Syncplicity – EMC Buys Into Sync and Share May 21, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in Content Management.Tags: Documentum, EMC, EMC World, IIG, MMTM2012, Syncplicity, TechCrunch
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This is probably the most important story about the IIG portfolio in recent memory. EMC announced today the acquisition of cloud file sync and share vendor Syncplicity. This is significant on different levels and there will be posts from many sources official and otherwise attempting to understand it all but here are a few of my early observations. (These are my opinions and not necessarily those of EMC.)
I believe this move shows that
- EMC still believes content management is important – For the analysts and customers that fret over EMC’s resolve in the area this should serve as a message. EMC is especially adept when it comes to putting it’s money where it’s strategy is. There would be no investment at this level if the leadership did not mean what they said when was asked if the IIG portfolio was still strategic.
- Both EMC and IIG Leadership are responding to changes in the marketplace – As one who pays close attention to the ECM market it can be quite frustrating when you recognize changes some refuse to see. Our business is rife with denial of the impact of SaaS on the content management market. There are still those who would defend the way business has always been conducted to the detriment of a company’s very existence. Customers today want the option to buy capability as a pure SaaS offering and are not willing to wait for legacy platforms to transform in either technology or business model. No amount of denial or justifying one’s current strategy with past successes will compensate for it. We needed to acquire to lead.
- “SaaS vs. Traditional” is not an either/or scenario for EMC – The only companies that make the argument you can’t do both are those without the resources to do it. The combination in the portfolio of ubiquitous access with the option to add reasonable centralized governance is a good thing. Maturing the sync and share market with Documentum class policy enforcement could accelerate adoption into security minded business areas that free range tools only dream about today.
As I learn more I will pass it on. I want to understand more about the technical side of things.(integration, archive,etc) I have played with the various clients (Mac and Android) and so far I am pleased. No doubt we will be bombarded with feature bubble charts from friend and foe alike but my initial reaction was positive. I especially like the administrative options for setting default behaviors.
At this point though I believe this is a move by EMC that was both well reasoned and aggressive and I suspect will trigger copy cat acquisitions within months. Professionally I am looking forward to learning how we can use Syncplicity ourselves and sell it through our direct and partner channels.
Finally as someone familiar with the struggles IT organizations have with opening up this capability I can say that I am hopeful this combination will bring us to the place where productivity and security of unstructured data no long have to be at odds in the enterprise.
Three Things I Would Not Miss At EMC World (if I were there) May 21, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in Content Management, Documentum, EMC.Tags: Documentum, EMC Atmos, EMC Community Network, EMC World, MMTM2012
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I didn’t get to go to EMC World this year. Not happy about it but fortunately I’ll be able to tune in to many of the keynotes through the virtual sessions on the EMC Community Network. If I WERE there though I have three things that I would be sure to make time for. (more…)
xCP 2.0 Test Drive at EMC World May 19, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in Content Management, Documentum, EMC.Tags: Documentum, EMC, EMC World, MMTM2012, xCP, xCP2.0
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Earlier this week David Le Strat teased some of the hands on xCP 2 opportunities available at EMC World next week in Vegas. The product is still a few months away but I was part of a small group last week that got to spend three days with the current build.
Before you embark on your own journey to learn about xCP2 I would like to share a few of my observations on the new product. I will also point out that this is 100% my own opinion and interpretation. If you see differences later between what I describe here and how it is discussed and positioned by EMC you can chalk it up to my idiosyncrasies. The concepts though should be consistent so here are my top five favorite things about xCP2 ( in no particular order) (more…)
The Inconceivable App Store April 16, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in Content Management.Tags: App Store, Inigo Montoya, Princess Bride, Vizzini
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“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means”
- Inigo Montoyo in The Princess Bride
I love that movie. Over and over Vizzini declares “Inconceivable” whatever he doesn’t understand. Almost as many times as a sales rep uses the word “absolutely” in a road map discussion.
Lately I keep reading about this or that vendor envisions an “app store” for their product or platform. They keep using that word. Almost none of them get it. (more…)
Chief Why Officer April 5, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in Consulting, Content Management.3 comments
When I was a teenager I visited my father’s office once and learned the most important business lesson of my life. He had retired from the army and was working for the city as an operations supervisor. When you sat in the chair across from him you could see taped to the wall behind him a piece of paper on the 1970′s era wood paneling. It looked as if he had cut it out of a magazine like a ransom note.
It contained a single word. “Why”
Save, Sync, Share or Serve – Which Do You Really Need March 15, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in Content Management.Tags: box.net, cloud, Cloud Computing, Content Management, Content management system, Dropbox, EMC Atmos, Wordpress
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The number of content management offerings in the cloud continues to expand and even for a “seasoned” ECM professional the ambiguous marketing and feature overlap can be confusing. I have been experimenting lately with several of them and have come to realize that while all of these applications at the most abstract level do exactly the same thing, make your content accessible from somewhere other than the device in front of you, they are not created equal,for the same people, or most importantly the same problem. (more…)
Thanks For DevCon2012 March 13, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in Content Management, Documentum, EMC.add a comment
I wanted to say a quick thank you to all of the partners and EMC folk that joined us for DevCon in McLean last week. The speakers (@jvanrotterdam, @danciruli, @mmohen, David Humby ) were all superb, discussions were intense and there is just no substitute for getting together, putting a face to the voices on the other end of the line and sharing ideas together.
A couple of great summaries have already been posted so check them out.
It has been too long since we have been able to come together and meet as a community like this. EMC World is a great event but it is huge and for IIG at least tends to be more user focused. That is not to say that conversations like we had last week don’t happen but they are rarely as concentrated or candid. Internally I can tell there is a lot of excitement about all that we learned from you as well.
Conversations are starting already about doing another one, possibly in the fall and on the west coast. Nothing definite yet but if you like the idea let us know.
Again, it was great meeting so many of you IRL and hope to see you again at EMC World.
One Note Musicians January 30, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in Content Management, ECM.2 comments
The problem with being a one note musician is that eventually the key is going to change.
My current pet peeve is that some people refuse to entertain the possibility that their product is not good at doing everything. It is like they are a musician that only knows one note so they keep playing it. It is expected in the ECM world to have an affinity to a product but too often there are conversations where this or that vendor pitches their product as the answer touting their unique ability to do everything.
ECM capability is a very mature market place so I challenge anyone who claims uniqueness in this space. Unique is a meaningless term for the majority of features. There are just so many ways you can differentiate checkout. Answering “we can do that with product x” to every question tacitly assuming a 3 or 4x services or support effort to bridge those gaps is not only disingenuous but in today’s world with highly informed technical buyers is taken less seriously every day.
Your product – no matter what it is or where it is from – is one of a range of choices. Arrogant or dismissive marketing and sales will not work for the long term. You need to learn more riffs because “our size fits all” doesn’t work in the new key.
Differentiation in business model, delivery and feature mix without dependance on superhuman integration efforts by services are where the market is going and sellers need to get in the groove or get off the stage. Don’t take this as a wholesale endorsement of all things open source either. That is certainly a part of it but OpenSourcers are just as susceltiple to this trap as others when they assume every customer wants to spend 16 hours a day in Eclipse or their weekends resolving path and dependency errors.
Like so many other areas in life – playing a good solo is as more about listening than making noise. Listen to what is going on around you. Listen intently to what the other players are doing. Follow the changes. You might learn something and the customers might actually enjoy the performance instead of just enduring it.
Listen to Your Own Plumbers January 11, 2012
Posted by Lee Dallas in cloud, Consulting, Content Management, Technology.Tags: Business, Business and Economy, Information Technology
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Ron Miller’s piece on Changing the IT Plumber’s Image yesterday was excellent. Most businesses do not see the business value their own IT organizations can and SHOULD be providing. Instead of being seen as the experts who can expand the business through new technology, IT is just somebody you call when your virtual toilet backs up. The analogy of the IT as a plumber has one flaw though. Usually when a plumber leaves things are better than when he got there. (more…)
