Session presented to the ARMA Columbia SC chapter, January 2011. Overview of open source in the enterprise content management space, when it could or should be considered by records management professionals.

1. Open Source ECM:
What Records and Information
Managers Need to Know
Cheryl McKinnon
cmckinnon@nuxeo.com
@CherylMcKinnon on Twitter
January 2011
Presentation to Columbia SC - ARMA Chapter
Tuesday, January 18, 2011

2. What is Open Source?
• Definition emerged 1998 - with a new model of software
development and release - Mozilla (Netscape Navigator)
• Roots back to 1980s - Free Software Foundation
• Practices rooted in development that evolved into the internet
• 1960s/70s - early example of open, participatory software
development
• 1998 - Founding of Open Software Initiative
• consistent terminology, sanctioned software license
agreements, definitions and practices
• http://opensource.org/
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3. What is Open Source?
• Simply?
• A way a software developer (a vendor or a community)
licenses and distributes its source code
• No charge for the software, availability of code,
welcomes contributions, no restrictions on how
software is used
• Variety of individual license agreements govern how it is
distributed or used inside other products.
• Examples: GPL, LGPL, Apache, BSD, Eclipse, others...
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4. What is Open Source?
• What about Open Source Companies?
• Different Business Models to Meet Different Customer Needs
• Support and Maintenance Revenue Model
• RedHat (Linux)
• Acquia (Drupal Web Content Management)
• Nuxeo - (ECM)
• Free Community Editions vs. Supported Enterprise Editions
• Alfresco (WCM/ECM)
• Many others under “open core” or “dual license” models
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5. What Do You Need to Know?
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6. #1
You Can Get Started on an
Information Management
Project...
Now
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7. #1 - You Can Get Started on an
Info Management Project... Now
• No need to let business problems escalate due to
lack of short term budget funding
• Early requirements research can be done with little
or no up-front financial investment
• Simplified approach to product procurement allows
more transparent financial planning for development
and deployment
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8. #2
Open Source ECM is *NOT*
Written by Some Guy in his
Mom’s Basement
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9. #2 - It is *NOT* Written by Some
Guy in his Mom’s Basement
• Still a lingering - and out-dated - perception of open
source as hobbyist driven
• IT managers and software architects have long
recognized open source for infrastructure use
• Professional support, developers, QA and services
are all provided by vendors who understand
enterprise needs
• Beware of the Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD)
from bigger vendors who see as new competition
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10. #3
You Don’t Need to be a
Developer to Use Open
Source ECM
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11. #3 - You Don’t Need to be a
Developer to Use Open Source
ECM
• Organizations with complex or unique ECM
requirements can always choose to customize
• Clean, approachable user experience designed for
use by typical information workers
• Graphical, wizard-driven customization and
configuration environment puts control into hands of
information architects and business analysts
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12. #4
Don’t Confuse Open Source
with “Free”
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13. #4 - Don’t Confuse Open
Source with “Free”
• All ECM projects require a long term plan for
deployment, needs analysis, training and ongoing
support and maintenance
• Select an ECM platform because it meets your
business and technical needs - not because there is
a perception of ‘no cost’
• Prepare to invest in the support and assurances that
best align with the mission critical nature of the
content application
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14. #5
Open Source ECM Vendors
Walk the Enterprise 2.0 Talk
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15. #5 - Open Source ECM Vendors
Walk the Enterprise 2.0 Talk
• Successful open source projects are vibrant
communities that encourage peer-to-peer engagement
• Most vendors jumped on the “Community” and “Social
Marketplace” bandwagon over last 2 years
• Open source ECM has valued knowledge-sharing,
online community, peer support and customer input for
years - exemplifies Knowledge Management in
practice
• Trend to more on-demand, hosted services for
upgrades, patches, optional modules, design tools
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16. #6
Open Source Vendors Align to
Customer Priorities
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17. #6 - Open Source Vendors
Align to Customer Priorities
• Vendors who derive revenue from proprietary license
sales will benefit far in advance of their customers
• ECM deployments require weeks or months to show
ROI and deliver on deployment objectives
• Open Source vendors benefit when the customer
does: during the application build and deployment
phases
• Responsiveness to customer needs - roadmap,
localization, support for third party products
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18. #7
Not All Vendor Business
Models are the Same
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19. #7 - Not All Vendor Business
Models are the Same
• Insist upon clarity and transparency from the open
source ECM vendor
• Ensure the software that is tested and piloted is the
same software that the vendor will support
• Do due diligence to ensure no hidden catches or
unexpected costs or upgrade charges
• Ensure the vendor open source license model is a
good fit for your overall IT architecture
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20. #8
ECM is no Longer a Frill
It is Essential to 21 st Century
Business
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21. #8 - ECM is no Longer a Frill
• Rise of the Web means small and new companies can
compete with incumbents
• Democratization of opportunity = democratization of risk
• Requirements to manage, capture and preserve content
extends to companies of all sizes and corporate structures
• eDiscovery, regulation-driven retention rules not only for
large publicly-traded companies
• Open source ECM helps keep the playing field level
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22. What About Open
Standards?
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23. Open Standards: Essential to RM
• Digital Content Preservation
• Open formats for record capture/preservation - published open
specifications to ensure it can be reproduced outside of vendor hardware/
software
• PDF/A
• Interoperability
• Common ground across Document Management and other Information
Management products for content use and exchange
• CMIS (Content Management Interoperability Services)
• Metadata
• Readable descriptors, structure, consistent categorization
• XML, Dublin Core
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24. Want to Learn More?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011

25. Nuxeo ECM - Our Approach
Construction Media Government Life Sciences
Business
Applications
Correspondence Contracts Records
Invoice Processing
Management Management Management
Packaged Case Content
Document Digital Asset
Products & Management Management
Management Core Server Application
Distributions Framework Platform
Nuxeo Enterprise Platform
Complete set of components covering all aspects of ECM
Platform
Nuxeo Core
Lightweight, scalable, embeddable content repository
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26. Resource Center
• White Paper:
• http://
www.nuxeo.com/
en/resources/
Reference-
Material/8-things-
you-should-know-
about-open-
source-ecm
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27. Resource Center
• Documentation,
White Papers,
Customer Stories,
Technical Blogs,
Product Highlight
Videos, Online
Slides and
Presentations
• http://
www.nuxeo.com/
en/resources
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28. Thank You
Q&A
Cheryl McKinnon, cmckinnon@nuxeo.com
Tuesday, January 18, 2011