Almost--Cloudscape was acquired in 2001 via the Informix buyout, not the 2005 Ascential deal. There were 27 people focused on Cloudscape and within a week of IBM ownership, that number was whittled down to 9, then shuttled over to the DB2 Everyplace team. It took IBM a long time to realize the value of some of those Informix assets (and they still haven't figured out what to do with Red Brick), but they realized that Informix Dynamic Server is still a better-performing OLTP system than DB2 UDB and that Cloudscape has tremendous value all over the place...
This isn't Microsoft Sharepoint we're talking about here. This is a framework for managing unstructured content--that means forms, records management, business process management, content-centric workflow, email archiving and retention, regulatory compliance, web content management, imaging, search and discovery. FileNet spent 14 years building up their portfolio through acquisitions and development. IBM arguably invented document management in the 1960s and has been working on their Enterprise Content Management suite since the late 80's.
Read the analyst reports to see how huge this market is. IBM picked up Informix for $1B in 2001--that grab was mainly for database marketshare. FileNet, at $1.6B, is a growth acquisition and a bargain by comparison. This market is so ripe for picking that SAP, Microsoft and Oracle--all companies that have ignored this space until the last couple of years, are making a headlong charge to grab what they can.
EMC, IBM, SAP, OpenText, Microsoft, Oracle...and you say this market is overvalued? Do you know how much it costs a company when they can respond to a litigation discovery request in a timely manner? Do you understand the customer loyalty considerations when a company can put its electronic billing statements online? Do you know how much the Air Force saves by having its thousands of forms available electronically? These are just a few of the business pains that ECM solutions address...
Just because content management doesn't have a mainstream mindshare yet doesn't mean it's minor league. You use FileNet and/or IBM content management products today, whether you know it or not...and don't think the big acquisitions are done. Microsoft and Oracle aren't just sitting on their hands going, "oh, that's nice"...
That's only the message body--it doesn't account for the attachments. But with all the virtualization technologies out there, I don't see why someone can't build a "Year 2005" VMware image that contains all of the native applications and just pull it up on demand.
The proprietary formats of groupware systems will become less of an issue with time. Domino already supports full-fidelity XML exports (minus encryption and digital signatures, but that's a separate topic).
What most of the messaging compliance vendors are doing now is saving the messages in native formats (maintaining "best evidence" rules) but also keeping an RFC-822 shadow copy to support litigation discovery/review...
GPS is a military-run programme; its signals can be degraded or switched off. Yes, the service is free, but its continuity and quality come with no guarantees
Is this still an accurate statement to make? There are a number of high-speed rail systems that leverage GPS for proactive safety controls...the success of those systems is heavily influenced by GPS availability and accuracy.
Aren't there some applications where an SLA is put into place? I'd be a bit scared at knowing someone like Union Pacific or Lockheed was basing their safety systems on an "at-will" service...
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Almost--Cloudscape was acquired in 2001 via the Informix buyout, not the 2005 Ascential deal. There were 27 people focused on Cloudscape and within a week of IBM ownership, that number was whittled down to 9, then shuttled over to the DB2 Everyplace team. It took IBM a long time to realize the value of some of those Informix assets (and they still haven't figured out what to do with Red Brick), but they realized that Informix Dynamic Server is still a better-performing OLTP system than DB2 UDB and that Cloudscape has tremendous value all over the place...
This isn't Microsoft Sharepoint we're talking about here. This is a framework for managing unstructured content--that means forms, records management, business process management, content-centric workflow, email archiving and retention, regulatory compliance, web content management, imaging, search and discovery. FileNet spent 14 years building up their portfolio through acquisitions and development. IBM arguably invented document management in the 1960s and has been working on their Enterprise Content Management suite since the late 80's. Read the analyst reports to see how huge this market is. IBM picked up Informix for $1B in 2001--that grab was mainly for database marketshare. FileNet, at $1.6B, is a growth acquisition and a bargain by comparison. This market is so ripe for picking that SAP, Microsoft and Oracle--all companies that have ignored this space until the last couple of years, are making a headlong charge to grab what they can. EMC, IBM, SAP, OpenText, Microsoft, Oracle...and you say this market is overvalued? Do you know how much it costs a company when they can respond to a litigation discovery request in a timely manner? Do you understand the customer loyalty considerations when a company can put its electronic billing statements online? Do you know how much the Air Force saves by having its thousands of forms available electronically? These are just a few of the business pains that ECM solutions address... Just because content management doesn't have a mainstream mindshare yet doesn't mean it's minor league. You use FileNet and/or IBM content management products today, whether you know it or not...and don't think the big acquisitions are done. Microsoft and Oracle aren't just sitting on their hands going, "oh, that's nice"...
The proprietary formats of groupware systems will become less of an issue with time. Domino already supports full-fidelity XML exports (minus encryption and digital signatures, but that's a separate topic).
What most of the messaging compliance vendors are doing now is saving the messages in native formats (maintaining "best evidence" rules) but also keeping an RFC-822 shadow copy to support litigation discovery/review...
Is this still an accurate statement to make? There are a number of high-speed rail systems that leverage GPS for proactive safety controls...the success of those systems is heavily influenced by GPS availability and accuracy.
Aren't there some applications where an SLA is put into place? I'd be a bit scared at knowing someone like Union Pacific or Lockheed was basing their safety systems on an "at-will" service...