Content Integration and Content Services
Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is traditionally thought of as very expensive to license, extremely costly to roll-out and scale, and often requiring expensive hardware and supporting software in the underlying stack. However, there is now an alternative, the most scalable collaboration and web sites in the world now run on open source software. These Web 2.0 sites have commoditized the scaling process and changed the ways content is both accessed and mashed-up.
The New Low Cost, Lower TCO Way to Scale
| Old Way | New Way |
|---|---|
| Scale on high-end, high-cost, SMP machines and cluster software - the proprietary way | Scale on a set of loosely coupled, low cost, commodity hardware and software - the open source way |
| Let the ECM system dictate the stack you have to use | Reuse existing hardware, software and skills – database, application server, clustering, load balancing |
The New Way to Access and Mash-up Content with No Tie-In
| Old Way | New Way |
|---|---|
| Access Content through a complex proprietary API tying you to that ECM vendor and cutting you off from any external content | Deliver Content-as-a-Service as simply as accessing a URL and simply mash-up internal and external content |
Alfresco – A Content Platform from the 21st Century
Most commercial ECM systems were built in the early 1990’s and have added layer upon layer over the last 20 years to update their systems. Alfresco is different. It offers a modern content platform, built on a modern architecture using modern tools that power the most scalable collaboration and web sites in the world today.
The Most Scalable Java Content Repository
Alfresco is the most scalable Java content repository that runs on commodity hardware and software. This allows you to:
- Support more users with less hardware
- Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by reusing the hardware, software and skills you already have and have already paid for
- Simply cluster, federate and replicate for Web 2.0 performance
An independently certified benchmark test conducted by Unisys Corporation demonstrated linear scalability up to 100m objects.
Lightweight REST Mashup Architecture for Rapid Application Development
The old world of web applications was the complex, heavyweight world of C# or Java. The new world of web applications is a one of lightweight scripting using, for example, languages such as JavaScript, PHP or Ruby. These are what power the most dynamic, most accessed web applications today often with a Rich Internet Application (RIA) interface written in AJAX or Flex. This allows developers to:
- Quickly create new applications to support both corporate and, more increasingly, departmental requirements
- Rapidly configure applications from pre-built components
- Use lightweight scripting to develop new reusable components
- Simply mash-up components accessing both internal and external content through a REST driven URL
- Today the agenda is rapid rollout and time to value. This is what Alfresco delivers.
Standards — Escape the Proprietary ECM Tie-In and ECM Stack Tie-In
Most ECM application developers will know that you cannot develop an application for one ECM repository and deploy it on another. This has major implications for Independent Software Vendors (ISV’s) and corporate application developers. You either limit the market you can address or redevelop the same application many times.
This proprietary approach is made worse when and ECM system forces you to use one sort of operating system, database, .NET, portal, language or browser.
Alfresco is built on standards to allow customers to:
- Choose to most appropriate, cost effective development environment
- Reuse existing development skills
- Regain control and when a vendor changes their maintenance and pricing policy allow you to change your vendor
Alfresco is one of the contributing members of the draft Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) specification that is supported by all of the leading ECM vendors and has been submitted to OASIS for review and adoption as an industry standard. This is to content management what SQL and ODBC/JDBC is to databases.
Alfresco is built on standards such as REST, RSS, Atom publishing, JSON, OpenSearch, OpenSocial, OpenID, Web Services, JSR 168, JSR 170 Level 2, MyFaces, CIFS, FTP, WebDAV, DeltaV, SQL and ODF. This compliance with standards makes integration into your architecture much simpler and at a lower cost.
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