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IBM ECM Rises to the Occasion
October 08, 2014

IBM ECM Rises to the Occasion

Eric Walk | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Reseller

Software Version

5.2

Modules Used

  • Content Navigator
  • Content Analytics with Enterprise Search
  • FileNet Content Manager
  • Case Manager
  • Content Foundation
  • Datacap Taskmaster Capture
  • Content Manager OnDemand
  • Enterprise Records
  • System Monitor

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Enterprise Content Management

I work with my customers to solve problems on both the line of business and whole enterprise scale. The IBM ECM suite is able to scale to meet a solution of any magnitude. The ECM suite is not only able to handle the secure storage of documents, but also is able to manage complex workflows, maintain data on records (both in the ECM system and external to the ECM system) and provide for the traceable disposition of those records. In addition the OOTB, included, Content Navigator UI is extremely flexible and highly configurable to allow implementation of complex, highly integrated solutions, with minimal custom code, and high maintainability.
  • Scalability
  • Flexibility
  • Security
  • As enterprise and mid-market systems go, the price is highly competitive (especially when you consider what's included in the license). That said, this product is not accessible for small businesses as a self hosted solution. The "Navigator on Cloud" solution is much more accessible, but gives less control over data.
  • To get all the features, there are many moving parts. For large enterprises, this is no problem, and the cloud solution obviates most of these concerns.
  • My customers see enhanced employee efficiency, improved customer service and savings in discovery activities.
Both products are solid choices and have good and bad points. The biggest differences are in the way they scale and the features to help users in remote locations. Documentum handles remote offices with lower overhead at each site, but is more complicated to scale horizontally. IBM ECM can scales horizontally with ease, but requires greater overhead to stand up remote sites. The issue of remote sites, however, is becoming less and less relevant as the WAN backbones become more robust each year.
I don't renew this product, however I will continue to recommend it to my customers as it is a best-in-class product that can be used to solve most document related problems in business.
Self-hosted IBM ECM Solutions are appropriate for any large organization with substantial internal infrastructure management teams and a commitment to training their staff. Other organizations should consider the Cloud based offerings.

Using IBM Enterprise Content Management

The end-user experience is excellent. The Administration experience needs some more work.
ProsCons
Like to use
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Working with documents, records and work objects
  • Controlling who can see my stuff (Security)
  • Creating and saving searches
  • Some System Administrator Functions can be cumbersome, although this is an area of great recent improvement... (Creating Document Classes, establishing default instance security and class object security)
  • Designing Workflows must be done through an out-dated and nearly deprecated web tool and is not integrated into any of the core Interfaces
Yes - Content Navigator scales natively to many device sizes, provides tools to build a custom mobile app, and provides an OOTB mobile app. The OOTB App provides basic functionality and can be connected to any Content Navigator instance. For most organizations, however, this will require the mobile device to connect to a VPN. The OOTB App does exactly what it is supposed to do, and does it well.