATOR ROUNDTABLE TOPIC RESUME
•Name – Amarjit Singh •What is SAPs strategy re ECM,
•Organisation – Devoteam Belgium what are the favoured options
•Job title – ECM Consultant

2. The pitch
Archive Live
CONTENT
Opt. Archive Content Server
REPOSITORY
Documents Data
ARCHIVING
ArchiveLink Netweaver
INTEGRATION
In context Searchable
FINDABILITY
Transaction Repurpose
PROCESS
Fixed Variable
RETENTION
Storage Lifecycle
MANAGEMENT

3. Is SAP beginning to think of ECM as a supporting
service only, ready for outsourcing to ECM vendors ?
• SAP originally integrated Adobe Document Services
& Interactive Forms
• SAP resells Open Text (former Ixos, Livelink,
StreamServe, Artesia, …RedDot?)
• SAP to acquire CrossGate
• SAP partners with most leading ECM vendors: IBM,
EMC, …
How can you differentiate the ECM capabilities to a level so that ERP can be the
requesting party? >> provide solutions which provide better, easier and friendlier
answers to business challenges (not only functional ones).

4. Will ArchiveLink be phased out and who are the
candidates for the replacement of ArchiveLink?
• ArchiveLink powers optical archiving and HTTP
content server based scenarios
• The links to the documents are stored in link tables
(TOA…), no business metadata
• Early and late archiving scenarios (including bar code
matching) are supported (business workflow)
• Works better for “archive”, and not for “live” content
• Needs modernizing, accommodate eInvoicing stds.
In general, can you reverse the ArchiveLink way of integration? >> For example,
Perceptive software’s ImageNow uses a different approach, by storing the relations
outside of SAP (on the ECM side).

5. What keeps Open Source ECM software vendors
from tapping into SAP’s integration space?
• For Alfresco, less known FME SAP ArchiveLink
Connector for Alfresco (KGS)
• CMIS based solutions may be the future, first an
integration framework needed
• Web 2.0 and 3.0 where lots of community effort goes
into, may provide extra opportunities
• Case management & eDiscovery reqs may be the
turning point, but not very evolved in Open Source
Do the companies that use Open Source repositories, not use SAP? >> Perhaps SAP’s
own content server. What would it take to persuade them to move away from SAP
content server?

6. What are the opportunities in the cloud-space
for SAP’s ECM needs?
• SpringCM is one of the few offering a solution
• Mobile & device evolution creates new needs
• Leading ECM vendors starting to offer their
own cloud-based repositories, not yet for SAP
• Need for more cloud based, content-powered
business solutions, rather than repositories
(e.g., for CRM/CXM)
How would you build a business case for storing SAP-centric content in the cloud? >>
User experience, federated insight, social media, devices,…

7. Can CMIS eventually help modernize the SAP’s ECM
ecosphere, and how? Which scenarios can it cover?
• Founded on interoperability, more for consumption
• SAP Netweaver’s ECM integration layer
intends/claims to support CMIS
• To be seen if a friendly integration framework comes
• Consume vs. provide the CMIS services
• Apache Chemistry project claims to prioritize the
adoption
What are the foremost drivers and arguments for adoption of CMIS in SAP-related
scenarios? >> Interoperability, agility, device-agnosticity, etc.

8. Are advanced ECM scenarios of SAP involving Records
Mgt, BPM or DAM too complex for adoption?
• SAP renames own records mgt. capability to
Netweaver Folders Management
• No OOTB way of transferring retention from SAP to
an external records repository
• SAP’s business workflow rigid without standardized
BPM capability
Despite the latest marketing shots on eDiscovery and ACM, will these solutions
become mainstream? Or will they be limited to the few multinationals? >> Marketing
effort is limited, lesser knowledge sharing, fewer products built on open frameworks
… have to reverse that.

9. What’s the future of SAP Netweaver portal and the
underlying information management frameworks?
• SAP Enterprise portal a heavy, publisher-unfriendly
product, often with lower adoption rates
• Market shifting towards light-weight portals together
with the shift from static to social content
• Netweaver platform’s KM capabilities powerful but
complex and underutilized (Enterprise Search,
Taxonomies, …)
• SAP focussing more on Mobile portal right now
Taking the current information ecosystem into account, how would you further
segment the market, and target the market by complementing the Netweaver
capabilities? >> Findability, Enterprise 2.0/3.0, Mobile/device…