FileNet anteriormente era una compañía independiente, actualmente fue asimilada por IBM, y se dedica a desarrollar software para ayudar a las empresas a realizar procesos de negocio y de manejo de contenido. La versión P8, es un framework para desarrollar sistemas empresariales personalizados, ofreciendo mucha mas funcionalidad out of the box y tiene capacidades para ser fácilmente personalizaba para procesos de negocios y soluciones electrónicas.
IBM FileNet Content Manager es la solución de gestión de contenidos para la plataforma FileNet P8. Combina una potente gestión de documentos con herramientas de flujo de trabajo listas para utilizar que automatizan las actividades y las tareas relacionadas con el contenido. FileNet Content Manager se integra con varias aplicaciones de IBM y de terceros, como IBM Content Analytics, IBM Quickr, Microsoft Office y Microsoft SharePoint.
FileNet Content Manager le ayuda a afrontar el creciente reto de gestionar el contenido empresarial.
Characteristics
Content management includes ECM, Web content management (WCM), content syndication, and media asset management. Enterprise content management is not a closed-system solution or a distinct product category. Therefore, along with Document Related Technologies or Document Lifecycle Management, ECM is just one possible catch-all term for a wide range of technologies and vendors.
The content and structure of today's outward-directed
Web portal will be the platform for tomorrow's internal information system. In his article in
ComputerWoche,
[3] Ulrich Kampffmeyer distilled ECM to three key ideas that distinguish such solutions from Web content management:
- Enterprise content management as integrative middleware
- ECM is used to overcome the restrictions of former vertical applications and island architectures. The user is basically unaware of using an ECM solution. ECM offers the requisite infrastructure for the new world of Web-based IT, which is establishing itself as a kind of third platform alongside conventional host and client/server systems. Therefore, EAI (enterprise application integration) and SOA (service-oriented architecture) will play an important role in the implementation and use of ECM.
- Enterprise content management components as independent services
- ECM is used to manage information without regard to the source or the required use. The functionality is provided as a service that can be used from all kinds of applications. The advantage of a service concept is that for any given functionality only one general service is available, thus avoiding redundant, expensive and difficult to maintain parallel functions. Therefore, standards for interfaces connecting different services will play an important role in the implementation of ECM.
- Enterprise content management as a uniform repository for all types of information
- ECM is used as a content warehouse (both data warehouse and document warehouse) that combines company information in a repository with a uniform structure. Expensive redundancies and associated problems with information consistency are eliminated. All applications deliver their content to a single repository, which in turn provides needed information to all applications. Therefore, content integration and ILM (Information Lifecycle Management) will play an important role in the implementation and use of ECM.
Enterprise content management is working properly when it is effectively "invisible" to users. ECM technologies are infrastructures that support specialized applications as subordinate services.
ECM thus is a collection of infrastructure components that fit into a multi-layer model and include all document related technologies (DRT) for handling, delivering, and managing structured data and unstructured information jointly. As such, enterprise content management is one of the necessary basic components of the overarching e-business application area. ECM also sets out to manage all the information of a WCM and covers archiving needs as a universal repository.[4]
Components
ECM combines components that can also be used as stand-alone systems without being incorporated into an enterprise-wide system.
The five ECM components and technologies were first defined by AIIM as capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver.
Capture
Capture involves converting information from paper documents into an electronic format through scanning. Capture is also used to collect electronic files and information into a consistent structure for management. Capture technologies also encompass the creation of metadata (index values) that describe characteristics of a document for easy location through search technology. For example, a medical chart might include the patient ID, patient name, date of visit, and procedure as index values to make it easy for medical personnel to locate the chart.
Automatic or semi-automatic capture can use
EDI or
XML documents, business and
ERP applications, or existing specialist application systems as sources.
Recognition technologies[edit]
Various recognition technologies can be used to extract information from
scanned documents and digital
faxes, including:
- Optical character recognition (OCR)
- Converts images of typeset text into alphanumeric characters
- handprint character recognition (HCR)
- Converts images of handwritten text into alphanumerics. Gives better results for short text in fixed locations than for freeform text.
- Intelligent character recognition (ICR)
- Extends OCR and HCR to use comparison, logical connections, and checks against reference lists and existing master data to improve recognition. For example, on a form where a column of numbers is added up, the accuracy of the recognition can be checked by adding the recognized numbers and comparing them to the sum written on the original form.
- Optical mark recognition (OMR)
- Reads special markings, such as checkmarks or dots, in predefined fields.
- Barcode recognition
- Decodes industry-standard encodings of product and other commercial data.
Image cleanup[edit]
Image cleanup features include rotation, straightening, color adjustment, transposition, zoom, aligning, page separation, annotations and despeckling.
Forms processing[edit]
In forms capture, there are two groups of technologies, although the information content and character of the documents may be identical. Forms processing is the capture of printed forms via scanning; recognition technologies are often used here, since well-designed forms enable largely automatic processing. Automatic processing can be used to capture electronic forms, such as those submitted via Web pages, as long as the layout, structure, logic, and contents are known to the capture system.
Computer Output to Laser Disc (COLD) records reports and other documents on optical disks, or any form of digital storage for ongoing management by ECM systems. Another term for this is
enterprise report management (ERM). Originally, the technology only worked with
laserdiscs; the name was not changed after other technologies supplanted the laserdisc.
Aggregation[edit]
Aggregation combines documents from different applications. The goal is to unify data from different sources, forwarding them to storage and processing systems in a uniform structure and format.
Indexing components[edit]
Indexing improves searches, and provides alternative ways to organize the information.
Manual
indexing assigns index database attributes to content by hand, typically used by the database of a "manage" component for administration and access. Manual indexing may make use of
input designs to limit the information that can be entered; for example, entry masks may use program logic to restrict inputs based on other information known about the document.
Both automatic and manual attribute indexing can be made easier and better with preset input-design profiles; these can describe document classes that limit the number of possible index values, or automatically assign certain criteria.
Automatic classification programs can extract index, category, and transfer data autonomously. Automatic classification or categorizing, based on the information contained in electronic information objects, can evaluate information based on predefined criteria or in a self-learning process. This technique can be used with OCR-converted faxes, office files, or output files.
The Manage category includes five traditional application areas:
The Manage category connects the other components, which can be used in combination or separately. Document management, Web content management, collaboration, workflow and business process management address the dynamic part of the information's lifecycle. Records management focuses on managing finalized documents in accordance with the organization's
document retention policy, which in turn must comply with government mandates and industry practices.
[5]
All Manage components incorporate
databases and access authorization systems. Manage components are offered individually or integrated as suites. In many cases they already include the "store" components.
Document management[edit]
Document management, in this context, refers to document management systems in the narrow sense of controlling documents from creation to archiving. Document management includes functions like:
- Check in/check out
- For checking stored information for consistency.
- Version management
- To keep track of different versions of the same information with revisions and renditions (same information in a different format).
- Search and navigation
- For finding information and its associated contexts.
- Organizing documents
- In structures like files, folders, and overviews.
However, document management increasingly overlaps with other "Manage" components, office applications like Microsoft Outlook and Exchange, or
Lotus Notes and Domino, as well as "library services" for administering information storage.
Collaboration [edit]
Collaboration components in an ECM system help users work with each other to develop and process content. Many of these components were developed from
collaborative software, or
groupware, packages; ECM collaborative systems go much further, and include elements of
knowledge management.
ECM systems facilitate collaboration by using information databases and processing methods that are designed to be used simultaneously by multiple users, even when those users are working on the same content item. They make use of knowledge based on skills, resources and background data for joint information processing. Administration components, such as virtual whiteboards for brainstorming, appointment scheduling and project management systems, communications application such as video conferencing, etc., may be included.
Collaborative ECM may also integrate information from other applications, permitting joint information processing.
Web content management[edit]
The scope of Enterprise content management integrates
Web content management systems. WCM as ECM component is used to present information already existing and managed in the ECM repository.
[6] However, information presented via Web technologies — on the Internet, an
extranet, or on a portal — uses the workflow, access control, versioning, delivery and authorization modules of the WCM instead of integrated ECM functionality. There are only few examples of successful implementations whereby a shared repository for documents and Web content are managed together.
[citation needed]
Records management (file and archive management)[edit]
Unlike traditional electronic archival systems, records management refers to the pure administration of records, important information, and data that companies are required to archive. Records management is independent of storage media; managed information does not necessarily need to be stored electronically, but can be on traditional physical media as well. Some of the functions of records management are:
- Visualisation of file plans and other structured indexes for the orderly storage of information
- Unambiguous indexing of information, supported by thesauri or controlled wordlists
- Management of record retention schedules and deletion schedules
- Protection of information in accordance with its characteristics, sometimes down to individual content components in documents
- Use of international, industry-specific or company-wide standardized metadata for the unambiguous identification and description of stored information
Workflow/business process management[edit]
Workflow and business process management differ substantially.
Workflow[edit]
There are different types of workflow: production workflow uses predefined sequences to guide and control processes, whereas in an ad-hoc workflow, the user determines the process sequence on the fly.
Workflow can be implemented as workflow solutions with which users interact, or as workflow engines, which act as a background service controlling the information and data flow.
Workflow management includes the following functions:
- Visualisation of process and organization structures
- Capture, administration, visualization, and delivery of grouped information with its associated documents or data
- Incorporation of data processing tools (such as specific applications) and documents (such as office products)
- Parallel and sequential processing of procedures including simultaneous saving
- Reminders, deadlines, delegation and other administration functionalities
- Monitoring and documentation of process status, routing, and outcomes
- Tools for designing and displaying process
The objective is to automate processes as much as possible by incorporating all necessary resources.
Business process management[edit]
Definition cited from AIIM: BPM is a way of looking at and then controlling the processes that are present in an organization. It is an effective methodology to use in times of crisis to make certain that the processes are efficient and effective, as this will result in a better and more cost efficient organization. Business process management (BPM) goes a step further than workflow. Although the words are often used interchangeably, BPM aims to completely integrate all of the affected applications within an enterprise, monitoring processes and assembling all required information. Among BPM's functions are:
BPM offers complete workflow functionality, providing process and data monitoring at the server level. Enterprise application integration is used to link different applications.
Business intelligence, with rule structures, integrates information warehouses and provides utilities that assist users in their work.
Store components temporarily store information that isn't required, desired, or ready for long-term storage or preservation. Even if the Store component uses media that are suitable for long-term archiving, "Store" is still separate from "Preserve."
The Store components can be divided into three categories:
Repositories as storage locations,
Library Services as administration components for repositories, and storage
Technologies. These infrastructure components are sometimes held at the operating system level (like the
file system), and also include security technologies that work in tandem with the "Deliver" components. However, security technologies, including access control, are superordinated components of an ECM solution.
Repositories[edit]
Different kinds of ECM
repositories can be used in combination. Among the possible kinds are:
- File systems
- File systems are used primarily for temporary storage, as input and output caches. ECM's goal is to reduce the data burden on the file system, and make the information generally available through Manage, Store, and Preserve technologies.
- Content management systems
- This is the actual storage and repository system for content, which can be a database or a specialized storage system.
- Databases
- Databases administer access information, but can also be used for the direct storage of documents, content, or media assets.
- Data warehouses
- These are complex storage systems based on databases, which reference or provide information from all kinds of sources. They can also be designed with global functions, such as document or information warehouses.
Library services[edit]
Library services are the administrative components of the ECM system that handle access to information. The library service is responsible for taking in and storing information from the Capture and Manage components. It also manages the storage locations in dynamic storage, the actual "Store," and in the long-term Preserve archive. The storage location is determined only by the characteristics and classification of the information. The library service works in concert with the Manage components' database to provide the necessary functions of search and
retrieval.
While the database does not "know" the physical location of a stored object, the library service manages
online storage (direct access to data and documents),
nearline storage(data and documents on a medium that can be accessed quickly, but not immediately, such as data on an optical disc that is present in a storage system's racks but not currently inserted in a drive that can read it), and
offline storage (data and documents on a medium that is not quickly available, such as data stored offsite).
If the document management system does not provide the functionality, the library service must have version management to control the status of information, and check-in/check-out, for controlled information provision.
The library service generates logs of information usage and editing, called an "audit trail."
Storage technologies[edit]
A wide variety of technologies can be used to store information, depending on the application and system environment:
- Magnetic online media
- Hard drives, typically configured as RAID systems, may be locally attached, part of a storage area network (SAN), or mounted from another server (network-attached storage).
- Magnetic tape
- Magnetic tape data storage, in the form of automated storage units called tape libraries, use robotics to provide nearline storage. Standalone tape drives may be used for backup, but not online access.
- Digital optical media
- Besides the common Compact Disc and DVD optical media in write-once or rewritable forms, Storage systems may use other specialized optical formats like magneto-optical drives for storage and distribution of data. Optical jukeboxes can be used for nearline storage. Optical media in jukeboxes can be removed, transitioning it from nearline to offline storage.
- Cloud computing
- Data can be stored on offsite cloud computing servers, accessed via the Internet.
Preserve[edit]
Preserve involves the long-term, safe storage and backup of static, unchanging information. Preservation is typically accomplished by the records management features of an ECM system and many are designed to help companies comply with government and industry regulations.
Eventually, content ceases to change and becomes static. The
preserve components of ECM handle the long-term, safe storage and backup of static information, as well as the temporary storage of information that does not need to be archived.
Electronic archiving, a related concept, has substantially broader functionality than ECM Preserve components. Electronic archiving systems generally consist of a combination of administration software like records management, imaging or document management, library services or information retrieval systems, and storage subsystems.
Other forms of media are also suitable for long-term archiving. If the desire is merely to ensure information is available in the future, microfilm is still viable; unlike many digital records, microfilm is readable without access to the specialized software that created it. Hybrid systems combine microfilm with electronic media and database-supported access.
Long-term storage systems require the timely planning and regular performance of data migrations, in order to keep information available in the changing technical landscape. As storage technologies fall into disuse, information must be moved to newer forms of storage, so that the stored information remains accessible using contemporary systems. For example, data stored on
floppy disks becomes essentially unusable, if floppy disk drives are no longer readily available; migrating the data stored on floppy disks to Compact Discs preserves not only the data, but the ability to access it. This ongoing process is called
continuous migration.
The Preserve components contain special viewers, conversion and migration tools, and long term storage media:
Long term storage media[edit]
- WORM optical disc
- Write once read many (WORM) rotating digital optical storage media, including the 5.25 inches (13.3 cm) or 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) WORM disc in a protective sleeve, as well asCD-R and DVD-R. Recording methods vary for these media, which are held in jukeboxes for online and automated nearline access.
- WORM tape
- Magnetic tapes used in special drives, that can be as secure as optical write-once, read-many media if used properly with specially secured tapes.
- WORM hard disk drive
- Magnetic disk storage with special software protection against overwriting, erasure, and editing; delivers security similar to optical write-once, read-many media. This category includes content-addressable storage.
- Storage networks
- Storage networks, such as network-attached storage and storage area networks, can be used if they meet the requirements of edit-proof auditing with unchangeable storage and protection against manipulation and erasure.
- Microform
- Microforms like microfilm, microfiche, and aperture cards can be used to back up information that is no longer in use and does not require machine processing. It is typically used only to double-secure originally electronic information.
- Paper
- Paper still has use as a long-term storage medium, since it does not require migration, and can be read without any technical aids. In ECM systems, however, it is used only to double-secure originally electronic information.
Long term preservation strategies[edit]
To secure the long term availability of information different
strategies are used for electronic archives.
The continuous migration of applications, index data, metadata and objects from older systems to new ones generates a lot of work, but secures the accessibility and usability of information. During this process, information that is no longer relevant can be deleted. Conversion technologies are used to update the format of the stored information, where needed.
Emulation of older software allows users to run and access the original data and objects. Special viewer software can identify the format of the preserved objects and can display the objects in the new software environment.
Standards for interfaces, metadata, data structures and object formats are important to secure the availability of information.
Deliver[edit]
The
deliver components of ECM present information from the Manage, Store, and Preserve components. The AIIM component model for ECM is function-based, and doesn't impose a strict hierarchy; the Deliver components may contain functions used to enter information into other systems (such as transferring information to portable media, or generating formatted output files); or for readying information, such as by converting its format or compressing it, for the "Store" and "Preserve" components. The Deliver category's functionality is also known as "output"; technologies in this category are often termed
output management.
The Deliver components break down into three groups:
transformation technologies,
security technologies, and
distribution. Transformation and security, as services, are
middleware and should be equally available to all ECM components. For output, two functions are of primary importance:
layout and design, with tools for laying out and formatting output, and
publishing, with applications for presenting information for distribution and publication.
In short, ECM delivery provides information to users. Secure distribution, collaboration, and version control take the forefront. In some cases, these components are still deployed as stand-alone systems without being incorporated into an enterprise-wide ECM system.
Transformation technologies[edit]
Transformations should always be controlled and trackable. This is done by background services that the end user generally does not see. Among the transformation technologies are:
- Computer output to laser disc (COLD)
- Unlike its use in the Capture stage, when used for delivery COLD prepares output data for distribution and transfer to the archive. Typical applications are lists and formatted output (for example, individualized customer letters). These technologies also include journals and logs generated by the ECM components. Unlike most imaging media, COLD records are indexed not in a database table, but by absolute positions within the document itself (i.e. page 1, line 82, position 12). As a result, COLD index fields are not available for editing after submission unless they are converted into a standard database.
- Personalization
- Functions and output can be customized to a particular user's needs.
- XML (Extensible Markup Language)
- A computer language that allows the description of interfaces, structures, metadata, and documents in a standardized, cross-platform manner.
- PDF (Portable Document Format)
- A cross-platform print and distribution format. Unlike image formats such as TIFF, PDFs permit content searches, the addition of metadata, and the embedding of electronic signatures. When generated from electronic data, PDFs are resolution-independent, allowing crisp reproduction at any scale.
- XPS (XML Paper Specification)
- An XML specification developed by Microsoft, describing the formats and rules for distributing, archiving, rendering, and processing XPS documents.
- Converters and viewers
- Serve to reformat information to generate uniform formats, and also to display and output information from different formats.
- Compression
- Used to reduce the storage space needed for pictorial information.
- Syndication
- Used for presenting content in different formats, selections, and forms in the context of content management. Syndication allows the same content to be used multiple times in different forms for different purposes.
Security technologies[edit]
Security technologies are available to all ECM components. For example,
electronic signatures are used not only when documents are sent, but also in data capture via scanning, in order to document the completeness of the capture.
Public key infrastructure is a basic technology for electronic signatures. It manages keys and certificates, and checks the authenticity of signatures. Other electronic signatures confirm the identity of the sender and the integrity of the sent data, i.e., that it is complete and unchanged.
In Europe, there are three forms of electronic signatures, of different quality and security: simple, advanced, and qualified. In most European states the qualified electronic signature is legally admissible in legal documents and contracts.
[citation needed]
Digital rights management and
watermarking are used in content syndication and media asset management, to manage and secure intellectual property rights and copyrights. Digital rights management works with techniques like electronic watermarks that are integrated directly into the file, and seeks to protect usage rights and protect content that is published on the Internet.
Distribution[edit]
All of the above technologies serve to provide an ECM's contents to users by various routes, in a controlled and user-oriented manner. These can be active components such as e-mail, data media, memos, and passive publication on websites and portals where users can get the information themselves. Possible output and distribution media include:
The Internet
extranets
intranets
E-business portals
Employee portals
E-mail
Fax
Data transfer by EDI, XML or other formats
Mobile devices, like mobile phones, PDAs, and others
Data media like CDs and DVDs
Digital TV and other multimedia services
Paper.
The various Deliver components provide information to users in the best way for the given application, while controlling its use as far as possible.
.jpg)
