8 Things You Need to Know about Open Source ECM

By: John Mancini on June 16th, 2011

8 Things You Need to Know about Open Source ECM

1. Open-source still has a lot more potential.

The open-source movement has gained significant momentum in the operating system and database market, as evidenced by the wide acceptance of Linux, Apache, PHP, and MySQL.

This momentum has yet to have a significant impact on the open-source Web content management (WCM) and portal market. Although the number of Web content management open-source solutions available is large, the adoption rate remains low when compared to the market size.

2. Not all open-source solutions are the same.

The open-source ECM vendor landscape is divided between ECM frameworks and systems. Frameworks provide the building blocks for developing very complex ECM implementations, whereas systems are more comparable to commercial packages. The offerings come from a broad number of countries and with a wide variety of software license agreements. The systems can further be divided into fully-fledged ECM/DM and web content management (WCM) solutions.

3. Focus on product selection.

There is a great variety of open-source products in the market. It is essential that you select the right product, preferably a proven one with an adequate user base, in order to ensure that you also have the next release of it.

4. Even though you save on product price, you still have costs.

Even though you would get your open-source ECM product for free, you still have to prepare for spending quite a bit of money on the implementation. There are no (open-source) silver bullets.

5. Open-source support is excellent.

In many cases, the open-source support beats commercial vendors’ support. The communities are active, and many providers have commercial support in place, too.

6. Understand your open-source license implications.

There is a big difference in the licenses out there and the limitations and possibilities they bring. Review and understand the implications!

7. Leverage your experiences and code.

Hey, that what’s open-source is about!

8. Open-Source is mature.

Based on my experience, the functionality and maturity of open-source ECM is quite in parallel with commercial products.

About John Mancini

John Mancini is the President of Content Results, LLC and the Past President of AIIM. He is a well-known author, speaker, and advisor on information management, digital transformation and intelligent automation. John is a frequent keynote speaker and author of more than 30 eBooks on a variety of topics. He can be found on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook as jmancini77. Recent keynote topics include: The Stairway to Digital Transformation Navigating Disruptive Waters — 4 Things You Need to Know to Build Your Digital Transformation Strategy Getting Ahead of the Digital Transformation Curve Viewing Information Management Through a New Lens Digital Disruption: 6 Strategies to Avoid Being “Blockbustered” Specialties: Keynote speaker and writer on AI, RPA, intelligent Information Management, Intelligent Automation and Digital Transformation. Consensus-building with Boards to create strategic focus, action, and accountability. Extensive public speaking and public relations work Conversant and experienced in major technology issues and trends. Expert on inbound and content marketing, particularly in an association environment and on the Hubspot platform. John is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College of William and Mary, and holds an M.A. in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.